Catalyst

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

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Loved when first read, loved when reread, 2008-12-30
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 matched, too. The entire book feels real and honest, whether it's Kate's academic difficulties or Teri's family problems. Side characters are all equally real, even if rare in appearances.

"Catalyst" had me hooked when I first read it. Even if Kate is a difficult person to like, I was easily able to relate to her, and with time, I grew to love her, her world and her life. Teri, heroine no. 2, is equally difficult to appreciate, but her presence gives energy to the story and drives it along, such that in the end you realize, hey, I like her too. With a story that's easy to relate to, an interesting lesson that you have to reach in order to find, and characters as real as kids at your own high school, "Catalyst" is a great book and one I return to happily.


0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Mixed feelings on this one, 2008-06-18
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 adult for help. In the book Kate's father is portrayed as being very involved with his parishioners but rather distant from his own children, so I supposed his passive response to Teri's behavior is consistent with the character. But it still bothered me that Kate's dad would not stick up for her. In fact, toward the end of the book when one of Kate's friends finally calls Teri on her behavior he is labeled as being "disrespectful." A disturbing message IMO. I believe the author intended for Teri to garner our sympathy but she just doesn't. At least not with me.

Anderson, as in her other books, displays her usual fine ability to get inside the skin of a young person. She really makes you feel Kate's desperation to get into MIT and her subsequent devastation when she doesn't. But if I were discussing this book with teen readers I would definitely handle the bullying aspect and make the point that, just because someone has been abused, he/she should not be allowed to abuse others without consequences.


0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Starts great, but then..., 2007-12-08
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 say it's a weak ploy obviously attempting to tug at the reader's heartstrings. I'll be honest, it didn't effectively tug at mine at all. Now if the Big Momentous Thing had actually happened to *Kate*, the main character I'd grown interested in, then I might have cared. Unfortunately, by that point Kate had been pushed aside and relegated to the dull position of bystander. A shame, because the book really did start out well.


2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Comes at you like Teri's sledgehammer, 2007-10-31
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.


1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Good but not great, 2007-10-03
Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson is a sequel/companion to Speak. It's set one year after the events of Speak. This novel is narrated by Kate Malone: straight-A senior, science and math whiz, and daughter of the local reverend. Kate's also a great runner, which is good because Kate's been running from a lot of things:

Kate has been the family caretaker since her mother died. She hasn't been sleeping as she waits to hear from her dream college (she runs instead). And now Teri Litch, Kate's nemesis, and Terry's little brother are living with the Malones. Kate tries to ignore all of these problems by running and keeping her head in the sand. Besides, things couldn't get any worse. Until they do.

You'll have to read the book to figure out what happens next because I don't do spoiler reviews.

So now we can talk about the book in technical terms: The book is broken up into elements (solid, liquid, gas) and features quotes from an AP Chem prep book. Most of them are straightforward enough to be understandable and relate to the story. Kate also makes use of scientific elements for her narration without being overly scientific (AKA confusing/boring).

I greatly admire Laurie Halse Anderson. She's a great writer and she never comes off as smug or pompous in her interviews at the back of her books. Even better, Anderson is a fresh voice.

That said, the voice here was not as fresh as it was in Speak. In other words, Kate's narration sounds a lot like Melinda even though they are completely different characters. That bothered me. I like that Anderson's prose is so snappy and often sarcastic, but it was weird having two disparate characters narrate in almost the same voice. Given the connection between these two books, I suppose comparisons are inevitable so I'll finish the thought: Melinda is a more likable narrator than Kate. That makes a difference.

Ironically, the increased dialogue in this book (Melinda does not talk throughout most of hers) doesn't make the characters more developed. The minor characters, particularly Sara and Travis, remain flat: developed enough to be quirky but not present enough to be memorable. This might be because Kate's social circle is larger, giving Anderson more characters to fit into the narrative.

The other thing to bear in mind about Catalyst is that it is not the same kind of book as Speak. Kate's path throughout the narrative, and her way through her problems, is very different than Melinda's. (If you haven't guessed yet, Kate's path involves a lot of running.) This book also has a different appeal. Speak seemed more universal, the scope for Catalyst is more narrow. Anderson does a great job of capturing the anxiety and drama that surrounds the college application/acceptance process. She also creates a compelling study of the silent, overachiever that seems to be at every high school. More importantly, Anderson shows that those achievements don't always come without a cost.

Overall, Catalyst is a good book. I enjoyed it and I would recommend it. But Speak was a great book that was, overall, more powerful than its sequel.

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