An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

ISBN: 978-0-525-47688-7
Dutton Books, NY
2006
215 pages

Plot Summary

Anagram-loving, child prodigy Colin Singleton has just graduated from high school and been dumped by his 19th girlfriend, Katherine. All of his girlfriends have been named Katherine and all spelled exactly the same way. He and his best (and only) friend Hassan Harbish decide to take a road trip so that Colin can forget about Katherine and find his "Eureka moment." Colin is worried that he is smart but not a genius because he has not experienced a Eureka moment, which he feels all true geniuses must. They leave their home town of Chicago and end up in Gutshot, TN, the supposed site of Archduke Franz Ferdinand's grave. Their many adventures in Gutshot include working for the town's largest employer, Gutshot Textiles, and going boar-hunting!

Critical Evaluation

I know we're not supposed to say this, but I loved this book! It was laugh-out-loud hilarious! The plot was often preposterous but the plot was not the main point of this story. This book is a light-hearted look at romance, friendships, word-play and math - and it somehow all works! If you've read John Green's first book, Looking for Alaska, this book has a similar geeky protagonist, but has none of the darkness of his debut novel. I actually read An Abundance of Katherines first, so I was surprised by the profound sadness of Looking for Alaska. This book is intelligently written, from Colin's anagrams, to random bits of trivia, and then finally Colin's formula for predicting "dumpers" and "dumpees." Original, witty and outrageous, this book should appeal to sophisticated high school and college students with a love for words, math, or who just want to read a smart but funny book.

Reader's Annotation

Colin Singleton and his best friend, Hassan Harbish, decide to go on a road trip the summer after high school graduation. Colin wants to escape from the pain of being dumped for the 19th time by his 19th girlfriend named Katherine, and he is seeking his "Eureka moment."

Author Info

This is John Green's second YA novel and it is a comic departure from his debut YA novel, the Printz award-winning Looking for Alaska. He was raised in Alabama but now lives in NYC with his wife (after having been dumped 53 times - but never by a Katherine). He has written for National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" and for the New York Times.

Genre

comic YA novel

Curriculum Ties

The anagrams would be great in an English grammar class and a math teacher could teach the formulas used in this book for predicting "dumper" or "dumpee" status.

Booktalking Ideas

1. It would be fun to discuss how Colin and Hassan view Gutshot, TN when they first arrive and how they (Colin and Hassan, a Muslim from Chicago) are perceived by the people in Gutshot.

2. The boar hunt would be another fun discussion - from people's differing attitudes on guns to the problems that city-kids Colin and Hassan encounter in the great outdoors.

Reading/Interest Level

Age 15 +, not for controversial topics but for the wordplay and math formulas

Challenge Issues and Defense

Not many challenge issues - possibly sexual situations and a little bad language

Be familiar with the book and its content, most of which is completely innocuous.

Refer to the library's collection development policy.

Have available the excellent reviews from Kirkus and Kliatt.

Why I Included This Book

This book came highly recommended by our head librarian; it is intelligently written and very funny. The reviews were somewhat mixed (after his smash debut with Looking for Alaska) but Kirkus and Kliatt both thought it would be an excellent choice for sophisticated teens.