An Abundance of Katherines

Attention, geeks, dweebs, and pasty effete intellectuals: This lovely young adult novel is for us. My inner nerd is met and mirrored in this very enjoyable coming of chronological age novel. Speaking to the fears many smart young things experience, it also shows the (stumbling, awkward) progression to, well, being a big old nerd and a more or less serviceable young adult. It's got everything you need: Relationships plotted on the ordinate and abscissa, word play, Quranically-driven discourse, Archduke Ferdinand, and, as promised, an abundance of Katherines.

Colin Singleton is struggling with his lack of genius. As a child prodigy rapidly approaching adulthood, he's in danger of outliving what has always made him special. So many child prodigies spark early and then fade away into normalcy never having accomplished anything remarkable enough to earn the title of genius. The only thing special he can lay claim to is having been dumped. Being dumped is something Colin is extremely proficient at, in fact, he just got dumped again. Colin has been dumped nineteen times by girls named Katherine.

"But monotony doesn't make for painlessness. In the first century CE, Roman authorities punished St. Appollonia by crushing her teeth one by one with pliers. Colin often thought about this in relationship show more to the monotony of dumping: we have thirty two teeth. After a while, having each tooth individually destroyed probably gets repetitive, even dull. But it never stops hurting."

True to John Green form, this story is dripping with wit, originality, nonsense and a lot of stone cold reality. It's beautiful enough to make you appreciate math. Yes, math. Using his nineteen failed relationships with Katherines, Colin has come up with a mathematical formula to determine the end of a relationship. He thinks that quite possibly, his formula could be a stroke of pure genius. More importantly, it's a great distraction from the fact that he's pretty much heartbroken. Colin, and the story are both instantly likeable. I loved every silly word of it.

“The problem exactly is that she dumped me. That I'm alone. Oh my God, I'm alone again. And not only that, but I'm a total failure in case you haven't noticed. I'm washed up. I'm former. Formerly the boyfriend of Katherine XIX. Formerly a prodigy. Formerly full of potential. Currently full of shit.”

That's pretty much becoming the norm with me and John Green. He writes something and I fall madly in love with it. Looking for Alaska, Will Grayson, Will Grayson- both were everything I could every want out of a story in entirely different ways. Where my last two Green reads were clearly tackling serious issues (and expertly done mind you) An Abundance of Katherines was a purely for fun read.

I feel confident claiming that this is one of those wonderful YA books that truly makes it impossible to not love YA. All the paranormal crap and silly vampire nonsense, it's just mindless entertainment that means absolutely nothing, but John Green's writing is a reminder of why I love YA stories, and stories in general. The way an author can manipulate language, twist words and recreate an already established world in such a new and exciting way, never ceases to amaze me. With YA you have the added element of possibility, of a completely open and limitless future that has even an old fart like me believing that the whole world is still out there waiting for me and it is going to be a great adventure. I'll read this book over and over again until it finally sinks in that I shouldn't try to grow up so fast. show less

This book is cute and quirky, with several laugh out loud parts! I wasn't expecting the silliness of this one......its definitely more casual and comical than Greens other books. The storyline is lighthearted and playful, and lacks the seriousness of his usual work.

Colin has an... somewhat asinine and unrealistic ....obsession with girls named Katherine. His relationship troubles lead them on a comical road trip where they meet ppl that end up being important to both boys. The cliff notes at the bottom of each page are a unique addition, and very entertaining.

Hassan is a blasts! Easily one of my new fave book characters!

This story is very obviously frivolous and supposed to be comedic and not taken seriously. I'm quite shocked at the show more critism of both the book and characters here. I think many are missing the blatant satire approach to teens Green took with this one.

Oh well, you can't please them all. My daughters and I appreciated the change of pace, and enjoyed it immensely!! show less

I am not a math lover - but I loved nearly everything in this book (Including the math, nerdy appendix).

Here's what I've come to love about John Green. He makes nerd look AMAZINGLY COOL. And I have to give him props for that. He also makes the most amazing heroes out of kids that.. well, they aren't exactly easy hero material.

An Abundance of Katherines is about Colin, a boy prodigy who dates only girls named Katherine, loves anagrams, and is pretty scared of not becoming a genius ... kinda. Basically, he wants to make his mark in the world, something I think everyone can agree with.

So after completing high school he sets out on a journey with his Muslim friend (who, by the way.. hilarious - yet again. Love the sidekicks in Green's show more books).

I cannot express how much this book tickled me, even with all of the math and the footnotes, which.. I admit, I kind of glazed over at times (with permission of the author of course!).

Highly recommended for teenagers who think that being cool means you have to conform to a certain mold, and for adults who want to read a fun, interesting novel. show less

Oh, John Green, he is so cute. He's so CUTE, and he wants you to know it.

As people told me I would, I liked this book more than I've liked anything else I've read by John Green... but that still wasn't so much. The problem for me, I think, is that everything Green does right (as measured by me) is completely negated by his excruciating, over-the-top, bottomless quirkiness, and that of his characters. I'm not sorry to see the end of self-absorbed, OCD Colin, his manic pixie dream girl brigade, or his token non-white-fatty-comic-relief buddy.

Also, I really need to say fuck, fuck, fuckfuckFUCK! If I ever hear the word "fug" again it will be too soon.

Which reminds me, one thing I can say for this book is that the audio version is show more outstanding. Many laugh-out-loud moments that had everything to do with comic timing on the part of the narrator. show less

So, I sort of have missed feelings about this book. I liked it more than I disliked it so for star power: it gets a 3.5 rating.

Let's start with what I liked.

PROS:

CHARACTERS: Well, I applaud to him because the characters were actually likable. At first, I wasn't a big fan of the three, but they sort of grew on me.
Let's start off with our little prodigy who doesn't know how to count, btw(we'll get to that later.)

COLIN SINGLETON: He's a child prodigy, which apparently it's totes different than a genius. Go figure. Anyway, at first I thought he was quite annoying. I'm so damn smart, look at me, spouting trivia like a volcano, and you're not smart enough for me. And then there's the whole Katherine, Katherine, Katherine, Katherine. But then show more I realized, wait, he's human. He's flawed. Yay! He's a definite character then. I really could relate to his whole mattering thing. I really could. One of my biggest fear is to be forgotten, and well, see, Colin and I could get along just fine. We could even date. Funny thing why I read this book--I've dated two Davids, and had this huge crush on this guy named David, and if we would've gone out, he would've been my third Davdi. I COULD BE LIKE COLIN, PEOPLE. But anyway, I love how he decides to tell Lindsey what's going on with TOC and he's sort of awkward in his own way and cute. And while it's so predictable, Colin and Lindsey will end up together, I was all like "awwww" when they did. Especially the cave scene.

LINDSEY LEE WELLS: John Green is often accused of having Manic Pixie Dream Girls as the character's love interest(and rightly so, because it's totes truth. Not reading Looking for Alaska or Paper Towns) but I have a feeling Lindsey is one of those few characters that are not MPDG. Sure, she brings out Colin out of his shell, but he does the same thing to her. Usually, MPDGs serve only to help the MC, in this case, the help is mutual and I appreciate that. She's a very sarcastic, if not patronizing character. I kinda like her, though. Her relationship with her mom is really interesting, and the town seems to care for her a lot, and she loves them town. It honestly almost broke my heart when she went back to see the old lady like she promised ;__;

HASAAN AND I CANNOT REMEMBER HIS LAST NAME: So, at first he annoyed me. He was the always-too-funny guy. His jokes started to grow on me. I wanted to resist his charm, but just like Katrina, I couldn't! He's a very cool guy, to be honest. And I love how he's always there for Colin and how he finally snaps and yells at Colin for being so self-centered all the goddamn time. I also don't see too many Arabic characters in YA, so he was a refreshing change.

The other characters were done well as well such as Hollis and Katrina. Except TOC, TOC felt too cartoonish to me.

PLOT: The plot was decent. I sort of liked that this road trip had a destination. I was glad the Archduke make a cameo. I have a soft spot for the bastard. I also love the Katherine thing because like I mentioned before, the thing almost happens to me with Davids. I almost complained that he should've gone more into the Katherines, but thankfully, Lindsey taught him how to tell stories and he was able to tell her about the Katherines.

CONS: Okay, this isn't a con but it's been bothering.
THERE'S 18 KATHERINES, NOT 19. THERE'S 18.
I thought he would go "OH MAYBE THIS IS WHY MY THEOREOM DOESN'T WORK BECAUSE THERE'S ONLY 18."
If Katherine I decides to date you again, she's Katherine I, not K-19.
K-19 would have to be a completely different Katherine.

The footnotes, dear god, the footnotes almost stopped me from reading this book. I'll tell you my two huge problems to the footnotes:
It insulted my intelligence. Okay, so I read a book, and there's an interesting piece of trivia I don't know about. Guess what I do? I LOOK IT. I LOOK IT UP, SOAK IT IN, AND POSSIBLE RETAIN IT. I mean, hey, it's nice you're trying to do this for your readers, but knock it off. I'm a big girl, and I can look it up myself. I also don't like the translation. If you find the need to translate what you wrote, then please don't use foreign language. Seriously.
And telling. A lot of was just telling us what characters did, felt, or will do. DON'T THAT. That's telling. Yes, you put it in a foot note. Still telling. I felt as if I was getting a live commentary as I read.

The language sometimes was insensitive and too-cool-for-school, kids. I felt as if he was trying to appeal to teenagers a little too much. And maybe I'm very sensitive, but I did not like that one character was described as anorexic, and then the two comparisons to schizophrenia. Not necessary. And then a lot of people accuse of John Green and his sexism...and well, there are parts that it felt sexist. Especially around Katrina.

Katrina is described with a massive rack, skinny, blond-haired, and freakishly white teeth. And then Colin dismisses her appearance. Then Lindsey calls her easy. And Colin once again dismiss her but this time for her intelligence. I really really really wish Green would've portrayed Katrina as different than a stupid stereotype. And when she cheated on Hasaan? That's where I was like "really?" I felt like Katrina could've been written way better and in a less sexist manner.

All in all, I did end up liking this book a lot more than I expected. It was sweet, romantic, and had a nice summer feeling to it. show less

My first John Green book; I'm really looking forward to Looking for Alaska now. This book has three great central characters: Chicago natives Colin Singleton (he who has dated the abundance of Katherines); his friend Hassan, who is a fleshed-out (pun intended) character in his own right, not a just a sidekick or a foil (though he does help Colin navigate socially); and Lindsey Lee Wells, who they meet in Gutshot, Tennessee, where their road trip rolls to an end (rather toward the beginning of the book; it is less a road trip story and more of a coming-of-age-in-one-place story).

As former child prodigy Colin attempts to develop a Theorem of Dumpers and Dumpees, he also develops insight into himself and others. Despite his intellectual show more intelligence, he isn't too socially intelligent; yet he, Hassan, and Lindsay illustrate the point that often, it is not the popular kids, but those on the fringes who are the most interesting. Yet, An Abundance of Katherines is not all Theorems and theorizing; there are also wild boars, angry hornets, and the remains of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

The nerd-humor throughout the story is fantastic; Green's use of footnotes is quite effective. (The funny-footnote strategy was also used to good effect by Lisa Lutz in The Spellman Files.) Overall an enjoyable read in an unconventional setting; both the characters and the setting defy what might be expected of them.

...authors always wrote things in ways other than how they actually happened. Authors never included the whole story, they just got to the point. Colin thought the truth should matter as much as the point, and he figured that was why he couldn't tell good stories. (p. 70)

...and eventually he stopped thinking about the Theorem and wondered only how something that isn't there can hurt you. (p. 101)

You can love people so much, he thought. But you can never love people as much as you can miss them. (p. 105)

But he always had books. Books are the ultimate Dumpees: put them down and they'll wait for you forever; pay attention to them and they always love you back. (p. 110)

"I don't really know how," he said. "How do you just stop being terrified of getting left behind and ending up by yourself forever and not meaning anything to the world?" (p. 132)

"I don't think you can ever fill the empty space with the thing you lost....I don't think your missing pieces ever fit inside you again once they go missing. Like Katherine. That's what I realized: if I did get her back somehow, she wouldn't fill the hole that losing her created." (p. 201)

"And the moral of the story is that you don't remember what happened. What you remember becomes what happened." (p. 208) show less