Catalyst

Kate Malone is a straight A Science student, gifted runner, and, following the death of her mother, the lynchpin of family life for her father and brother. Her life is composed of building blocks - one placed carefully on the other, the structure holding together despite its exaggerated mass. Then a series of events occurs which topples the edifice - she is rejected by the only college she wants to attend, she breaks up with her boyfriend and one of the most loathed of her fellow students - Teri Litch - and her baby brother Mikey come to live with the Malones after a fire damages their own home. When Mikey dies in an accident the tragedy reveals deep-seated trauma: he is really Teri's son, born of her father's sexual abuse. These events provide the catalyst of the title, forcing Kate to decompartmentalise her life and so precipitating her into much-needed change and to accept previously unthinkable alternatives. This flux and subsequent transformation are signalled by the section titles and the chapter headings - neat references both to Kate's prowess in Science and the process of change which she undergoes. In helping Teri to rebuild her shattered life and in releasing herself from the relentless treadmill of her own existence, Kate gains the physical and emotional space which she never dared to allow herself in order to come to terms with her problems.