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Catalyst
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Catalyst
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Catalyst
Audiobook6 hours

Catalyst

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

Meet Kate Malone-straight A science and math geek, minister's daughter, ace long-distance runner, unwilling family caretaker, emotional avoidance champion. Kate manages her life by compartmentalizing it, not unlike the periodic table. She can handle anything-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, Flo Litch, and Flo's adorable, troublemaking little brother. Kate's ex-boyfriend keeps trying to get back together. And she gets rejected from the only college she has applied to: MIT. Kate's life is less and less under control-and then, something happens that truly blows it all apart.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateOct 1, 2002
ISBN9780807209417
Unavailable
Catalyst
Author

Laurie Halse Anderson

Laurie Halse Anderson is the New York Times-bestselling author of many award-winning books including the groundbreaking modern classic Speak, a National Book Award finalist which has sold over 3.5 million copies and been translated into 35 languages. In 2023, Anderson was named the laureate of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, which is given annually to authors, illustrators, oral storytellers, and reading promoters "for their outstanding contribution to children's and young adult literature." In 2009, Anderson was selected by the American Library Association for the Margaret A. Edwards Award for her "significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature." A passionate spokesperson for the need to combat censorship and promote diversity in publishing, she has been honored for her battles for intellectual freedom by the National Coalition Against Censorship and the National Council of Teachers of English. Mother of four, grandmother of dragons, and wife of one, she lives in Pennsylvania.

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Reviews for Catalyst

Rating: 3.680938758029979 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    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 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.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This story was so true-to-life. It made me remember my senior year of high school and the stress of trying to get into college. Although the MC certainly had a lot more on her plate than I did at the time. With realistic characters and an engaging plot, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I'm not a big fan of contemporary YA, but Laurie Halse Anderson is my exception to that. If you read YA, you should read this book.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    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. 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.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Kate Malone -- who makes an attractive narrator -- is in her final year of high school and awaiting a reply from the only college to which she has replied, M.I.T.; her boyfriend has already been accepted for Harvard. Everything seems ti be going just fine until the Malones' ne'er-do-well neighbours' house burns down and the Malones take in the luckless family -- one of whom just happens to be the seemingly near-retarded girl whose main hobby is bullying Kate at school; won't the two girls have fun sharing a bedroom? the adults gush. Everything begins to fall apart fast for Kate . . . but when everything finally resolves itself she finds she's a far better, less self-absorbed person than she could ever have imagined. A highly engaging coming-of-age novel.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Catalyst tells the story of Kate Malone, a minister's daughter and high school senior, who excels in chemistry and hopes to attend MIT after graduation. Katie's life takes unexpected twists and turns, and she finds herself losing control.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    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.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A beautiful yet saddening book about the life of an18 year old girl. All she wants is to go to her dream college MIT and get away from her minister father.Since her mother died Kate has been the responsible person in her house, taking care of her father and younger brother. She does great in school and has a high GPA. She has applied to only one college MIT, sure she will get in. When the neighbors house burns down and the small family moves into Kate's house, her whole perspective on life changes. Then tragedy strikes.Slightly depressing but hopeful too. A good book all around.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This book deals with some heavy-duty subjects including incest and death. The voices of Kate, good and bad, speak to the struggles that all teens experience.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Not as good as Speak but still very good. In some ways it's a very realistic portrayal of the stresses over-achievers pile on themselves, and the eventual crash-and-burn when things fall apart. Kate's deferment and eventual rejection from MIT are basis enough for Kate's world to fall apart, but when her neighbors' house burns down and they move in with Kate's family, naturally things are going to get even rougher. Kate and Teri don't get along at the best of times, and then more and more bad stuff just keeps happening.

    There's a certain point where it all just seems too much, and I don't just mean "the characters are starting to crack under the strain"--I mean that it's too many things heaped into one novel. Ultimately, it works, but it's so close to tipping that balance that I can't justify five stars for it.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I love Laurie Halse Anderson's writing style but this book left me feeling incomplete and wronged. I'm curious if I would feel the same way during a re-read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Straight-A high school senior Kate Malone is on the brink of a chemical eruption as she awaits her acceptance letter from MIT (the only school she applied to) to arrive. On the outside, Kate is the perfect girl-- since her mother's death years before, she has been the homemaker for her preacher father and asthmatic younger brother, Toby, a model student who excels in math and chemistry, and a cross-country running star. But on the inside, she struggles constantly between "Good Kate" and "Bad Kate." Kate's tenuous balance begins to disintegrate when her childhood bully and neighbor, Teri Litch, and her toddler brother Mikey move in after a fire, and further so when she receives the thin envelope from MIT. A shocking tragedy unites the two girls in ways they would never have imagined. The formatting follows that of a chemical reaction, moving from "Solid" to "Liquid" to "Gas" as the reader follows Kate's breakdown. Anderson's stunning first-person narrative will allow teens to recognize and immediately identify with Kate's constant uncertainty. Strongly recommended for Gr. 9-12.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    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 happen like a string of chemical reactions: first, the Malone's neigbors 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 by and she's still waiting to hear from the only college where she's applied: MIT. kate feels that her life is spinning out of control--and then, something occurs that truly blows it all apart.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I thought that the story had reached it most saddest point and was heading to a resolution when "the thing" happens. (I should have known as it is typical LHA.) It was very sad reading during a stretch of the summer with sad events in real life too. This is a great book, though, that I would highly recommend for other teen parents.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Kate Malone is one of the two top students in her senior class. Her boyfriend, Mitch, is the other. Kate is so sure she will be accepted to MIT, that she doesn't apply to any other college. Here mother is dead and she lives with her minister-father and her younger brother, Robbie. Kate is driven to be the best person she can be...best student, best runner, best at taking care of her family...and the stress is beginning to affect her. Then two things happen: She receives word from MIT that she has NOT been accepted and her father invites the Litch family to live with them when the Litch's home burns down. Teri Litch is the same age as Kate, but they have been enemies ever since grade school. Teri is the school troublemaker and is the total opposite of Kate and her Type-A personality. Kate must learn how to cope with the problems that life gives her and how to tell what to give up when the stress becomes too much.Anderson has created another book for teens that accurately depicts the lifestyle and pressures teens face today. It's fascinating to watch the developing relationship between Kate and Teri as they both cope with their own pressures and end up helping each other. Highly recommended.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I really enjoyed this book. The narrator was witty but painfully realistic. Everything about this book was real and gritty. Some of the lines were just perfection. I can't think of any more words to describe this book because I loved it so much. Laurie Halse Anderson will always be one of my favorite authors.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    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, 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.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Kate Malone is a popular, straight A student who commits the cardinal sin of applying to only one college. The traditional way is to apply to a few safety collages, but all she wants is to go to MIT. She spends her time when not in school looking after her dad after her mother died and running. Running is what clears her head and she muses between Bad Kate and Good Kate (her conscience).Their neighbours house burns down one day. The mother is unwell, her husband used to beat her up and one shot to the head has left her permanently damaged. Her daughter and son move in with the Mallones and Kate has to give her bedroom to her nemisis Teri Litch as well as her annoying little brother. After spending some time with them Kate begins to love little Mikey, but when tradgey hits in a string of three events Kate's world is completely turned upside down. One thing I loved about this was that all the chapter headings were names after chemistry terminology. Being a biochemist I lapped this up! It is set in the same school as Speak with another troubled teen and just as gripping a plot. I didn't see all of the twists coming and two in particular were quite shocking. If you liekd Speak, then this is definitely for you.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Although there was some moments in the novel that were interesting enough to hold my attention the majority of the book i was quite bored and irritated out of my mind. The main character is irrational and as much as she tried to prove otherwise quite selfish to the people who care about her ( for example Mitch). I wouldn't recommend this book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book is a work of terrible genius, but I can't go into too much detail because it will break me. Suffice it to say that it's brilliant and that it completely blindsided me and wrecked me emotionally in a way that no other book I've read has ever done.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I enjoy this book, even though the main character and I are nothing alike. She enjoys running to clear her mind and focus her thoughts and thinks of everything in terms of science, molecules, and theorems. Not much I can relate to there, but she's a solid character and there is a lot for her to deal with in this book and a lot of room to grow as a person. Her relationship with Teri Litch is great and real. They hate each other to begin with but the love of a child and a terrible tragedy help bring them together. Teri can use Kate's help, that's clear, but you come to realize that Kate has a lot to learn from Teri as well.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I picked this up at a used bookstore on a whim. I read it in one sitting. It is a coming of age story that doesn't pull any punches. What I liked best was that it is gripping and haunting without pulling in any of the shocking horrors of youth. Kate isn't a drug-user or promiscuous. She is just a teen growing up and making mistakes, and best of it, learning to see the world a little differently.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Kate is obsessed with two things; cross country and MIT. A chemistry honors student and unsatisfied daughter of a preacher, Kate dreams of getting out. But a house burns down in the community, classmate Teri and her little brother Mikey come to live with Kate. Can Teri and Mikey tear Kate away from her distructive obsessions? Not quite as good as Anderson's other novels but strong characterization still makes this a gripping read.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    This girl who is in 12th grade and wants to go to MIT (thats was the only school she applied to)
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    No matter how unhappy you are - look around and you will find someone who has it worse.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I picked this up at a used bookstore on a whim. I read it in one sitting. It is a coming of age story that doesn't pull any punches. What I liked best was that it is gripping and haunting without pulling in any of the shocking horrors of youth. Kate isn't a drug-user or promiscuous. She is just a teen growing up and making mistakes, and best of it, learning to see the world a little differently.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Kate, on the outside, is slightly better than your average teen. A science genius, star track runner, and Reverend's daughter, she's always around to help, to excel, to win. But when she's rejected from MIT -- the only college she applied to! -- and the house of the local "white trash" family burns down, her life takes a radical turn. Her father, kind-hearted as he is, forces Kate to bunk with Teri, another senior and borderline criminal. I didn't like this book as much as I liked Speak, also by Ms. Anderson. This book didn't capture my interest in the same way, and I know that if I had put it down for any length of time, I never would have picked it up. The main problem was Kate -- she is a character that is hard to like, and impossible to identify with. The book itself is well-written, but when you want to slap the narrator on a continual basis for her own arrogance, stupidity, and elitism -- well, it makes it hard reading.I suppose that's why her "redemption" by Teri is so important. The problem is, I just didn't buy it. Yes, people (and characters) can change, but (unlike Speak) I never really saw the changing process. It was there, but it seemed forced. Annoyingly so.On the other hand, I may just be being hard on this BECAUSE of how much I enjoyed the first one. Speak is a tough act to follow, and my expectations were a little too high.Bonus: Melinda appears in this book, if only for a few pages. THAT is character change -- not only is Melinda finally speaking, and participating in a school thing (art project!) but she goes out of her way to speak to Kate, to reach out and find out if she is alright. Go Melinda!One day, I'll reread this book. Just not soon.