I don't think you can fully appreciate the YA genre if you haven't read Laurie Halse Anderson. She just gets how to write for teens. She doesn't BS and she definitely doesn't sugar-coat the issues that a lot of teens go through. For those of you who haven't heard of this fabulous author, you may have come across the novel Speak in your browses through the library or local bookstore. I actually haven't read that particular title because I think it takes quite a lot of emotional power to sit down and read books dealing with rape. I do intend to read that book but I just thought I'd start off with something smaller and lesser-known of her's. When a person I trust recommended Catalyst, I was sold. The premise seemed like something that would be really interesting.
Which brings me to...the actual premise of the book. Okay, for those of us who have gone through the process of applying to colleges, we know how incredibly stressful it is. It was so stressful for me that I mostly hid in my room senior year, huddled behind piles and piles of library books, refusing to see daylight and dealing with ANY of this college crap. More horrifying than the actual applying (which don't get me wrong, it sucks) is the waiting for your acceptance letters...or rejections. And it's this indecisiveness that puts most teenagers on edge. Am I going to get in? What if I don't get in? What in the world will I do? It's basically waiting for either the beginning of your life or the end of your world. And that wait is brutal. Trust me, I know. So, I was extremely excited to learn that Laurie Halse Anderson had chosen to write about this very stressful period in a teen's life.
Basically, the book is about a girl named Kate who has applied to her dream school--MIT. For those of you who are not familiar with it, it's a pretty prestigious school. It's also incredibly hard to get into. But, Kate is smart. She gets excellent grades. She places in local science fairs. She balances all that with a job in the pharmacy and running for her track team. So, for some reason, Kate decides to apply ONLY to MIT and have no back-ups because, well, she figures she doesn't need one. It seems like a great idea at the time, but when acceptance letters start to come in, Kate is not so sure if her great idea was so great after all. Because, God forbid, what if she doesn't get in?
This is just the basic premise of the book. There are so many more layers to the story, so many other characters with stories of their own in the book, and so many more aspects to Kate's personality that you'll discover while reading this novel. This is what makes Anderson such an incredible writer. She strips her language down to a strange simplicity but within that simplicity lies a complex mastery of language that few writers can pull off. This book is honest. So honest that it's brutal. You'll want to look away but you can't because you care about Kate, you care about her story.
However, as with most books, there are some flaws. Nobody's perfect. There came one point in the book (which I would say is a pivotal moment in the story) where I had to put the book down and throw up. It seriously disturbed me. It was one of the most emotionally scarring things I've read in a book and it just made me want to quit reading. I'm obviously not going to tell you what it is but I just want you to be prepared before you jump into this YA novel thinking these are just fun little high school problems you're reading about. If you go in thinking that, then boy are you in for a nasty surprise. Like I said, Ms. Anderson does not sugar-coat. Like, at all. For most of the book, this was a good thing. But in that moment, it just broke the barrier of reading about something horrific as opposed to actually experiencing something horrific. When I read that scene, I felt like I was actually witnessing this in real life. That was scary...and not the good kind of scary.
To sum it up, I think Laurie Halse Anderson is probably one of the most powerful writers I've come across in YA. She can navigate her way through themes, symbols, characters so effortlessly that you won't even notice her doing it. But, sometimes, you'll feel the brutal honesty wear you down and overwhelm you. So, come prepared with a box of tissues and a barf bag before you start reading this book. That being said, please DO read this book. It's absolutely worth it.
I give it a: 4/5 stars.
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