Catalyst

Catalyst

by Laurie Halse Anderson

Rating: So so

Difficulty: Normal

Pages: 231

Synopsis

Meet Kate Malone- straight A science and math geek, minister's daughter, ace long distant runner, new girlfriend (to Mitchell "Early Decision Harvard" Pangborn), 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 happen like a string of chemical reactions: first, The Malones' neighbors get burned out of their own home and move in. Kate has to share a room with her nemesis, Keri Litch, and Teri's little brother. The days are ticking by and she's still waiting to hear from the only college she's applied to-MIT. Kate feels that her life is spinning out of control- and then, something occurs that truly blows it all apart.

Review

So we all know about Laurie Halse Anderson and her amazing novel Speak. But what about Catalyst? Is this book as good as her debut novel. I'm a reviewer here and my job is to tell you what books are and are not worth your time, so I'll be honest- No. No this book is not anything like speak. I think the main problem of this story is that the main character is actually TOO perfect. I gave this book a "So So" rating because, quite frankly, I didn't have much interest in it. But as a reviewer, i try to find at least some good in each book i read so here it is- the relationship between Kate and Teri is the best part of the book. One girl, smart and driven and another girl, bitter and an outcast. Yet, somehow they found this wonderful middle where they can both hate each other and help each other. Tragedy strikes down hard on Teri in this novel and Kate finds way's to comfort her but Kate also has her own problems, which Teri unsuspectedly walks her through. It's basically a book urging people out there that perfection is non-exsistance and once we figure that out we'll be more content with life and be closer to happiness. Catalyst is definitly not Speak but i think because of the author and the little lesson you get, you should definitly give it some time out of your day. It is a quick read.