Book: The Three Lives of Cate Kay
Author: Kate Fagan
Pages: 304
Read on: Kindle
Read in: ~3 hours
Plot Summary: Cate Kay knows how to craft a story. As the creator of a bestselling book trilogy that struck box office gold as a film series, she’s one of the most successful authors of her generation. The thing is, Cate Kay doesn’t really exist. She’s never attended author events or granted any interviews. Her real identity had been a closely guarded secret, until now.
As a young adult, she and her best friend Amanda dreamed of escaping their difficult homes and moving to California to become movie stars. But the day before their grand adventure, a tragedy shattered their dreams and Cate has been on the run ever since, taking on different names and charting a new future. But after a shocking revelation, Cate understands that returning home is the only way she’ll be a whole person again.
Things I Liked:
1. This is a very atmospheric, well-written and interesting book. A best selling author, who has remained anonymous her whole career decides to tell her story and reveal her identity. This book is the story of the journey a young girl called Annie took to become Cate Kay- best selling author. It is a character study, above all else, and I really enjoyed diving into the three lives of Cate Kay.
2. The narrative is, largely, linear. We start with Cate Kay's childhood and her years where she was known by her "real" name- Annie. Annie's life in a tiny upstate NY town with her absent/ negligent mother and days spent with her BFF Amanda. Their hopes and dreams of getting out of town and moving to Los Angeles, Annie's strong feelings for Amanda and the growing realisation that she'd never be able to love anyone else if she always had Amanda around. I really enjoyed the coming-of-age aspects of Annie's life.
3. Like I said earlier, this book is more of a character study than anything else. So, we have a series of characters, whose voices we also get to hear/ read as they share their perspectives on some defining moments in Annie/ Cate's life. Some characters, like Sidney, are just despicable and pathetic whereas some like Ryan and Janie are lovely.
4. This book is also a love story with a lot of pining and angst. It is also a story about forgiving oneself for being stupid and shocked. It is, finally, about reclaiming one's life, identity and voice. All very good things.
Things I Didn't Like:
1. There is a lot of miscommunication happening at multiple points during this book that seems really silly and forced - a plot device to move things along more than anything else. I am not a fan of the whole miscommunication trope and, in this story, the situations leading to miscommunication were easily fixed by just clearing the air.
Rating: 4/5
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