Summary: An Abundance Of Katherines

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
An Abundance of Katherines is a book about a guy named Colin who was dumped by 19 girls named Katherine. He went on a road trip with his friend Hassan to take his mind off the last Katherine and to prove a mathematical theorem he thinks that will predict the future of relationships (also help him to finally get a girl and stable relationship). The book is published in 2006, and in 2007 it won Michael L. Printz Award and received recognition as one of American Library Association's Best Books for Young Adults. John Green was asked to write the screenplay but there is no serious development on a film adaptation of the book (yet).
This young adult novel is received in a neutral way by the public; not too
positive, not too negative.
The protagonist in this novel is Colin Singleton, an anagram-obsessed prodigy, who also tells the story. Other major characters are his best (and only) friend Hassan and Lindsey Lee Wells.
Colin has been dumped by 19 Katherines and Hassan takes him on a road trip. As they were driving, they came upon a town called Gutshot that claims to have the grave of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. When they stop to see it they meet a girl named Lindsey, who later become their good friend and her mom even gave jobs to the guys. Colin decided to prove he is not just a child prodigy so he works on a theorem and Lindsey helps him; in that way they grew closer and shared their secrets with each other. They discovered many secrets, from Hassan dating Lindsey's friend to her mom hiding a double-time work in factory. At the end Lindsey and Colin start dating, and he uses the theorem to predict their relationship but he (finally) realizes he can't use a math problem to figure out his love life.
Colin is obsessed with reading, languages and anagramming; he loves to do night and day because it is important to him to prove he is not some washed up prodigy.
He desperately wants to matter in life. He wants to be remembered for contributing to the world in some way and he decided to make a mathematical theorem that can predict the future of relationships. From his love life history, with all the Katherines, he could split it on who was the dumper or the dumpee. The sad thing here is that all Katherines were just numbers for him, nothing special, playing out the same relationship over and over again. He finally breaks the cycle with Lindsey. He has inner conflicts (because of being just a prodigy) and he is looking for a person he could open up to. His friend Hassan isn't the good person for that, but he is his only friend and Hassan is actually the only person that can be straight with him and tell him how annoying he is and what should he change. Hassan is s slacker and it makes funny contrast with Colin, who is constantly working. Hassan and Colin had some little fights over Colin's life and his way of dealing with breakups. The right person for sharing secrets was Lindsey. She taught him how to tell a story, how to shoot and how to be with people (in a ''normal'' way). She showed him her secret cave and there they had some deep personal conversations and shared secrets. She realized she was wrong and decided to breakup with her boyfriend. With some fun talking and
working on the theorem, they have come closer and ended in a relationship. Colin used his theorem to predict how long they'll be together, and the result was four days. On the 4th day, just as he predicted, he received a note from her saying she is dumping him. Turns out it's joke and Colin finally realizes he can't use a math problem to figure out his love life. The theorem is great to use for past relationships because it can only apply to a past relationship, and with a new romance, there are too many variables to account for.
The thematic of this book is also the problem of being unique.
A lot of teens today try not to be "basic", forgetting to be themselves. In my opinion, everyone is unique in some kind; the problem is with those who hide their uniqueness, trying to be someone else. Lindsey had that problem as well; she faked it so much that she is one big phony most of the time, which is pretty relatable. After wearing so many masks it can be hard to remember who you really are. One of the things that attracts her to Colin is that he's just himself, even if that self is an annoying know-it-all.
The novel doesn't end with Colin figuring out how he is unique and amazing and becoming a genius. Instead, he learns to sit back and see where his relationship with Lindsey takes him. In the end he feels "not-unique in the very best possible way".
The emotions this book could provoke are definitely joy and laughter, but also some kind of astonishment. In some weird way, I could relate to Colin and his obsession with wanting to control what happens to him. Being thunderstruck isn't a great feeling, so it is in human's nature wanting to predict everything, so I think I understand him. The strength of this book is how everyone deep down relate to Colin, although all of us would say that he is weird and creepy; he just emphasizes his
weirdness.
This book definitely made me wonder and question a lot of things such as destiny and my thoughts about it. It is different from other novels I read, especially by John Green (although all of his main characters have some kind of hidden mental illness).