The Barnes & Noble Review
Laurie Halse Anderson, the novelist who penned the New York Times bestseller Speak and Fever 1793, grips us again with this solid, piercing book about a high school senior looking toward her future and the dramatic events that ground her to the present.
Kate Malone has only one focus -- getting into MIT. She's a chemistry whiz at school, and her heart is set on being accepted into the college of her dreams, but unfortunately, it's the only school she's applied for. When her minister dad comes to school to deliver "the letter," however, MIT's rejection is the spark that throws Kate's world into a tailspin. For starters, Teri Litch -- the school's senior tough-girl -- her mom, and her brother all wind up living at Kate's house after their house burns down. Teri has a tendency to swipe Kate's belongings, do only what she likes, and act like she's entitled to the run of the house. Kate begins to break through Teri's hard exterior over a house-rebuilding bonding moment, though, but when a horrendous and sudden turn of events brings their world to a standstill, the two oppositely charged girls must come together, finding a common understanding and taking stock of what's truly important.
If you liked Speak, you'll be completely enthralled with this powerful tour de force that's just as tense and gut-wrenching. The book's two main energies -- Kate and Teri -- interact with each other with prickly nervous uncertainty and frustration, and readers will pay thoughtful attention to the differences between these two characters' life-changing catalysts. A remarkable work for older teens that will sink deeply into their minds -- and which even includes a cameo appearance by Melinda from Speak -- Catalyst has the riveting formula to be another hit. Shana Taylor
Publishers Weekly
Like its cross-country-running heroine, Anderson's (Speak) latest novel starts off promisingly, then loses its pacing about midway through. The narrator, 18-year-old Kate Malone, has placed all of her eggs in one basket: she has applied only to her late mother's alma mater, MIT. Calculus is a cinch, chemistry is her favorite subject, even physics comes easily to her, but when her MIT rejection arrives, it acts as catalyst for the slow unraveling of her delicately balanced life. A preacher's daughter, she struggles between "Good Kate" and "Bad Kate" as she singlehandedly keeps the household running (her mother died nine years ago). Anderson excels in conveying Kate's anxieties and her concomitant insomnia, and frequently intersperses evidence of Kate's sharp humor (she calls Mitchell A. Pangborn III "my friend, my enemy, my lust"). But Kate's relationships with others remain hazy. While this seems to reflect Kate's state of mind, since she slowly shuts everyone out as her MIT-less fate becomes clear, her detachment may create a similar effect for readers. This aloofness becomes most problematic in the dynamics of her relationship with Teri Litch, who once beat her up habitually. After Teri's house burns down, she and toddler Mikey Litch come to live with the Malones, and the action escalates to the point of melodrama. Yet another tragic event spurs a reconciliation between Kate and Teri, but the underlying changes in the individuals that lead up to this event remain unclear. Teens will take to Kate instantly, but as the novel continues, they may be confused about what makes her tick. Still, the universal obstacles she faces and the realistic outcome will likely hold readers' attention. Ages 12-up. (Sept.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
School Library Journal
Gr 10 Up-Kate Malone is a high school senior, an AP chemistry student, and a runner. She does her best running at night, when she outruns ghosts and can soar in the comfort of anonymity. Since her mother's death, she has taken care of her father (a minister) and her brother. She is waiting for acceptance to MIT, her mother's alma mater, and feels that her very life depends on it. Teri Litch, a typical school bully, punches her way through most situations and is filled with rage that threatens to affect everyone she encounters. When her house partially burns down, she and her little brother, Mikey, are invited by the reverend to move temporarily into his home. Teri's world is imposed upon Kate's as they become locked in some type of cataclysmic mix that alters both of their lives. Eventually readers discover that some of Teri's anger comes from being raped by her father and, when Mikey dies in a tragic accident, they learn that he was really her son. Anderson uses great chemical titles and subtitles for the short chapters. However, there is too much happening too fast and readers are left with many unanswered questions, and an ending that seems neat but unlikely. This title has a good premise and some moments of fine writing, but it lacks the depth of characterization that made Speak (Farrar, 1999) so compelling.-Lynn Bryant, Great Bridge Middle School, Chesapeake, VA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Newton's law proclaims to every action there's always an equal reaction. For Kate Malone, life is a matter of scientific exactness, except that she is driven by her obsession to get into MIT. The conflict between running her life with the preciseness of scientific equations (calculations) and the religious beliefs and blessings of her minister father separates her into Good Kate and Bad Kate. When the rejection letter arrives (and she's forced to admit she didn't apply to any back-up schools), both Kates begin a meltdown; the catalyst is a destructive fire of a classmate's house and barn. Teri, the senior-class toughie and bruiser with whom nobody messes, and her two-year-old brother, come to stay at Kate's house while a corps of volunteers rebuilds theirs. An already combative relationship between the girls builds even as Teri throws herself into the renovation project. A terrible tragedy will shock readers as much as it threatens to unravel the progress folks have made. The first-person voice is gripping, with the reader feeling as though she's crouching inside Kate's head. Numbered like an outline, 2.3, 7.0, the chapters are labeled with scientific terms and safety tips that anticipate the introspective reactions. 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 (2000). 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. (Fiction. YA)
