Review Detail

Reader reviewed by MssJos

Colin Singleton is a washed up child prodigy who never quite achieved genuis status. Despite his impressive anagramming abilities, his sexy jew-fro, and winning $10,000 on a gameshow called KranialKidz, he is in a serious slump. He has just been dumped by K-19 (the 19th girl he has dated named Katherine), and he can't seem to find the missing peice of him she took with her.

Luckily for Colin, he has an underachieving best friend, Hassan, who is determined to prevent Colin from wallowing in self-pity. Hassan and Colin leave Chicago and embark on road trip that takes them exactly where they need to be. Green shows us that contrary to popular belief, sometimes it's not the journey that matters, but the destination. Set on proving a theorem on relationship predictability, Colin researches his past, analyzes the present, and attempts to predict his future using his mathematical abilities.

I have had this book for quite sometime but had put off reading it for several reasons. Mainly because I despise math, and between the math and the anagramming, I thought this book would be a nightmare. However, by page 11, I myself had a crush on Colin (and the anagramming is ironically entertaining). Green shows that even child prodigies can be unpretentious and lovably clueless. The randomness of Hassan and Colin's interations accurately depict young adult male friendships. Hassan provides comic relief (we're talking laugh out loud funny) and a necessary balance to Colin's serious demeanor.

Several quotable passages make this a thought-provoking read as well as an entertaining one.

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

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

Due to the abundance of four-letter-words and plenty of sexual references, I probably couldn't get this book into my classroom even if I begged, but I would definitely recommend it to friends. Green is a seriously talented writer with an amazing ability to capture audiences of all ages and both sexes. Colin is one of the most unique protagonists I have ever come across. Picture Adam Brody in the movie version, but quirkier and less confident. I can't wait to read Looking for Alaska!