Catalyst, Laurie Halse Anderson
Catalyst, Laurie Halse Anderson
1 Rating(s)
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Catalyst

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

Narrator: Samantha Mathis

Unabridged: 6 hr 1 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/01/2002


Synopsis

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 then, something happens that blows it all apart, and forces her to examine her life, self, and heart for the first time.

Set in the same community as the remarkable Speak, Catalyst is a novel that will make you think, laugh, cry, and rejoice-sometimes at the same time.

About The Author

Laurie Halse Anderson grew up in Syracuse, New York, and now lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two daughters. Her first novel, Speak, a Printz Honor and National Book Award finalist, is available on audio from Listening Library


Reviews

Goodreads review by karen on May 22, 2021

shrug. it's fine. is laurie halse anderson the jodi picoult of the YA set? is this a fair assessment?? jodi picoult's schtick is to just take whatever makes the headlines and structure a book around it. anderson's seems to be to take a teen problem and structure a book around it. (this is excluding h......more

Goodreads review by R.J. on January 16, 2009

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.......more

Goodreads review by ATheReader on January 29, 2021

This book was extremely bad (And don't get me started on how hideous the cover is on Goodreads. WHY DID THEY PUT AN EYE ON IT?). Catalyst is about straight-A student Kate who has always dreamed of going to MIT like her mother. She also takes care of her family, has a terrible sleeping schedule, and......more

Goodreads review by Maditales on November 01, 2022

The catalyst was my first book by Laurie Halse Anderson and I was terrified of reading it. This book was just okay not because of the plot but the length. The book has around 220 pages but it fully packed with so many different things as well as a lot of trauma. While reading the book everything was......more


Quotes

"Intelligently written with multi-dimensional characters that replay in one's mind, this complex, contemporary story carries much of the intensity and harshness of Speak. It confronts moral issues, religious conundrums, and the dynamics of emotions in young adult lives as two girls driven by the past and present realize their impact on the future."—Kirkus Reviews

"Anderson is a gifted writer who makes the complex worlds of teenage girls real to the reader, from the competitiveness and casual cruelty of high school to the wisecracks between friends to the families struggling to connect. Anything by this author is well worth reading." —KLIATT

“Anderson’s take on human relations succeeds through her fresh writing and exceptional characterizations."—The Horn Book


Awards

  • ALA Notable Book