Official Review: Kate Fox & The Three Kings

[Eric Morris]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Kate Fox & The Three Kings" by Grace E. Pulliam.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Kate Fox and the Three Kings, by Grace Pulliam, is a Young Adult novel; I say that at the outset because the book’s status as a Young Adult novel is probably the penultimate factor concerning my review, second only to the story itself. I wore several hats as I dissected this book, and I took into consideration that my age lies outside the demographic of the target audience. Accordingly, I observed Ms. Pulliam’s work not only as an adult reader, but also through the eyes of my young adult self. The final phase of my analysis was undertaken as the father of a teenager who likes access to the content of what his child is reading. The result of taking these different approaches was a chaotic mix of emotions, positive and otherwise – but I’ll delve into that later. First, a synopsis is in order…

Kate Fox and the Three Kings is a stylish urban fantasy that begins in the backwoods of Kentucky and ends in a small Florida town. Kate Fox is a sixteen year old girl who, through a series of unfortunate circumstances, has spent the last six years in foster care in the town of Brushy Fork, Kentucky. Brushy Fork happens to be the home of the Blood of Christ Baptist Church, of which her foster parents are members; the church itself is actually a cult that objectifies women, requires complete submissiveness, and isn’t above the use of extreme physical abuse. She dreams of escaping with her only two friends, Gideon and Essie, but she knows that’s only a pipe dream – until the day arrives that the unthinkable happens and her friends begin to accept the cult’s practices. Left alone, she escapes into the woods and meets a mysterious stranger that delivers Kate to her aunt’s house in Florida. Life after Blood of Christ (who Kate refers to as We Hate Outsiders, your Religion, and Everyone, or W.H.O.R.E.) is a grand experience that sees Kate gaining financial freedom, attending college, getting a job, and learning how to be a “normal” teenager. Of course, not everything is as it seems; Kate soon finds out that her family has dark, ancient secrets, and that the mysterious stranger, her boss, even W.H.O.R.E., are not in her life by accident. Kate has a destiny to choose and a debt of service to pay, but first she must play the Game of Three Kings, and maybe she will make it out alive…

While I refer to Kate Fox and the Three Kings as a novel, it is anything but lengthy at 170 pages (Epub). When I was a teen, this book would have been excellent in its size and scope. Questions are left unanswered, mysteries have yet to be unraveled, and the climax begs for a sequel. I have no doubt that this book is the beginning of a three (or greater) book series. Nevertheless, as a serious reader, I felt somewhat cheated as I expect a book to stand on its own merits; ultimately, I expect to find a denouement or a resolution in which I’m not required to “tune in next time…” No conflict in Kate Fox and the Three Kings is entirely settled; I remain disappointed due to the fact that any subsequent book will be less of a “Book Two” and more of a “Book One and a Half.”

While I reiterate that I probably would have enjoyed this book as a teenager, and while I am intrigued by the overall plot, I can say firmly that the parent in me would be greatly disturbed by finding Kate Fox and the Three Kings on my teenager’s bookshelf. There is an overt sexual theme in the entire novel, and at times it’s downright mind-boggling, especially considering that the book is marketed to teens. After being held prisoner in a cult for years, the only grain of knowledge that has really stuck with Kate is the upper portion of her womanly body being larger than average. As it stands, Ms. Pulliam devotes so much of the book to describing Kate’s anatomy that if it were erased, I am sure this novel would become a novella, if not a short-story. Furthermore, there are no less than three instances of the arousal of these womanly regions by such stimuli as brushing against a man or feeling the rush of brisk autumn air. All of this made me grind my teeth a little; however, what really stood out was Kate being taken to an “adult store” for her eighteenth birthday to procure an object of singular enjoyment. This scene adds nothing to the book, and I believe it’s inappropriate to market this book for a demographic that may include 13 to 14 year olds. I do understand that this is only one man’s opinion, and you are welcome to disagree; nevertheless, I believe wholeheartedly that parents still deserve to be knowledgeable about what their children are reading. Besides, if the only freedom gained by leaving an abusive cult is the discovery of repressed sexuality, then was the cult that terrible to begin with?

I am compelled to rate Kate Fox and the Three Kings 2 out of 4 Stars. I had such high hopes for this book based on its summary and Amazon reviews, but its lack of length, lack of development, and (again, my opinion) inappropriate subject matter left me feeling wholly unsatisfied. Older teens who enjoy urban fantasy authors such as Cassandra Clare or Anne Aguirre may love this novel. Likewise, adult readers of Gina Showalter or Laurel K. Hamilton may also get a thrill from Kate Fox and the Three Kings. Alas, it was not for me. This may be a teen book, but ultimately I must view it with adult eyes, and I just don’t agree with what I see.

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Kate Fox & The Three Kings
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

Like jacnthabox's review? Post a comment saying so!

[gali]

Great review! I enjoyed reading it, but will pass on the book.

[zeldas_lullaby]

Wow, great review. That does sound kinda over the top for YA fare... "I'm out of the cult, and I have a big chest, and now I'm going to the sex store,"?

[Levi]

Wow, great review. That does sound kinda over the top for YA fare... "I'm out of the cult, and I have a big chest, and now I'm going to the sex store,"?

Agreed. That is preposterous. But, oh my, jacknthabox, what an amazing review!! Really, I bow before your skills right now. It sounds like an interesting read, too bad the author over-sexualized it. You are not wrong, that is unacceptable.

[csimmons032]

You did an excellent job on this review! However, based off of your review, I don't think this is my type of book. It seems like it's a little too much for a YA novel, but I guess everyone has their own taste in books. Books about cults really aren't my thing though. Like I said, you did an excellent job on the review

[Eric Morris]

Thanks, everyone!! I really appreciate your kind words. I really enjoyed the plot of the book; it is unfortunate that the content, again in my opinion, was unsuitable for teenage consumption. What's more unfortunate is that this send to be the norm for YA supernatural/urban fantasy novels. To me, narration and prose are no different than poetry or song lyrics in that, while adult themes do not have to be overlooked, it is a discredit to the author when vulgarities are used in lieu of vocabulary. If this novel were toned down just a bit, my rating would be MUCH different. Thanks again, y'all!!

[cgoss74]

Congratulations to the author on the review! To the reviewer, I look forward to looking at more of your reviews and learning from you because your review was amazing. I haven't read the book, but if what you have said about the sexual content is true you are correct that it is definitely inappropriate for a YA rating.

[bookowlie]

Great review! I agree with you that the content is unsuitable for a YA book. It's a shame that it wasn't scaled down, since you seemed to like the plot otherwise.

[zeldas_lullaby]

I almost got the impression that the inappropriate content was the plot. Maybe this author should try writing in a different genre. She could try erotica or romance or general fiction, perhaps. You know, play to her strengths.

[fortydollarsify]

Long time lurker, first time poster. Thx for your review jacknthabox! Scientology and extremist groups interest me, but I'm not sure I want to read an entire story about them. The only thing is: when I click on the amazon download link and go to goodreads, it doesn't look like the book is marketed to YA? It says New Adult/College? Is that the same thing? The main character is 18?

[zeldas_lullaby]

That makes sense... New adult books can have more sex and stuff, but it's not listed as a genre that the author could have picked on this site for her book!

Freaky avatar!! I like it!

[Eric Morris]

I saw the "New Adult" label on GoodReads after your comment. It does say that New Adult is for readers 18-26, I believe. The protagonist in this story ages from 16 to 18 over the course of the novel. It seems to me, as a counter opinion, that this genre is one of semantics. It's a genre that fits neither teen nor contemporary fiction, and defining a genre for a book like this seems to confuse those who view books through the lens of traditional genres, me included. I think a rating system akin to the MPAA or ESRB (pick your poison), would be ideal for all books. It works for comics, graphic novels, and manga; why not all literature?

Again my only goal would be honesty in marketing, and I don't believe I would find much appeasement by the addition of a New Adult genre.

[fortydollarsify]

Zeldas_Lullaby: thank you!

Jacnthabox: Thanks for your reply. I agree with you. The New Adult genre is a bit confusing to me---I think of books either being suitable for children, young adults, or regular...adults. From the book description: "While most 17-year-olds prepare for college after their high school graduation, Kate is wedged between obnoxious picketing....Kate attempts to forget the past six years living in a cult, and braces herself for a normal college experience." So I'm guessing the main character makes the transition from high school to college?

Certainly college-age content would differ greatly from high school freshman content, in regards to subject matter and issues. But if you're in college, you're likely not paying taxes and managing your mortgage but you're technically an adult. Not sure what this books target demographic is but I'm going to give Kate Fox a read and see what I think.

[Eric Morris]

Absolutely!!! And please come back here to let me (us) know what you think. She does enroll in college, although I won't give the how's and why's if you're going to read it. I will say, from that standpoint, that that plays a very little role in plot development.

Let me reiterate, I thought the premise was excellent. It was good enough that I may revisit Kate sometime in the future to see where her story goes. It's just one of those books that lacks real substance, and I can't imagine a serious reader disagreeing with that point.

It's characterization, style, and vocabulary point me in the direction of teen novel. If this New Adult genre is legit, then that's definitely a factor. Let me know what you think when you're finished.

[Jesska6029]

Great review! I enjoyed it, but I don't think I will be reading the book.