Climax

Although a series of unfortunate events (harhar) have been happening one after another throughout this novel, the climax would have to be when Mikey was killed. Mikey, Teri's younger brother, was playing in his new house when he was accidentally electrocuted. Teri is SO devastated by this; "She howls louder than an ambulance, louder than a thousand screaming crows, eyes rolled back in her head so she doesn't have to watch the worst of everything, this end." pg 154. Her reaction breaks down the "tough girl who doesn't have feeling for anyone/anything" image that she masked herself with for so long. Mikey was the one person Teri really, truly cared about.


At this point in the book, the reader finds out a lot of things. First, Mikey was actually Teri's SON. I'm guessing it was her father's doing since he seems like the only character that has been introduced to the reader so far that would do such a thing. It also reveals how Kate's thinking about Teri has changed. Before Teri moved into her house, Kate only knew the outcast Teri who did mean things to her when they were younger. But now, Kate knows what Teri has had to deal with at home and understands why she put a barrier up so people couldn't get through. Kate wants to protect Teri: "I hold her shoulders, slippery, desperate, to keep her from crashing." pg. 154

A character worth examining

A character I didn't mention in my last post is a girl called Teri. Teri is your average outcast who doesn't have any friends. She has a mother who is blind and a little brother. She's a tall, big girl who uses violence to protect herself from the bullies. Kate does not really like her because Teri always bullied her in elementary school. But she's forced to be hospitable toward Teri and let her be a guest in her house when Teri's house is burned down.
Teri has a shield up when she is with people. She's automatically rude and doesn't want to open up. This is also because of the things she has gone through in her life.
Teri and Kate don't get along because both have a prejudice of the other. Kate thinks Teri is just a mean person who doesn't care about anyone else and who isn't worth her time (she'd rather spend time coming up with a plan to get into MIT). Teri thinks Kate looks down on her and bullies her around.
I predict by the end of the novel, they are going to find out they're more similar than they realize and will get along.

Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson

The story is so far very interesting, which is good because I hate it when books only get interesting in the last thirty pages. It's about Kate Malone, a senior in high school whose dream is to be accepted into MIT. She's an over achiever; she took AP courses in science and math, scored well on the math SAT, and is on the track team. Kate has two family members. Her dad is a pastor and her younger brother is a perverted fourteen year old. Her mother died when she was in fourth grade, and according to Kate, she isn't really saddened by her mother's death because she died when she was little. Her mother graduated from MIT. Although it doesn't say much so far, I think that Kate does miss her mother and wants to follow in her footsteps. She has a boyfriend named Mitch, a best friend named Sarah (who also has a boyfriend). Her life suddenly takes a quick turn with the occurring of several events, one of the first being the rejection from MIT.
I think this book can be a good way to see how human psychology works. Kate is so obssessed with MIT and confident about being admitted that she reacts unrealistically to the results. A normal student would be sad, but admit the reality of the situation and try to move on. Kate thinks they've made a mistake and comes up with a plan to plead her way into MIT if they haven't made a mistake.
The story is interesting so far, but I think it's kind of obvious. Kate was obviously going to be rejected (to create a story) and I think in the end she's going to learn to move on.