Author: John Green
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: September 21, 2006
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
"When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton's type happens to be girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact. He's also a washed-up child prodigy with ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a passion for anagrams, and an overweight, Judge Judy-obsessed best friend. Colin's on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which will predict the future of all relationships, transform him from a fading prodigy into a true genius, and finally win him the girl. Letting expectations go and allowing love in are at the heart of Colin's hilarious quest to find his missing piece and avenge dumpees everywhere."
I'm not a big fan of contemporaries but John Green is an exception. After I fell in love with Looking for Alaska I decided that I needed to read all of John Green's books. An Abundance of Katherines was not quite as good as Looking for Alaska but I still loved it.
An Abundance of Katherines is centered around a child prodigy grown up, named Colin, that has just been dumped by his girlfriend Katherine. That is not the only Katherine that Colin has dated though, he has dated 19 Katherines in total. While Colin is in the depths of despair his best friend, Hassan, suggests a road trip. The boys take off driving, not knowing where they are going and end up in a small town named Gutshot, Tennessee. I love the story of this book. Its not about Colin constantly pursuing a girl but rather discovering who he is and trying to cope with getting his heart broken.
An Abundance of Katherines has a very relatable cast of characters, well not the prodigy thing but we will ignore that. First we have Colin, who wants to be more than just a child prodigy. Just like any normal teenager Colin fears being alone, which tends to make him needy, which then tends to get him dumped. Its a vicious circle. Then there is Hassan, who is a hilarious jokester, all around lovable guy. Hassan is on the chubby side and doesn't do much in the ways of work, both of which make him insecure. He hides behind his wall of jokes. Lastly there is Lindsey, she is just your average teenage girl who wants to fit in. She seems to have the perfect life; a hot boyfriend, popular friends, and a rich mother. She's not happy though. I really loved the cast of characters. They made me laugh and I could see a bit of myself in all of them.
I loved the dynamics of all the characters together and the raw emotion that is shown by them all. John Green's stories make you think and that is one thing that I love about An Abundance of Katherines. I also found myself giggling and laughing-out-loud periodically throughout the novel and that is always a plus. I look forward to reading more John Green in the future.
