An Abundance of Katherines

Summary:Colin Singleton, a grownup child prodigy, has been dumped nineteen times. And get this, all of them are named Katherine. After graduating from high school, Colin and his humorous (and only) friend Hassan embark on a road trip. They end up in Gunshot, Tennessee where they meet some pretty interesting Tennesseans and Colin works on a theorem that will predict the "future of any relationship" (taken from the summary). See where Colin and Hassan's adventure leads them as they deal with friendship, love, craziness, and a Monster Thickburger.

My Thoughts:

What I Liked: If you are unfamiliar with John Green's writing, he adds a bit of umph in his books leaving us with several messages which really leaves the readers to digest for themselves. Hassan's character is so awesome, whenever he is in a scene, I was grinning throughout--he is hilarious (even when the situation is bad) and is the ultimate best friend. The character development in this book is great as well. I enjoyed the ending and I thought it ended on a good note. The footnotes were interesting to read and I got a feel for how Colin's mind worked; he was always thinking extensively.

What I Disliked: I'm not going to lie, this book was pretty darn slow until I reached about halfway. Thus, it took me a while to get through since I was putting the book down every chapter. I wish we learned more about the Katherines he dated throughout the book (or more on Katherine XIV at least).

Conclusion: Although this book starts out slow (maybe even boring to some?), don't be discouraged to keep on reading until you reach halfway and from then on you might as well finish it. I think I went into this book having super high expectations because I read Looking for Alaska before this (John Green's debut novel).

Reader reviewed by Ava

Reader reviewed by EshInoBi

An Abundance of Katherines was okay. It was cheesy, odd,
weird, but it wasn't exactly bad. It's young-adult, and I highly
recommend that you don't read it if you're below... uhm, let's say 15?
Nah, you probably could, but there were just some parts that were just
plain gross. The idea of the story was interesting, but the end of the
story wasn't that satisfying. Also, the main character, Colin,
apparently is a prodigy, and though he's really smart, his main 'thing'
is anagrams. It just wasn't right. And the whole story takes place on a
road trip, and, well... the ending just wasn't, well, you don't know
what'll happen... But it was still okay. I just wouldn't recommend it
to anyone... Not just because of the... err, gross parts, but the
quality itself.

Reader reviewed by KK

I'm the type of reader that enjoys books that you are able to relate to your own life is some aspect.

This story is about a boy named Colin Singleton who recently graduated from high school, and was considered to be a childhood prodigy. In his lifetime, he has only dated 19 girls who were named Katherine and all of them dumped him, as far as he can remember. At the end he realizes that he actually dumped one of them. After their graduation, Colin and Hassan, his best friend, decide to take a road trip. They end up in Gutshot, Tennessee where they want to visit the grave of archduke Franz Ferdinand and meet a young lady named Lindsey. Even though Colin only dates girls named Katherine, he slowly finds himself falling for Lindsey. After a personal and emotional break through within himself he overcomes all personal fears and finally goes for what feels right rather than his normal lifestyle.

I reccommend this book if you have an interest in stories about a lost boy who finds hope within himself with the help of his best friend, and everyone new he meets.

Reader reviewed by Megan the Librarian

First of all, let me say that any book by John Green is a book that I want to read.  He is funny, smart, and a master of suspense.  This book evoked many emotions in me -- joy and frustration at the forefront and I found myself wanting more when it was over. 

Colin Singleton is going through the identity crisis many teens undergo when they graduate from high school and can no longer use that to define who they are.  But Colins problem is a little bit more serious not only can he no longer define himself as child prodigy, but he can also no longer define himself as the boyfriend of a Katherine.  His 19^th Katherine has just dumped him, and Colin doesnt know what to do.  Hence the reason why he and his quirky friend Hassan end up in a little town interviewing people about their lives. 

Colin is a likeable character; dont get me wrong, hes frustrating sometimes with his inability to just be without overthinking everything, but hes still likeable.  Hassan is hilarious as he attempts to ground Colin from his flights of fancy, and Lindsey (their new friend from Gutshot) provides the perfect balance.  I would recommend this book to any teen who came into my library, and I believe that most of them will enjoy it. 

Reader reviewed by Hillary

Colin Singleton has dated and been dumped by 19 Katherines. So in order to make Colin, the teenage prodigy, forget K19, he and Hassan, his best friend, go on a road trip. All Colin wants to do is prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which would explain (and hopefully predict) who dumps whom. After an attack by a feral hog, a few interviews, and some anagrams, Colin may be ready to prove his throrem, along with the help of a new friend.

I knew John Green was pretty amazing after reading Looking For Alaska. But I wasn't expecting it to be this good. The book was AMAZING.

AAoK started out a little slow. At first I was thinking of ditching it for another...which I did (sorry!). But once I really got into it, it was like my face was glued to the book and I couldn't get it off until I read the last word. It was that good. (Where's the John Green book being made into a movie? Aren't all YA books being made into movies?)

The characters were once again...freakin' amazing. The story? The same. And writing...well, there aren't words to describe that. I meant that in a god way. So pretty much, if you haven't read this then 1. why? and 2. go buy it now. You won't regret it. If you have, then I'm sure you'll agree with me.

Reader reviewed by Mary

Colin's had nineteen girlfriends. Which equals a grand total of nineteen times dumped. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out that's something's not quite right (although Colin is one). Hassan (a quirky and awesome character in his own right) decides to take Colin away from the town for a while. Along the way Colin and Hassan meet Lindsay, a girl who's only figuring out what she really wants. Colin spends some of the time trying to figure out a math equation for being dumped because Colin wants to leave a mark on humankind


I like this book. There are some really great quotes from this book that are stuck in my head. All in all, the author, John Green, manages to make this book touching yet funny.

Reader reviewed by Kaitlin

I really liked this book, it was just so...good! I think the whole point of it is basically to tell you that, love is not an equasion. It shows you that you can't predict love, and through the whole course of the book, theres a lot of interesting facts. Everybody definatly needs to read this.

Reader reviewed by Stephanie

It is very hard to meet readers' expectations after his amazing debut novel, LOOKING FOR ALASKA. But John Green manages both to delight and teach in his second book.

Colin Singleton is a recent high school graduate, washed-up child prodigy, anagram-lover, inexperienced storyteller, and has just been dumped by the 19th Katherine he has dated. With a broken heart, he and his quirky, fat best friend Hassan go on a road trip in order to get away from it.

However, they end up not going very far before they take up residence in middle-of-nowhere Gutshot, Tennessee with Lindsey Lee Wells and her mother, Hollis. Hollis assigns them all to interview Gutshot residents. Colin spends most of his time trying to perfect a mathematical formula that would could predict the outcome of relationships.

He doesn't realize, though, that his friends have their own problems too. Hassan can never take anything seriously because that's his way of dealing with life, holding it at a distance. Lindsey puts on a different personality for different people: her boyfriend (also named Colin), the "oldsters" at the nursery home, etc.

AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES is one of those rare books that is more than the sum of its parts combined. It's about acceptance, storytelling, self-confidence, finding someone you can show your private habits to. Oh, and it's also about footnotes. Lots of footnotes. With his characteristic wit and insight, John Green delivers another must-read winner.