An Abundance of Katherines
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
From the #1 bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars
Michael L. Printz Honor Book
Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist
Katherine V thought boys were gross
Katherine X just wanted to be friends
Katherine XVIII dumped him in an e-mail
K-19 broke his heart
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.
On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun--but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl.
Love, friendship, and a dead Austro-Hungarian archduke add up to surprising and heart-changing conclusions in this ingeniously layered comic novel about reinventing oneself.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
After graduating from high school and being dumped by his 19th girlfriend named Katherine, Colin Singleton embarks on a road trip to clear his head. The author of The Fault in Our Stars delivers another quirky coming-of-age story, this time about a grown child prodigy who’s riddled with anxiety that he's wasting his genius and determined to come up with a theorem explaining his bad luck with Katherines. Colin will resonate with anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider—we loved how the book’s prose reflects his unique way of thinking, with anagrams, trivia, and mathematical puzzles breaking up the text.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Green follows his debut novel, Looking for Alaska, with this comic story about Colin Singleton, who at 17, considers himself a failure. "Formerly a prodigy. Formerly full of potential. Currently full of shit," he thinks, when, on graduation day, his girlfriend breaks up with him, the 19th girl named Katherine he has dated and been dumped by. (That number includes some third- and fourth-grade encounters, one of which lasted three minutes.) Colin's best friend, Hassan, an overweight underachiever, suggests a road trip to lift Colin out of his funk. A highway sign advertising the grave of the Austro-Hungarian archduke whose assassination sparked WWI leads them to Gutshot, Tenn., and Lindsey Lee Wells, whose mother, Hollis, is the town's largest employer she owns a factory that makes tampon strings. Hollis offers the boys jobs recording oral histories of local residents, which they accept, though Colin's true preoccupation is a mathematical formula ("The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability"), which will forecast the duration of all romantic relationships and enable him to make his mark on the world. It's not much of a plot, but Green's three companionable main characters make the most of it. Colin's epiphany he can't predict the future but he can reinvent himself, maybe even date a girl not named Katherine is pretty basic, but the intelligent humor that will make many readers eager to go along with him and Hassan for the ride. Ages 14-up.
Customer Reviews
Could not put it down!
I started the book with no expectations - just hoping for an entertaining book to read on a camping trip. I laughed aloud at many points and enjoyed the book thoroughly. If you're looking for a fun, quirky book, you'll enjoy it immensely.
Yes yes yes yes yes
Okay, we'll, I just finished this book, and I am incredibly giddy. It was amazing and cute and nerdy and sweet and unbelievably amazing. This would be the perfect summer road trip read.
It was different from John Green's other books, less heart-wrenching and emotional (at least for me), so don't go in expecting that type of stuff. Don't get me wrong, its still metaphor-filled and character-driven and everything, just... Different.
Also there are math formulas and graphs and footnotes, but do not let that intimidate you. I am not a particularly smart person, really, and sure, some of the child-prodigy stuff completely flew over my head, yet I really, really enjoyed it.
I know a lot of people who've hated it tough... Just saying. It's probably not right for everyone, but it was just what I needed.