Book Review: Catalyst

Title: Catalyst

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

Published: 2002, Penguin Books

Rating: 4/5

Kate Malone has two personalities: good Kate and bad Kate. On the outside she is the smiling, hardworking daughter of a minister who sees to her family’s needs in place of her dead mother. Then there is bad Kate on the inside, the one who views her world partly as a nuisance and herself as a slight bitch. Kate is sure she is going to get into MIT and that her world is smooth sailing after she gets an acceptance letter.

Yeah, right.

The Litchs’ house burns down and Kate is forced to share her room with her childhood nemesis and Teri’s baby brother, Mikey. Unbeknownst to the football players and cheerleaders who heckle Teri, her life has been a living hell. Carefully hidden in her private world, Teri has shouldered more hurt and responsibility than all the 4,000 + students in her school.

Good Kate and bad Kate melt into one as her relationship with Teri evolves and she learns the truth about Mikey's parentage. 

Anderson's sarcastic and quirky style created yet another fantastic novel. With realistic teen struggles, young readers will be able to identify with Anderson’s characters. Although, they may like to seem invincible, all adolescents know, they are riddled with faults like any other human.  

Book Review: Horse Tales from Heaven

Title: Horse Tales from Heaven

Author: Rebecca E. Ondov

Published: 2010 Harvest House Publishers

Rating: 5/5

In this memoir written through a collection of short stories, Ondov shares her life working with horses and humans on pack trips. Ondav’s memoir is also a devotional work of art as well where her relationship with god manifests through her relationship with horses. Her rich descriptions ground the reader in the breathless landscape of the west. Strong images will form in the readers’ minds as they see a foal born and another horse tragically die from an accident. This is one of those rare books where after every chapter, the reader is forced to sit and reflect upon their own life. This novel is a must read for anyone who honestly believes horses have changed their spirit and relationship with god.

Personal Side Story: I read this novel on my way home on the airplane from LA after my interview. Although I am not Christian, I understood Ondav’s relationship with God and how she often felt him around her when she was with horses. As a spiritual person, I believe horses have always influenced my life and helped mold who I am. Stories about horses made me want to be a writer. Being a writer makes me want to explore the world of horses and everything connected to them for the rest of my life. This makes me want to write about them. This is one of the many reasons I am determined to go to Japan and experience the culture and the horses. While I feel prepared to teach English and face the challenges of being a gaijin (foreigner), I am not sure if I feel prepared to write the novels. Why? I am not sure if I can do justice to the spirit of the horse sometimes in my writing. All I can hope is some of my future non-horsey readers will come to respect the horse through my writing.