The Three Lives of Cate Kay
Reese's Book Club: A Novel
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4.2 • 441 Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK | NATIONAL BESTSELLER
Named a Best Book of 2025 by Time, NPR, Goodreads, and others.
“[A] propulsive puzzle of a novel.” —The New York Times Book Review
“This story swept me away with its big dreams, love, and unexpected twists.” —Reese Witherspoon
In this electric, voice-driven debut novel, an elusive bestselling author decides to finally confess her true identity after years of hiding from her past.
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 fantasized 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.
“An addictive page-turner infused with humor and heart, The Three Lives of Cate Kay balances the dishy allure of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo with the empathy of Slow Dance. A joy to read from first page to last” (Melissa Albert, New York Times bestselling author).
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
If you’ve felt how love can destroy but also redeem, then you’ll relate instantly to this fascinating debut novel. Amanda Kent was the cool friend and Annie Callahan was the nearly-as-cool sidekick until a terrible freak accident, a rash decision, and a selfish lie drove these two besties apart. Annie fled their small town for New York, renaming herself Cass Ford and publishing a postapocalyptic novel under yet another moniker, Cate Kay, allowing no one to make the connection between that name and her two other identities. As the book skyrockets to fame, Cass must decide whether or not to remain hidden, unsure if making herself vulnerable will bring her the love and happiness she craves or destroy the safety she’s painfully built from anonymity. Meanwhile, those whose lives she’s touched have their own reckoning to make. We enjoyed piecing together the puzzle of Annie/Cass/Cate’s life story, which is told like an oral history filled with not-entirely-reliable witnesses. Sometimes the truth is hard to find, and sometimes it’s staring right back at you.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sportswriter Fagan (What Made Maddy Run) makes her fiction debut with the electrifying story of a bestselling author's secrets. Many have read The Very Last, but few know the identity of its pseudonymous author, Cate Kay. The narrative, framed as Kay's unpublished memoir, gradually unravels her true story. Raised as Annie Callahan in Upstate New York, she now lives in Charleston, S.C., under the name Cass Ford. When she was a teen, her friend Amanda fell from a zip line while trying to impress her. The accident prompts Annie to run away without knowing whether Amanda survived. She drives aimlessly north and winds up in Plattsburgh, N.Y., where she lives out of her car and works in a coffee shop, afraid to face Amanda and relishing her newfound identity under the name Cass. Eventually, she meets Sidney, a law student who encourages her writing and helps her understand her queer identity. She catapults to fame with the pseudonym Cate Kay and continues to shed her past, leaving Sidney for movie star Ryan Channing, who's secretly a lesbian, after Ryan is cast in a film adaptation of The Very Last. Fagan fascinates with her enigmatic and shape-shifting protagonist, and the tightly woven plot will keep readers on the edge of their seats. It's a blast.
Customer Reviews
GREAT
Just… Wow. It’s rare to find a great story with interesting multifaceted characters, beautiful creation of a world that keeps unfolding.
Confusing and boring
Normally like Reese’s recommendations but this one was confusing and boring.
Really fun & sweet
Such an enjoyable read! Kept me interested and engaged.