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Audience Pick!

Title: Catalyst
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Category: Fiction, Young Adult
Rating: 4.5/5
Why I Read It: Because you told me to!

Summary: High school senior Kate is at the top of her class. She could attend just about any school, but it’s MIT she wants. All that matters is getting that acceptance package, but that’s okay because Kate’s got everything under control. After a fire in her neighborhood, Kate’s father the reverend opens up their house—more specifically Kate’s room—to the one girl from school she can’t stand, and suddenly Kate’s not so in control anymore.

Review: LHA hit the overachieving nail on the head with Kate’s character. This woman can WRITE. On just about every page of this book, I found myself marveling at a turn of phrase. Case in point:

I shiver and hustle to my sad excuse of a motor vehicle, a Yugo named Bert.

I usually drive to school on autopilot. Not today—leaving late has landed me smack in the middle of rush-hour traffic. This is bad. Bert fears traffic. Bert is a wuss, a tissue box on tires with a bulimic hunger for motor oil. I pet the dashboard as I turn onto the main road, and promise him a filter change if he can get me to school without overheating.

I was completely and utterly in love with this book…until one plot point threw me out of the story world because it affected me so much. I don’t want to give spoilers, but does anyone who’s read this know what I mean? Maybe it’s just me.

Even so, I loved this book, and I think you will too.

Borrow: Your local library | Swap
Buy: Your local bookstore | Powell’s | Amazon

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