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Catalyst (novel)
Encyclopedia
Catalyst is a 2002 novel
by Laurie Halse Anderson
about a senior
named Kate Malone. It can be regarded as a sequel
to Speak
, as it has the same setting in Merryweather High School and a cameo appearance by Melinda Sordino
(the protagonist
in Speak), and it takes place a year after the events in Speak. Teenreads.com put Catalyst on its Ultimate Teen Reading List.
's daughter and high school
student who is excellent in chemistry
and aspires to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, faces multiple tragic situations ranging from rejection
by MIT to the fire of her neighbor Teri Litch at the end of her senior year. All of these become catalysts propelling self-centered, arrogant Kate to change. Throughout the novel Anderson makes extensive references to the periodic table of elements.
, an academically stellar senior and star track athlete. Her father is a minister and her mother, Colleen Malone is deceased.
Mitchell A. Pangborn III: Kate's boyfriend. He received an early admission to Harvard, his top college.
Teri Litch: Antithesis
of Kate Malone, a lonely kleptomaniac who is born into a poverty-stricken dysfunctional family
but is also a good mechanic.
Mikey Litch: Teri's two-year-old brother. His true parentage comes as a bit of a surprise later on in the novel.
Mrs. Litch: Teri's mother. She appears to be somewhat scatterbrained. She was hit in the head by her husband, leaving her a little mentally unstable.
Mr. Malone: Kate's father, a good-hearted minister. When the Litches' house was destroyed in a mysterious fire, he offered to let Teri and Mikey move in with his family—much to Kate's chagrin.
Toby Malone: Kate's fourteen-year-old brother.
Betty: An eccentric old woman, neighbor to the Litches and Malones. She claims she can see Jesus
in her television set. Teri's mother moves in with her after the fire.
Sara: Kate's best friend.
Travis: Sara's boyfriend.
Amanda Cummings: Kate's young chemistry teacher and mentor.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Laurie Halse Anderson
Laurie Halse Anderson
Laurie Halse Anderson is an American author who writes for children and young adults.-Career:...
about a senior
Twelfth grade
Twelfth grade or Senior year, or Grade Twelve, are the North American names for the final year of secondary school. In most countries students then graduate at age 17 or 18. In some countries, there is a thirteenth grade, while other countries do not have a 12th grade/year at all...
named Kate Malone. It can be regarded as a sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to Speak
Speak (novel)
Speak is a 1999 novel by Laurie Halse Anderson about a girl named Melinda Sordino who is an outcast as a high school freshman. It was made into a film of the same name in 2004. The novel was a New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestseller...
, as it has the same setting in Merryweather High School and a cameo appearance by Melinda Sordino
Melinda Sordino
Melinda Sordino is the main character and narrator of Laurie Halse Anderson's 1999 novel Speak. Her last name, Sordino, is an Italian word that can be translated as "mute" or "deaf."-Character:...
(the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
in Speak), and it takes place a year after the events in Speak. Teenreads.com put Catalyst on its Ultimate Teen Reading List.
Plot summary
Kate Malone, a PreacherPreacher
Preacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined...
's daughter and high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
student who is excellent in chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
and aspires to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, faces multiple tragic situations ranging from rejection
Rejection
The word "rejection" was first used in 1415. The original meaning was "to throw" or "to throw back".Rejection may mean:* Social rejection, in psychology, an interpersonal situation that occurs when a person or group of people exclude an individual from a social relationship* Transplant rejection,...
by MIT to the fire of her neighbor Teri Litch at the end of her senior year. All of these become catalysts propelling self-centered, arrogant Kate to change. Throughout the novel Anderson makes extensive references to the periodic table of elements.
Characters
Kate Malone: The protagonistProtagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
, an academically stellar senior and star track athlete. Her father is a minister and her mother, Colleen Malone is deceased.
Mitchell A. Pangborn III: Kate's boyfriend. He received an early admission to Harvard, his top college.
Teri Litch: Antithesis
Antithesis
Antithesis is a counter-proposition and denotes a direct contrast to the original proposition...
of Kate Malone, a lonely kleptomaniac who is born into a poverty-stricken dysfunctional family
Dysfunctional family
A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often abuse on the part of individual members occur continually and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such actions. Children sometimes grow up in such families with the understanding that such an arrangement is...
but is also a good mechanic.
Mikey Litch: Teri's two-year-old brother. His true parentage comes as a bit of a surprise later on in the novel.
Mrs. Litch: Teri's mother. She appears to be somewhat scatterbrained. She was hit in the head by her husband, leaving her a little mentally unstable.
Mr. Malone: Kate's father, a good-hearted minister. When the Litches' house was destroyed in a mysterious fire, he offered to let Teri and Mikey move in with his family—much to Kate's chagrin.
Toby Malone: Kate's fourteen-year-old brother.
Betty: An eccentric old woman, neighbor to the Litches and Malones. She claims she can see Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
in her television set. Teri's mother moves in with her after the fire.
Sara: Kate's best friend.
Travis: Sara's boyfriend.
Amanda Cummings: Kate's young chemistry teacher and mentor.