Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson

Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson is a book of teenage angst and the pressure to be perfect. When 18 year old Kate Malone is rejected from the only school to which she applied her world is suddenly turned upside down. Kate is the ideal teenager; a gifted student, an avid runner and huge asset to her cross country team, a caring sister, and a wonderful daughter. As the daughter of the widowed Reverend Malone, Kate sort of unwillingly assumed this role of the perfect kid. Although inside she felt far from perfect and resented the very person she had become. Kate applied to MIT with no doubt that she would be accepted; she had no other option seeing as it was the only college she applied to. But to Kate this was more than just a college, it was the last connection she had to her mom who had attended MIT and died a few years back. In place of the long awaited acceptance letter Kate is instead rejected, and when mixed with her severe insomnia and anxiety she finds herself in a vicious downward spiral. Kate keeps the burden of her denial a secret from everyone, she is forced to share a room with a neighbor whose house burnt down, and she looses someone very close to her. As her life becomes more and more out of control she begins to lose grip and falls into an emotional meltdown. The book unfortunately is somewhat unresolved with Kate simply taking a year off from school, but without a resolute ending you come to find that in reality there is no quick fix, no immediate happy ending which I feel is just what Anderson was trying to convey. The raw power behind Laurie Halse Anderson’s novels are what not only makes them unique but what makes them great. Catalyst is a beautifully written testament to what is not only expected of teenagers by parents, friends, and teachers but what we teenagers expect of ourselves. We are told throughout our entire lives to reach for the stars and that if you work hard enough, anything is attainable. Does that mean if we work hard enough perfection is potentially attainable? Unfortunately Kate Malone comes to find that the more she tries to obtain perfection the more she lets herself spiral out of control. Anderson has a refreshingly realistic take on the conflicts that consume the characters in her books. Her use of modern dialogue also makes the text fun and relatable to the reader, especially young adults. The scientific twists on concepts in the book were both entertaining and interesting, and show that Anderson had done thorough research prior to writing this novel. The suspense keeps you guessing but the struggle and strife are what in my opinion make this book great. Laurie Halse Anderson is a truly beautiful writer and I look forward to reading her other books.