Another Book Review from Caterwaul

Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson. This has been rated one of the Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults by the ALA (American Library Association). Kate Malone is an excellent student (straight-A's), a great long-distance runner, and a responsible older sister (for her asthmatic brother) and daughter (preacher's kid). You get the feeling that she's been doing her "duties" well ever since her mother passed away when she was young. She plays hostess to church gatherings, and makes sure her brother takes his meds . . . but she is also an incurable insomniac, running miles and miles in the middle of her nights. She is worried about not getting into MIT because it's the only school to which she's applied, and she's worrried about not being able to escape her obligations at home. What she doesn't expect is that she'll have to share her room with her nemesis, Teri Litch, who lives in the farmhouse down the hill when the Litch home nearly goes down in flames. This healthy dose of reality causes Kate to find hidden depths in herself and others as she figures out how to deal with her own hidden feelings, and those of others. Well-written, this book flies by as you read it, and brings surprises, both good and bad, as you go. What I love about Anderson's characters is that they are thick with reality, not simply stock good and bad kids, but some of each in every one.

Reviewed by Caterwaul, our lovely librarian from Linden!