AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES by John Green

 

So, imagine this: this guy’s a childhood prodigy, good at school, that kind of thing. He is something special. Nerdy, obsessed with anagramming, but special all the same. (And no, he doesn’t sparkle. Or have magic powers. Or have any weird scars.) He meets a girl named Katherine and they start dating.

 

He’s dumped.

 

Then 18 more Katherines dump him. Not Catherines, or Cathys, or Kates, or Kittys- Katherines. Just Katherines. I’m guessing you’re having some inkling about why the book’s called what it is?

 

It’s quirky and nerdy and generally fun for a light read. It’s not quite as “deep” as his other books though, for want of a better word. It’s not “laugh out loud” funny… it’s more sniggering-in-mild-amusement.

 

The thing that carries you through the book is his insistence that he can create a theorem about dumpers/dumpees and finally stop being a dumpee. It’s kind of stupid- in the funny way.

 

I’ve read so many negative reviews on this book. I found it slightly surprising, but then I noticed that everyone compared it to Will Grayson, Will Grayson (which I am currently in the middle of) and The Fault in our Stars– which, by the way, are fantastic- but the whole idea of those two is much more serious, and I don’t think it’s a fair comparison.

 

I mean, they all use the same John Green element, but An Abundance of Katherines is a road trip book. Literally, and figuratively. He goes on a road trip and finds what he’s been looking for. And I get why people get bored…it’s just, I think you’d have to have a relatively short attention span to get bored as early as some people did. If you do, I’m guessing this is not the book for you! It’s that kind of book that’s only suited to some people- not like some of John Green’s others, which are suited to almost every teenager I know, book-loving or not. It’s for ages 12-14-ish, I’d say, but then your preferences for the type of book you read come in. If you’re like me- reading anything you get your hands on- or if you like funny-ish kind of books, then read it. If you like John Green, read it. If you’re not any of those things- read it anyway!

 

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THE FAULT IN OUR STARS BY John Green

This is by John Green, and it’s amazing. It’s about a girl- Hazel Grace- and she’s got cancer, and she falls in love with a boy called Augustus Waters, and it’s really…wow. It is gorgeous and if you haven’t read it…well, go read it…

The thing is- and I don’t know if this is just me- I didn’t find it as amazing as everyone’s been raving about. It’s definitely a very heartbreaking book, but it’s not- well, not as brilliant as everyone told me. I bought it on a recommendation, and it’s definitely one that will stay on my bookshelf- but it’s not quite as ‘you will start crying, seriously’ as I was told.

I’m not saying it’s bad, don’t get me wrong. But there was something about it that didn’t quite work for me. I loved it anyway, though that might be because I’m obsessed with sad books. The ending was amazingly horribly heartbreaking, but…if I’m honest, somehow it seemed predictable. But overall, I loved it!

Age: 14-ish.

I’m not going to spoil the plot for everyone, and I’ll end up ruining the ending if I start talking about the storyline. There are some quotes from that book I love, and one of them is “my thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.” There is something about that quote, and some of the other ones, that I love. And though it might not be as perfect as I expected, it was definitely worth a read.

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