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When it comes to dating, Colin Singleton's "type" is girls named Katherine. He's just been dumped by K-19 (the 19th girl named Katherine he's dated). He's always getting dumped by Katherines. In an effort get this anagram-ing, washed-up child prodigy to take his mind off of K-19, he and his best friend, Hassan, go on a road trip in an attempt to reinvent themselves. The road trip leads them to Gutshot, Tennessee, the town where Archduke Franz Ferdinand (yes, that archduke) is buried. Colin's new mission is to prove his Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which should accurately predict the future of relationships, avenge Dumpees and Dumpers, and win him the girl (a Lindsey, in this case).
Of our two leads, Colin and Hassan, Hassan easily stole the show. He's also the much less frustrating of the two. He shows Colin how to live life to the fullest and although Colin can be incredibly self-centered, Hassan sticks by him. On that note, I particularly enjoyed the diversity in the story Our leads, definitely aren't your standard Hollywood leading-man material, but none the less they feel real. Speaking of Hassan, I also appreciated the sense of humor in the story.
In regards to what I didn't like, it was primarily that it took such a long time to really get going. I'm glad I stuck with it, but the beginning was a little tedious. There were also many moments when I wanted to slap Colin upside the head. He's so selfish that sometimes it's almost unbelievable, and he can be whiny and annoying on top of that. And, the whole Katherine thing is just a bit creepy. However, all of these elements together work remarkably well to form a great story.
To be sure, if you are a fan of John Green, An Abundance of Katherines is not to be missed. Personally, it's not my favorite, but it's still quite good. If you like The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky or Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork, you may also find this to your liking.
I read this from November 26 - 29, 2014 and my review is also on Goodreads.
I read like half of this book, so I'm glad to see someone else found it slow moving, but then also liked it in the end. I probably won't give it another go, but I have heard it was well liked among his fans. Also YES, the Katherine thing was weird.
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