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Book Review of An Abundance of Katherines

An Abundance of Katherines
skywriter319 avatar reviewed on + 784 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4


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 be able to 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.