Catalyst

I love Laurie Halse Anderson - who doesn't!!  I haven't read all of her books, but I hope to get through the few I haven't read soon.  Catalyst, like her other books, was real and gripping.  It wasn't at all what I expected, but it was great.

It's about a senior in high school, Kate Malone.  Kate is one of the top students in her class, takes AP courses, and hopes to get into MIT (she really hopes she does because it's the only school to which she's applied...but no one knows that but her....).  Her dad's a preacher and she does not share his views, but takes care of him and her brother and their home.  She runs, runs, runs, too.  Especially when she can't sleep.

Kate's life consists of doing her duties everywhere:  home, school, work...but that pattern and organized life is completely turned upside down when one of her enemies at school, Teri Litch, ends up moving in with Kate and her family after Teri's family's house burns.  Needless to say, Kate doesn't want Teri and little Mikey living with them, but there's nothing she can do.  Teri made life awful for Kate when they were younger, and she doesn't seem interested in being any different this time around.  What happens because of the move in, though, is unexpected and crazy.

Kate was a great narrator.  I found her completely honest.  She is a great student, but there are many weaknesses in her that she admits to as well.  The book moved quickly for me, and though it didn't go the direction I expected it to, I was still pleased.  I wanted a little more resolution than I got.  I was satisfied with the ending, but wanted just a little more.  Like many of Anderson's other books, this one shows real inner struggle.  You feel for the characters and see life from a new point of view because of this book.  A good read.

You

I read about this one on Reading Rants and couldn't wait to get a hold of it, so when my husband saw the ARC at his work, I was really pumped.

You is about a young teenager named Kyle Chase.  He's a sophomore at Midlands High School, though if he had worked harder and gotten better grades (which he was certainly capable of) he could have been at Odyssey High (the "better, smarter" high school) with his old friends.  But he isn't there, the choices he's made have gotten him to Midlands with his friends.  Well, they are the guys he hangs out with.  Kyle doesn't even really like them all that much, but it's who's there.  Their group is called the "hoodies" because they all wear black hoodies.  They are just kind of loners and losers in a way, drinking warm beers at the park after hours, hanging out in front of the seven-eleven at night.  Kyle's lost touch with his old friends and his parents.  His parents are always bugging him to look better, get a job, do his homework and on and on and on....

So the catch is that the book starts with blood.  It's written in second person (you) and so Benoit takes you - the reader - on Kyle's journey.  The first lines get you hooked and you just have to know how Kyle ended up at this place:

You're surprised at all the blood.
He looks over at you, eyes wide, mouth dropping open, his face almost as white as his shirt.
He's surprised, too.

After this, the write takes you back to the beginning of the year and you get to walk with Kyle through his experiences.  A lot of what Kyle experiences is normal stuff, but sad.  His friends aren't that great.   He knows he isn't doing well in school but has stopped caring.  The lessons the teachers teach are stupid and really smart kids like Kyle are bored  to death.  He gets in trouble for things he doesn't do.  He can't find the courage to tell the girl he likes how he feels about her....high school.  Then a new kid shows up, Zack, and things get shaken up a bit.

This book was great.  I really wanted to just read through and through to see what happened and to get back to the beginning with all the blood.  I think all students will like this book, especially guys.  I think it's honest and scary and real.  A great read.  It comes out at the end of August/beginning of Sept.  and is a must read.  I am excited to add this one to my classroom library.