The Catalyst by Helena Coggan

Title: The Catalyst
Author: Helena Coggan
Published: 19th February 2015
Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton

Review
Upon hearing that The Catalyst was written by a 15 year old girl, I knew I just had to read it to find out what all the fuss was about. I went into this with an open mind- no expectations; good or bad, I was merely just very intrigued to read the story that Helena had written and had published at such a young age.
The story that Helena gives us is actually pretty brilliant. After only reading 50 pages, I knew she was one talented lady and more than deserved her two-book deal. The Catalyst was a gripping and surprisingly quick read. It is action-packed and not once are you left feeling bored or waiting for something to happen. What Helena brilliantly manages to create is suspense. There is always that need to keep turning the pages and find out what will happen. Rose's secret is a main focus of the story and that manages to give it that edge as there is always the fear that she will get found out.
Rose as the protagonist comes across a lot older than her 15 years and has some brilliant, aspirational character traits. She's independent, sassy and not one to get pushed around. She is easy to like and you will 100% be on her side.
I must admit to one teeny expectation- the language and descriptions, I assumed that they would be superfluous and complicated, as to get a book deal so young, I thought this would be the type of language used to impress, but I was very wrong. The descriptions and language are simple but highly effective. The author uses the exact words needed to make an impact, and this definitely helped with my enjoyment and quick reading of the story. As well as this everything is explained perfectly, so I was quickly absorbed in amongst the pages. 
The only slight criticism I have of this is that towards the end, the writing and dialogue seemed to jump about and was a little quick. I would have to re-read bits to establish what had happened. As said though, this was only towards the end and it still didn't deter from my enjoyment of the story.
Overall a truly brilliant, gripping and suspenseful read. I am looking forward to reading more from Helena.