Catalyst by S. J. Kincaid

       In the book Catalyst by S. J. Kincaid, major corporations have taken control of everything. They're in control of everything from the skyboards (advertisements suspended in the sky almost everywhere) to water. The world has also been divided into two major alliances. The Indo-American alliance and the Russo-Chinese alliance. Set in a future where the wars aren't fought on land with soldiers, but instead in space by 'remote control' of ships and drones. The people in charge of these ships just so happen to be teenagers. Not just teenagers, but teenagers with specialized computers called neural processors, surgically implanted in their brains. With these, they have access to a secure network in which they can control the drones in real-time. The teenagers are chosen specifically and sent to train at the Pentagonal Spire. The main character, Tom Raines, was chosen because of his skills with computers and gaming. After promotions take place all the teens are sent back to their families for a short break. When he returns to the spire there's new management and the spire seems more like a military base than a high school. There are strict new rules and Tom and his friends hate it and miss the way  it used to be. After finding out about a new kind of neural processor and the danger that could accompany them, Tom has to make some difficult decisions. Decisions that could lead to his death.
     S. J. Kincaid creates suspense by letting the readers in on all of Tom’s thoughts, and only Tom’s thoughts. Any time Tom is even mildly worried about anything, we know. That, in turn, causes us to worry along with Tom. We also only know the things Tom knows, which leaves us wondering about what’s happening elsewhere. Tom is in a special school so we have very little knowledge of what's happening outside of the school, besides the times he is able to leave to visit his father. “’Guess you haven’t heard much about this in the Spire, huh?” Neil said, chuckling over his drink. “It happened right before you came back”’ (86).

       Another way S. J. Kincaid creates suspense is by creating separation between Tom and the goal he’s trying to accomplish. Tom is miles away, hundreds of thousands of miles away to be exact, from everything he needs to accomplish. He is physically unable to reach a place where he’s able to accomplish anything. He is also isolated. There’s no one with him and there’s only one person who knows where he is. (Not a good person, I might add.) “He was far away from everything, everyone. Without the internet, Medusa couldn’t find him. If Vengerov was the only one who knew where he was, the only one, then he wasn’t getting found. Not ever” (3817).  Here, he’s constantly in danger. He’s completely at the mercy of Joseph Vengerov and there’s nothing he can do to change that. We have no idea what’s going to happen next, because we have no idea what can happen next.