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Catalyst
by: Laurie Halse Anderson

Amazon.com's Price: $7.99

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Binding: Paperback
EAN: 9780142400012
ISBN: 0142400017
Label: Puffin
Manufacturer: Puffin
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 240
Publication Date: September 15, 2003
Publisher: Puffin
Reading Level: Young Adult
Sales Rank: 35684
Studio: Puffin

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Editorial Review:

Product Description:
Meet Kate Malone-straight-A science and math geek, minister's daughter, ace long-distance runner, new girlfriend (to Mitchell 'Early Decision Harvard' Pangborn III), unwilling family caretaker, and emotional avoidance champion. Kate manages her life by organizing it as logically as the periodic table. She can handle it all-or so she thinks. Then, things change as suddenly as a string of chemical reactions; first, the Malones' neighbors get burned out of their own home and move in. Kate has to share her room with her nemesis, Teri Litch, and Teri's little brother. The days are ticking down and she's still waiting to hear from the only college she applied to: MIT. Kate feels that her life is spinning out of her control-and then, something happens that truly blows it all apart. Set in the same community as the remarkable Speak, Catalyst is a novel that will change the way you look at the world.

Amazon.com Review:
Chemistry honors student and cross-country runner Kate Malone is driven. Daughter of a father who is a reverend first and a parent second ('Rev. Dad [Version 4.7] is a faulty operating system, incompatible with my software.') and a dead mother she tries not to remember, Kate has one goal: To escape them both by gaining entrance to her own holy temple, MIT. Eschewing sleep, she runs endlessly every night waiting for the sacred college acceptance letter. Then two disasters occur: Sullen classmate Teri and her younger brother, Mikey, take over Kate's room when their own house burns down, and a too-thin letter comes from MIT, signifying denial. And so the experiment begins. Can crude Teri and sweet Mikey, combined with the rejection letter, form the catalyst that will shake Kate out of her selfish tunnel vision and force her to deal with the suppressed pain of her mom's death? 'If I could run all the time, life would be fine. As long as I keep moving, I'm in control.' But for Kate, it's time to stop running and face the feelings she's spent her whole life racing away from.

Catalyst, Laurie Halse Anderson's third novel for teens, is a deftly fashioned character study of a seldom explored subject in YA fiction: the type-A adolescent. Teens will identify (if not exactly sympathize) with prickly Kate instantly, and be shocked or perhaps secretly pleased to discover that life is no easier for the honor roll student than it is for the outcast. Anderson earns an A plus for this revealing and realistic take on life, death, and GPAs. (Ages 12 and older) --Jennifer Hubert

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- Loved when first read, loved when reread
Let's take a step back. Almost everyone heading to this book has already read the incredible "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson (as they rightly should have). "Catalyst" brings readers back to this community, back to the high school, one year later. Is this by any means a sequel? Not in the least (though old characters do arise).

"Catalyst" describes the moment where Kate's life started to fall apart. Over-achieving Kate sees her life change drastically within moments, partly based on poor decisions, partly based on bad circumstances, and largely based on the bad aspects of life. The all-too-true story of achievement stress and application anxiety is displayed alongside grimmer facts of life, in such a way that the two stories go together wonderfully.

In truth, "Catalyst" has two main characters, two main stories, and two points where these stories reach a climatic point. The stories are evenly ... Read More

Rating:

- Mixed feelings on this one
I recently discovered Laurie Halse Anderson in the YA section of my library and am in the process of reading all her books. Catalyst is probably my least favorite so far, although it's not a bad read at all. Since other reviewers have outlined the plot details so well, I'll limit my comments to what I chiefly disliked about this story, the way the subject of bullying is handled. Teri, the bully in question, treats Kate rudely, steals from her, and responds with ingratitude to the charity extended to her by Kate's family. Kate mentions to her pastor father more than once that Teri has stolen a couple of her treasured items and dad does nothing. Kate also mentions in her narration that Teri beat her up daily in elementary school. Apparently the school authorities were the do-nothing type as well. At my son's school kids are taught how to respond to bullying on their own but, if these efforts fail them, to call on an ... Read More

Rating:

- Starts great, but then...
Like many others, I was interested in "Catalyst" because it's written by the same YA author as the fantastic "Speak." And I really liked the early parts of "Catalyst. In fact, I could hardly put the book down at first. In the beginning of the book, Laurie Halse Anderson is once again in top form, creating a completely believable, intriguing narrator with obsessive perfectionist high school senior Kate Malone.

I also enjoyed the direction the book seemed to be taking early on. It was clear something momentous was going to snowball its way into Kate's perfectly controlled existence and change her forever. I read on eagerly as she grew more and more stressed out, was devastated by her rejection letter from MIT, and had her home life completely disrupted.

However. When the Big Momentous Climax finally occurred? Huge diappointment. I won't spoil the book by saying what it is; suffice it to ... Read More

Rating:

- Comes at you like Teri's sledgehammer
Apparently some readers have trouble relating to Kate and/or Teri. I did not. I love them both. Could not put the book down and read until 2 am, then lay awake after that. Don't know why some readers got bored. I found it pretty savage.

Maybe it's because I was a nerdy, have-to-get-into-the-right-college, type A teen myself. It took a long time to understand the lessons Kate learns.

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