BOOK REVIEW - Men, Women and Children by Chad Kultgen

Another filthy novel written by author Chad Kultgen is nothing less than expected in his third masterpiece.  Filled with sex, scandal, and secrecy…it possesses the perfect ingredients for a quick read on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

If you are familiar with Kultgen’s two previous works, The Average American Male and The Lie, this novel covers similar themes of teenage hormones and sexuality but this time includes the complexities of adult and parenthood sex lives.

It’s no wonder Kultgen writes such compelling stories, as a graduate in TV and cinema, he has the ability to bring his characters to life, to the point where you feel like you know them personally.

 In Men, Women and Children we are introduced to an array of junior high school characters and their not-so-perfect families.  First there is Don and Rachel, who haven’t had sex in over 6 months who live with their son Chris, a porn addict convinced he will never find a girl who can handle his kinky fetishes.

Then there is Tim, the junior varsity quarterback who suddenly quits the football team and becomes a depressed and introverted World of Warcraft gamer after his mom decides to leave him and his father, Kent, to get married to a new man.

Hannah, a wannabe actress and cheerleader, is desperate to be the first girl in school to lose her virginity. Her mother, Dawn, encourages her daughter’s dreams of fame by hosting a website dedicated to borderline inappropriate pictures of Hannah.

Patricia, an overprotective mother who monitors her daughter, Brandy’s online activity every hour, has no idea about Brandy’s secret MySpace account where she creates a fake identity to escape her own reality.

And Danny, comfortable being a 13 year old virgin, is feeling the pressure to have sex with his steady girlfriend of 1 year.  After his dad buys him a box of condoms, he feels even more stressed and confused.

And those are just a few of the characters and a bit of their background story.

Normally, I don’t like books with too many characters, because I find it’s like reading a soap opera. But with Kultgen, I don’t mind so much.  All of the characters are connected through the high school community and the high school football team.  

I must admit this wasn’t my favourite novel of his, but it did keep me turning the pages. If you haven’t read his previous novels, I highly recommend them for an easy, fun read.