The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! š
bashsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Infidelity and Fatphobia
Minor: Ableism and Islamophobia
marv_elous's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Fatphobia
Moderate: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Dementia
rory_john14's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Grief, Alcohol, Cursing, Infidelity, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Violence, Bullying, Fatphobia, and Gun violence
Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Death, Sexual content, Eating disorder, Blood, Body shaming, Racism, and Vomit
lindasoderlundd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Dementia
leighvanne's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Body shaming, Grief, Islamophobia, Medical trauma, Blood, Bullying, Dementia, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Vomit, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Racism, Sexism, and Abandonment
Minor: Car accident, Gun violence, Addiction, War, Classism, Colonisation, and Excrement
merah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Infidelity
nytephoenyx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The thing isā¦ I donāt feel that way at all. In fact, An Abundance of Katherineās is my favorite John Green novel. Itās a highly controversial opinion and I wonāt go so far as to say the book is perfect, because itās not. There are a lot of things to address in this book, a lot of things that could have been done better, and I definitely wouldnāt go so far as to say the characters are likable, but I also thinkā¦ this is a really interesting book. My favorite things about John Greenās novels are not the characters or the relationships or the surface plot. Itās the conversations within the book, the profound observations. I know thatās a bit snotty, butā¦ I do like these things.
Letās talk about Hassan first, because from his first introduction to the very end of the book, I found Hassan problematic. The way he speaks, the language he uses, all of it raised flags for me. He uses an Arabic word consistently that is offensive, and with such casualness itās like saying ādudeā. I also take issue with his pride over his weight, not because I think he should be self-conscious of it but because his sense of humor is so self-depreciating that it feels a bit fat phobic. Just me? ā¦ ā¦ ā¦ All this said, I have read An Abundance of Katherines multiple times assuming Green write this character without research, and in 2006, sensitivity readers were very uncommon. This time, I read the acknowledgements, and Green didnāt do this on his own. Hassanās character was designed by collaboration with Greenās friend Hassan al-Rawas, who is Muslim himself and provided the Arabic words. I am not excusing the sketchy bits of Hassanās character, but for years I didnāt realize Green had help with this character and I think it complicates the argument a little.
Colin Singleton, our protagonist, is incredibly self-centered but on the other hand, I feel a bit like Colin may be on the autism scale. On his website, Green says he had no intention to put Colin on the spectrum, so heās not claiming to have written an autistic character. Colin is generally unlikable but his struggling for significance, to make a difference in the worldā¦ that is relatable and I like that part of the story. We also have Lindseyās struggle to find who she wants to be, who she wants to be with, and how to be happy. Both Colin and Lindseyās stories over the summer were relatable to me when I first read An Abundance of Katherines in 2008 and to some extent are still relatable because as humans we are constantly redefining ourselves.
I see why so many people are bored reading this book and donāt like Colin, Hassan, and Lindsey. Really, I do. I guess I just find Gutshot interesting, although incredibly idyllic in my experience of small towns. I want to know what happens with Hollis and the town. An Abundance of Katherines focuses on Colinās venture to re-enchant/get over Katherine XIX but that is the least interesting part of the book. The interesting parts are what happens while Colin is distracted by his Theorem. As such, itās a book written in layers but seems overly simple (because thatās what folks expect from Green) and itās not going to appeal to many, many readers. In fact, I wouldnāt recommend An Abundance of Katherines to most readers ā if theyāre looking for a John Green book, Iāll likely recommend fan favorite Looking for Alaska.
But for me, I really enjoy An Abundance of Katherines. Itās a highly flawed book that takes a while to get into, but I am always engrossed and at the end, Iām happy I read it. For me, this is a good book. If youāre a fan of John Greenās other books, you probably will find this one disappointing. If you ā like so many others ā find the Green brothers pretentious and the definition of privilege, then you really wonāt like this book. If youāre looking for an easy-to-read YA contemporary with flawed characters that are outside your normal typesā¦ An Abundance of Katherines is pretty good.
Original Review: 5 Stars (June 2016)
This was my first [author:John Green|1406384] book, back in... 2010, maybe? [book:An Abundance of Katherines|49750] is, for whatever reason, still my favorite. I think perhaps it is because of the random "not interesting" (totally interesting) random facts, or the fact I was Lindsey Lee Wells in high school, or maybe just because Gutshot is a fun little town... I don't know. But I love this book and the reading of this version was excellent. I'll definitely visit this audio version (and the hard-copy version!) again.
Moderate: Alcohol, Fatphobia, Islamophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity and Sexual content