An Abundance of Katherines

Author: John Green
Genre: YA Fiction

Some guys only date girls with blonde hair, some guys only date girls who wear heels, child prodigy, Colin Singleton only dates girls named Katherine.  Not Catherine, not Kathryn; always K-A-T-H-E-R-I-N-E.  Just after his high school graduation, Colin is dumped for the nineteenth time by a girl named Katherine.  To help pull him out of his post-dumping depression, his best friend, Hassan, suggests a road trip.  They end up in Gunshot, TN, where they meet Lindsey Lee Wells and are hired to interview all current and former employees of the Lee Wells' textile-mill-turned-tampon-string-factory.  Meanwhile, Colin lives in fear that he will only ever be a child prodigy and never become an adult genius.  He decides that if he can make a significant contribution to the world, he will become recognized as a genius and impress Katherine 19 (K-19) enough that she will she will want him back.  Colin gets the idea that if he can just figure out an algorithm for determining the fate of a relationship, his problems would be solved.

This book isn't as heavy as some of John Green's other novels.  In this story, Green focuses on themes of what it means to "matter" and what "mattering" means, the unpredictability of life and love, as well as the flaws of human memory.  It's funny and entertaining, but does take quiet a while to get into.  There are very few major events in the story until the reader gets close to the end.  It is written with the intent to zero in more on Colin's character development and self-growth rather than on action.  One way Green does this is via flashbacks; throughout the book, he tells readers short stories of Katherines past, allowing the reader to slowly put together the pieces of Colin's failed love life.

One thing I really liked about this book is the use of footnotes.  As a child prodigy, Colin uses some obscure vocabulary that the read may not be familiar with; this is explained in the footnotes.  Green also uses them as a method of briefly informing his readers of a past event or comment without the need to go into a lengthy backstory.

Fun fact for you left-brained math people: the math Colin uses in his various revisions of the relationship formula is 100% accurate.

4/5

WARNING: Some language- only one use of strong language.  Also a few brief, vague sexual allusions