Catalyst

{Catalyst* is missing a huge part of what could have made up a good book for me. The main character, Kate, is an ambitious over-achiever science geek with plans of getting into MIT, but her hopes are dashed when she is rejected from her dream school - and it happens to be the only college she applied to. Meanwhile the rest of her life is going crazy as her neighbor's house burns down and the messed up family - including a really rough and tumble girl Kate doesn't get along with very well - move in with her. It sounds like a great setup for learning to take what you're dealt and make the best of it, for learning to deal with rejection and failure and unexpected life events - for learning to grow up. But the book ends with Kate not really show more having dealt with a lot of the plot's conflicts, and not having learned very much. That is, though it's first person narrated, Kate's inner monologue lacks any real self-awareness, she never has any revelations or epiphanies at all about her situation, she mostly talks in circles and beats herself up. If anything, she seems to use the tragedy of her neighbors to sort of say "Well, it could be worse" and ignore all her problems and not resolve anything. Even at the end, though outwardly she seems more calm and some conflicts are partially resolved... there is no place where we can clearly see that Kate has changed very much, or if so, why and how. It just felt like this book went nowhere. A lot of the high drama elements came of nowhere, weren’t very effective, and then didn’t resolve.

Actually, there's a lot of stuff in {Catalyst that just doesn't work for me. I hated the gimmicky chapter headings of scientific concepts and "safety tips" under each one. They are really reaching to be metaphors for what's going on in the plot but when they make sense at all, they are kind of cheesy. I think the whole bit about Kate being a great cross country runner rang totally false - I mean, seriously, so many of the details are just WRONG, which mystifies me because in the acknowledgments Anderson thanks someone for providing details about cross-country. But the whole idea wasn't really used properly to deepen the character as much as it could have been, so it just seems like a waste. I don't know why so many writers who choose to write about runners try to make it all about some kind of masochistic obsession that's just slightly acceptable - for "good kid" characters; "bad kid" characters are cutters or something. Also, the idea of running obsessively as a metaphor for running away from problems? So old. And OBVIOUS. Gah.

I found this book at my house, but have no idea where it came from. I realized it was by Laurie Halse Anderson of Speak fame so I read it the other day, thinking if it was good I would keep it and if not, I would purge it with a bunch of other book I'm getting rid of soon. This one is going on the purge pile.

* And yes, the title really does have that { at the front. The ‘y’ in catalyst is also in a mathematical usage font, but I couldn’t replicate that here. show less

Me before reading Catalyst:

Ooh it's written by Laurie Halse Anderson! This should be good!

Me after reading:

Why the hell did I even waste money on this book and WHY did I actually waste precious reading time to suffer through this garbage??

Yep. It was that bad.

And the thing is, I kept reading, mistakenly thinking that this would be one of those books that resolves everything in the last few pages and everything clicks by the end of the novel.

But, disappointingly, nothing was resolved. At all.

Another thing that bugged me was how stupid Kate was. She brings shame upon all perfectionists everywhere; if I was one, I would be very offended by how they are portrayed. It is claimed that she is a straight-A student who is perfect in school. show more But, alas, she has absolutely no common sense. She doesn't apply to multiple colleges, because she is obsessed with MIT. (Which is completely out of character.) Not only that, but she spends the entirety of the book moping around and whining.

The multiple references to chemistry was a bit overused and unnecessary, in my opinion.

To me, there wasn't really a point to this novel. It kind of just rambled on and on about MIT this, cross-country that, and loads of drama over insignificant things. To say Kate is melodramatic is an understatement.

Don't get me wrong, Kate's character actually had potential. If LHA executed her character well, this would have been a semi-enjoyable read. But she was so unbearable and irritating that it was hard to sympathize with her.

Maybe I'm totally missing the point of this book. Maybe this book has a really good message that I am unable to see. I don't know. What I do know for sure is that this book was a pain to read, and unless you want to torture yourself and be trapped in the mind of Kate Whining Malone, you probably won't be a fan of this one. show less

Meet Kate Malone - straight-A science and math geek, minister's daughter, ace long-distance runner, girlfriend, unwilling family caretaker, 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, like a string of chemical reactions, everything happens: the Malones' neighbors get burned out of their home and move in. Because her father is a Good Man of God (and a Not Very Thoughtful Parent), Kate has to share her room with her nemesis, Teri Litch, and Teri's adorable, troublemaking little brother. And through it all, she's still waiting to hear from the only college she has applied to: MIT. Kate's life is less and less under control - and show more then, something happens that blows it all apart, and forces her to examine her life, self, and heart for the first time. show less

from Shei:

I read Catalyst before Speak but the order doesn't matter really. Both have the same internal conversations and contradictions of a self-conscious teen. Both show a glimpse into the nightmares of being in high school. Catalyst was more predictable than Speak (which was later made into a film), though has its merits when it dives into the title a bit more. Who is this catalyst after all? Speak certainly speaks more. The book is lauded for its message about rape and its voiceless victims. The writing style is clever but can be overdone sometimes. Nonetheless, it makes the list of books I'd recommend.

After my last read, not to be confused with my last review, I needed something powerful and beautiful and character-driven. Catalyst turned out to be a perfect choice. Until now, my experience with Laurie Halse Anderson consisted solely of Speak. At that time, I didn't really read much realistic fiction, and I mostly steered away from unhappy books. As such, I really was not sure what to make of it, and could not appreciate it as much as I know I could now. Having read and super liked Catalyst, I'm pretty sure I need to reread Speak soon.

Speaking of Speak (which is published by Speak), Catalyst actually takes place in the very same high school, and Melinda makes a brief appearance. The Melinda here seems pretty happy and is still doing show more her art. Yay! Of course, she was only in for a page, but, hey, it was nice to see her and to get the sense that she's actually recovered. I really love when authors reference previous works.



Laurie Halse Anderson's writing makes me want to spin around Julie Andrews style because of how freaking wonderful it is. Seriously, if I had to quantify my favorite writing style, it would be one that is dark, funny, and dripping with wit. Her writing here fits in perfectly with John Green's and A.S. King's, in the category of writing so good that it kind of makes me never want to write anything, since I can never be that good at putting things into words.

Of course, Anderson does not merely excel at writing. She backs it up with characterization. Kate Malone bursts with personality. She has both teenage hubris and insecurity in spades. Her voice is powerful and acerbic. A pastor's daughter, she has developed a dichotomy within herself of how she's supposed to act and all the things she wants to say: Good Kate and Bad Kate. While this technique can be awful when done wrong, Anderson used it effectively. It just fit Kate and her rigorous need to be perfect warring with her judgmental personality.

Kate loves math and science, dreams of attending MIT, her late mother's alma mater. She's done everything she can: earned the grades, taken the tests, filled her life with extracurriculars, excelled at a sport, volunteered at her father's church, and worked part-time at a pharmacy. She's a shoe-in, right? Well, she told herself that anyway when she decided to apply only to MIT and nowhere else...even when she wasn't accepted early decision.


With the letter, hopefully the fat one, from MIT due any day, Kate cannot sleep, spending most of every night running or performing household chores. The own stresses in her life are put into perspective by a larger tragedy that forces her into a relationship with her childhood tormenter, Teri Litch. The main detractor in the novel was that I felt like Kate forgave Teri much too easily and let her get away with too much. The whole time I kept yelling at her to get the watch and necklace (both with sentimental value) Teri stole from her back.

Another wonderful thing about this book: the romance. Unlike most YA, it's not about Kate's relationship, nor does it include a new love interest. She already has a boy, Mitchell, her former rival, who she argues with a lot less now that they spend quite a bit of time kissing. Also setting this book apart, Mitchell is not the kind of guy most girls would find attractive, but Kate still thinks he's hot, which was so cute and refreshing. Their relationship definitely reads like one that will not last long once they go to college, and it was so much more authentic than all of these soulmates confessing their love on a first date.

While I do think some of the plotting elements were a bit rushed, I loved this book for the characterization, the writing and for completely surprising me. Seriously, there was a twist I did not see coming at all. Anyway, Anderson is brilliant, in case you didn't know that already.

Find more of my reviews and other awesomeness at A Reader of Fictions. show less

This novel, a companion to Speak, was so much better than its predecessor; I'm glad I didn't give up on Halse Anderson. An overachieving science-geek senior deals with the fact that life can interfere with our best-laid plans.

I personally couldn't identify with the main characters, but I found their ideas, actions, and motivations to be fascinating. The difference between this and Speak is that it is less in-your-face with a message. In the end, I was not convinced that Kate made the best decision, and there are many possibilities of right/wrong, what works & what doesn't to explore, even at the end. A great tool for discussion, really.

Kate Malone, science and math geek, is about to have a nervous breakdown. All of her friends are receiving word back from their choice colleges, and she still waits for a single response from MIT. She can't sleep, eat; she runs in the middle of the night. She avoids the prodding questions from her pastor father. Then the neighbors down the hill are burned out of their house, and Kate is forced to share a room with the malevolent Teri Litch and her adorable toddler brother. Kate begins to realize her priorities may be a bit askew, and then everything gets impossibly worse.

This is a YA book, and the voice is clear from the very first page. Laurie Halse Anderson is a master at recreating that teenage angst and voice - so good, in fact, show more that I didn't even like Kate during the first part of the book. She's incredibly shallow, even compared to her nemesis, Teri. Of course, she matures during the course of the book, and even the awful Teri gains new dimensions. The ending did seem abrupt, though; I wish it had gone just a chapter more, just for a smidgen more resolution. I just couldn't relate to Kate much because she would have struck me as shallow and ridiculously immature even when I was a teenager. It's a decent book, but not a keeper. show less