An Abundance of Katherines

John Green

Aug 2008 · Sold by Penguin

About this eBook

From the #1 bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars 

Michael L. Printz Honor Book
Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist


Katherine V thought boys were gross
Katherine X just wanted to be friends
Katherine XVIII dumped him in an e-mail
K-19 broke his heart
When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton's type happens to be girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact.

On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun--but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl.

Love, friendship, and a dead Austro-Hungarian archduke add up to surprising and heart-changing conclusions in this ingeniously layered comic novel about reinventing oneself.

Ratings and reviews

My first John Green book and what an interesting ride it was. A book full of smart humor with a male, recent high school graduate, and his best friend on a road trip to a small town in TN. He heads on this road trip to overcome his recent break up and brings along his best friend with no destination in mind. I am usually a reader of books where women are at the center, so I enjoyed this break from my normal reading. It was refreshing to get into the mind of a younger male and go with him on this adventure after a recent break up. I absolutely adored his flashbacks to the previous Katherines who broke up with him for various reasons. I would recommend this book to those who read YA or those who may need a break from their usual reading habits. I thoroughly enjoyed the smart humor.

The beginning was hard to get into. I bought this book about 6 months ago, read about 1/3 of the way through and stopped. Needless to say, it's a bit hard to get just into it. It has great characters, especially Hassan. It is the first novel I've read from John Green, so it was slightly disappointing.

I have read all of John Green's books now. This one being the least talked about, my last choice. It was boring and I found myself forcing myself to read to get it over with. Then only towards the end did I find myself interested once he stopped obsessing over the Katherines.

About the author

John Green is the award-winning, #1 bestselling author of Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns, Will Grayson, Will Grayson (with David Levithan), and The Fault in Our Stars. His many accolades include the Printz Medal, a Printz Honor, and the Edgar Award. He has twice been a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize. John was selected by TIME magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. With his brother, Hank, John is one half of the Vlogbrothers (youtube.com/vlogbrothers), one of the most popular online video projects in the world. You can join the millions who follow John on Twitter (@realjohngreen) and tumblr (fishingboatproceeds.tumblr.com) or visit him online at johngreenbooks.com.

John lives with his family in Indianapolis, Indiana.