An Abundance of Katherines







John Green, 229 pages, $16.99
Dutton Books, 2006
ISBN 0-525-47688-1


Prodigies are supposed to be geniuses, right? The difference between a prodigy and a genius is that a genius discovers things. A prodigy is mainly good at memorizing things and learns faster in general than the normal person. Colin Singleton was a child prodigy but now that he has graduated high school he has decided that if he wants to become a true genius it'll take more than just memorizing and anagramming. Colin has also just been dumped for the nineteenth consecutive time by a girl named Katherine. So at the suggestion of his best (and only) friend Hassan, they leave their home in Chicago for a road trip so Colin can get over Katherine, achieve his " Eureka moment" and become a genius.
They eventually settle in Gutshot, Tennessee where they start working for a woman named Hollis, a rotund and super friendly woman. She owns a textile mill and their job is to interview current and past employees to create a historical video for generations to come. By day Colin, Hassan, and Hollis' daughter Lindsey, a pretty and intelligent girl, interview the citizens of Gutshot most of whom either work or have worked for the mill. By night Colin works on his theorem so he will officially be a genius. He is trying to make a theorem that will predict anyone's relationship. As Colin continues to try to perfect the theorem he begins to like Lindsey, and that's where it gets very interesting.

The minute I picked up this book I knew it would be awesome. That is because I really like great beginning sentences and this one is truly outstanding. The following is the first sentence in the book; "The morning after noted child prodigy Colin Singleton graduated from high school and got dumped for the nineteenth time by a girl named Katherine, he took a bath." At once I was sucked in and I couldn't stop thinking about Colin, Hassan, Lindsey, and Hollis until I finished the book a day later.
John Green is very good at helping the reader understand how the main character thinks so if you enjoyed Looking for Alaska you will also enjoy his latest novel although it isn't as dark as Alaska. It is a quick and very fun read. I have read a lot of books in the last five years but out of all of them this is definitely one of the best!