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.
No comments:
Post a Comment