Catalyst

Kate Malone just got rejected by MIT. 

Kate is absolutely heartbroken. Just when she thinks things can’t get any worse, Kate’s arch-nemesis, Teri Litch, moves in with the Malone family. Kate and Teri are complete opposites of each other. While Kate is seen as the golden child, pastor’s daughter, Teri is the school outcast and daughter of a criminal. 

Kate and Teri have never spent any time together during their years as classmates. However, since Teri lost her home to a fire, they have been forced to share a room at the Malone household. Kate is struggling with the rejection from her dream college, and Teri is dealing with the loss of her family home. While their hardships are not the same, they bond over the hurt. As they work through both normal teenage problems and different forms of trauma, Kate and Teri gain empathy for one another. 

This story is told from Kate’s point of view, which allows the reader to connect with her struggles. Her determination to be seen as the perfect child drives her original prejudices against Teri. Because Kate divides her personality into two sectors – Good Kate and Bad Kate – the reader gets to watch her growth as a person. “Good Kate” refers to all of her accomplishments, while “Bad Kate” refers to her inner personality, where she is mean to others. This creates an interesting and relatable contradiction between her thoughts and actions. For example, she makes snap judgments about others, but she also volunteers at the soup kitchen. As Kate works at the soup kitchen, she labels the people walking in with names such as “ExecuDad” or “the (whisper) Catholics” or “divorcées.” She even claims that “there is always a divorcée or widow trying to get their claws into” her father.  

Kate has a strong personality, and Teri helps balance her out. They are complete opposites. Kate’s father is the community pastor, she has a solid group of friends, and she is well-loved in their community. On the other hand, Teri comes from a family with a bad reputation. Her father is in jail, her mother is disabled, and Teri has no plans for the future. Teri is first introduced as “the ugly girl, the one who smells funny, studies carpentry at vo-tech, stomps around with sawdust in her hair, and has fists like sledgehammers.” They both pretend not to care what others think about them, but deep down, they truly want others to see them as good people. After Kate and Teri have a big confrontation that ends with Teri crying, Kate thinks, “bonds are broken and the substance is reduced to its elements. Magic.” Kate realizes her bond with Teri had to be completely broken before they could see they were connected by their desire to be accepted. And that shared desire is too important to both Kate and Teri to lose. 

At first, Catalyst’s world feels a bit unrealistic because every kid in this town gets into a top college, except for Teri, who has experienced an unbelievable amount of trauma firsthand: bullying, sexual assault, arson, and loss of a loved one. Anderson uses Teri’s trauma to set a foundation that allows both Kate and the reader to understand Teri’s life. In addition, the exaggerated situations of the characters showcase the importance of empathy and self-love. When Teri and Kate spend a lot of time together, they struggle to get along. Kate describes everything about Teri’s stay as “inconvenient.” However, as Kate begins to learn about Teri’s struggles, and Teri starts to see Kate’s perspective, they become more understanding of each other. Kate and Teri’s vulnerable relationship allows readers to connect with them and teaches that we are all the same in that we are all desperate for approval. 

Sexual Content  

• Kate gets frustrated with her boyfriend, Mitch, for withholding sex. She claims that “Mitchell is very big on consequences, which explains his virginity. Mine, too, for that matter.” 
• Kate’s friends, Travis and Sara, are dating. They are constantly making out, so Kate comments, “they embrace and suck face in the French tradition. The ice under the pomegranates melts. I’m definitely buying them a carton of condoms for graduation.” 
• Kate and Mitch cuddle throughout the book. For example, Kate says, “his lap is very happy to see me” when she settles next to him. 

Violence  

• Teri gets into a fight with several high school football players who have been harassing her. When Teri retaliates, “the football team rises. Teri Litch walks over to them. It happens in slow motion, a ballet. Pas de duel. Teri lifts a thick history book and swings it in a wide arc until it smashes into the mouth of Art Smith, defensive tackle. Art flies backward. A tooth sails over the team and lands near the door.” The scene ends with both the football players and Teri being suspended from school.  
• Kate discovers that Mikey, whom she first assumed was Teri’s baby brother, is actually Teri’s son. Kate asks her dad, “Mikey’s father – it was Mr. Litch, wasn’t it?” Kate’s dad replies, “Quite possibly. Probably.” This indicates that Teri is a victim of sexual assault and incest. 
• After the fire, Teri is working to repair her family’s home when Mikey “died of a massive electrical shock.” This sends Teri into a spiral, and she destroys what is left of her house. “A paint can flies through the last intact window of the playroom. The sound of exploding glass makes me flinch and stomp on the gas. Bert shoots backwards and the can bounces off the top of the windshield on the passenger side. It tips and pours red paint everywhere.” 
• When Mr. Malone and Teri begin working to make funeral arrangements for Mikey, Mr. Malone mentions that all the costs were taken care of by anonymous donors. When Kate overhears this, she asks herself, “Why do these generous mystery donors always wait until a kid dies before they show up? Where were they when Teri’s father was coming into her bedroom and beating the crap out of her mother?”  

Drugs and Alcohol  

• None

Language    

• Profanity is used occasionally, including bitch, damn, fuck and shit.  
• Instead of using profanity, Kate says, “I mutter forbidden gerunds. (You know, the words ending in ‘ing’? The -ings that we’re not supposed to say? Don’t ask me why, none of it makes sense.” 

Supernatural  

• None 

Spiritual Content  

• Mr. Malone, Kate’s dad, is a pastor, and Kate works with the church. There isn’t much discussion about religion as a belief system, but the church is a center of community. 
• At church, an older woman tells Kate, “I think you should marry [your boyfriend, Mitch], Kate. Jesus would approve.”  

by Allison Penski