A Happy Ending

Hey, guys!

So, as you know, I started reading An Abundance of Katherines by John Green at my brother's recommendation. Well, if my calculations are correct, it only took me three days to finish this book. It's really a quick read.

And get this: unlike the other John Green books I've read (Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars) this one - hold on to your hats - has a happy ending.

So, anyway, what's up with the title, right?

Well, that's Colin's fault. He's a child prodigy who can speak eleven languages and reads like there's no tomorrow and is worried that he will never do anything that matters. But see, ever since he was a kid, he's only dated girls named Katherine. Nineteen of them, to be exact. And he's been dumped by all of them. So, when Katherine #19 dumps him, Colin is in pretty bad shape.

That's when his best-but-only friend Hassan - a chubby and hilarious guy who is currently putting off college and enjoys watching Judge Judy in his boxers - deems him in desperate need of a road trip to allow the healing process to begin.

Once they traverse the country from Chicago, IL to Gutshot, TN, they decide to stay and see the resting place of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand whose death caused World War I. And that's where they meet Lindsey Lee Wells, a non-Katherine female dating a different Colin.

Small world, right?

So after getting a good knock on the head and deciding to stay in Gutshot after getting jobs from Lindsey's mother - five hundred bucks a week for conducting interviews with locals about what they love about their town - Colin has a "Eureka" moment.

He's dated nineteen Katherines and has been dumped by every single one. There's gotta be a pattern there. There has to be a reason why he's been dumped by all of them aside from his extreme insecurities. That's when Colin decides to invent a Theorem - which involves a lot of math - that will predict the outcome of any relationship.

With the Theorem and Lindsey's help, it may be the only shot that Colin has for making himself matter. But Colin will soon learn that the future isn't set in stone and neither is he.

This is a quick read and an excellent one. Not only is it hilarious and entertaining (and has a happy ending) it also teaches some pretty good (and kind of obvious) morals without really making it seem repetitive. Well, they sure didn't seem obvious to Colin. For example, the story is not all about Colin. It's like he doesn't realize that there are other characters.

Not to mention there's a pretty unexpected twist . . . well, Colin didn't see it coming, anyway. For a prodigy, he doesn't really have much common sense.

I'm getting off track though. I highly recommend this book for middle school and high school students, and probably even a little beyond that. It's definitely a coming-of-age teenager kind of book. Definitely give it a whirl.

Hope you enjoyed this review and that you'll come back looking for more. Leave comments with feedback and recommendations. Until next time.

Happy reading!!