dylpicklez's review
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Main reasoning for the 3.5 rating is just the pace. Started off incredibly slow, I feel, but it did pick up at around page 100 or so.
Still though, had to DNF this for a bit since I didn't really find any motivation in reading it (like I said, it was slow). Glad I finished though. I liked this book a lot.
Still though, had to DNF this for a bit since I didn't really find any motivation in reading it (like I said, it was slow). Glad I finished though. I liked this book a lot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Drug use
Drug use tag is really only in regards to the brief mention ofSpoiler
chewing tobacco.reuben394's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, and Sexual content
lisa_m's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
1.0
Okay so do I misremember every other John Green book I've ever read and liked? This was the absolute worst book I've read maybe ever? I feel like I might have to reread Looking for Alaska (which I really liked 5 years ago..) to see if his writing has really always been this bad? I mean he knows how to be funny sometimes but god this was boring.
I'm kind of sad about not liking this book because it's one of the books that has been on my tbr since forever. I would probably have dnfed it if it had set my self the goal of reading every John Green book... (Do I regret that? - maybe..)
I can't remember ever giving a book 1 star. Usually when a book is bad or I didn't like it I can still see value in it or see how someone else might enjoy it. Not with this one though. The plot was super week - NOTHING happened and there is no explanation for anything. The characters were boring and I didn't care for them.
Also there are so many problematic things that took me out of the reading experience. The word 'retard' is used as an insult frequently throughout the book, the characters religion, weight, ticks and mannerisms were just constantly made fun of and it was uncomfortable to read. Also the whole book is sooo repetitive. I hate the constant use of fug, fugger, fugging.. also what is a jewfro and why is it CONSTANTLY mentioned even though you say the characters is 'not really jewish'???
I did not care about the Theorem and all the maths in this book. I didn't understand it - or even try to understand it but even I as someone who doesn't know a lot about maths, I knows that what he's trying to do is not possible. He's just looking for an excuse as to why he is constantly dumped.
Also the Katherine flashbacks... If they are written well I actually really like time jumps. We could have learned more and more about every Katherine until in the end it all made sense. But in this book those stories were just sort of thrown in there and in the end he even REPEATED it all again! Why did I read all the previous Katherine stories then?? I really don't care. One book that did this well was 'People We Meet On Vacation' by Emily Henry. The flashbacks really built up to a big conclusion and made the book interesting.
Also I love Roadtrip books so I thought this would be right up my alley. Well I thought wrong. The 'roadtrip' is them sleeping in the car once after Colin gets dumped and then finding a nice comfy house where they can stay for free as long as they want?
I'm also mad that Hassan was just used as the fat comic relief character. Colin is really not the best friend and when Hassan addresses that it just gets glanced over and he forgives him for everything.
Also the whole book was so mysogynistic. Refering to women as shallow and sluts/easy. Girls just felt very objectified in general. There was A LOT that made me super uncomfortable so here are 3 of my least favourite examples:
"She was incredibly hot - in that popular-girl-with-bleached-teeth-and-anorexia kind of way, which was Colin's least favourite way of being hot" Are you serious right now?? Also no one cares. Shut up.
They are at a fast food chain: "Colin asked the woman behind the cash register, whose body seemed to have suffered from perhaps a few too many meals at her place of employment,..."
"She looked prettier than she ever had before - Colin always preferred girls without makeup." Once again, we do not care. Also the 'she's prettier without makeup thing' is mentioned multiple times..
I didn't tab the things I hated and I'm definitely not skimming it again to find them so sorry I can't provide more evidence but I feel like this book is only for white male teenagers who want to believe that all their problems in life stem from girls not wanting to date them / breaking up with them.
Honestly I just really wanted this book to end. That is the reason I read it in one day because I knew I did not want to pick it up again tomorrow..
I think I made it clear now that I did not like this book. However the one thing I liked is that it occasionaly made me chuckle. There was some funny imagery but really .. how could anyone genuinly enjoy this book?? I am baffled. There was no storyline, no plottwist, no likable romance, no good flashbacks... Even the really quotable relatable lines that his other books have (to an extent that makes that slightly cringy) are non existent. Like the best 'quote' I could find was "You can love someone so much but you can never love people as much as you can miss them." And like yes, it sounds good. But can you tell me what you are actually trying to say with that?
Endnote: I am really disappointed by this and also very scared to pick up Will Grayson, Will Grayson which is another highly anticipated John Green book. Did I just turn smart enought to see that these books are bad? Or please let it be just this one.
I'm kind of sad about not liking this book because it's one of the books that has been on my tbr since forever. I would probably have dnfed it if it had set my self the goal of reading every John Green book... (Do I regret that? - maybe..)
I can't remember ever giving a book 1 star. Usually when a book is bad or I didn't like it I can still see value in it or see how someone else might enjoy it. Not with this one though. The plot was super week - NOTHING happened and there is no explanation for anything. The characters were boring and I didn't care for them.
Also there are so many problematic things that took me out of the reading experience. The word 'retard' is used as an insult frequently throughout the book, the characters religion, weight, ticks and mannerisms were just constantly made fun of and it was uncomfortable to read. Also the whole book is sooo repetitive. I hate the constant use of fug, fugger, fugging.. also what is a jewfro and why is it CONSTANTLY mentioned even though you say the characters is 'not really jewish'???
I did not care about the Theorem and all the maths in this book. I didn't understand it - or even try to understand it but even I as someone who doesn't know a lot about maths, I knows that what he's trying to do is not possible. He's just looking for an excuse as to why he is constantly dumped.
Also the Katherine flashbacks... If they are written well I actually really like time jumps. We could have learned more and more about every Katherine until in the end it all made sense. But in this book those stories were just sort of thrown in there and in the end he even REPEATED it all again! Why did I read all the previous Katherine stories then?? I really don't care. One book that did this well was 'People We Meet On Vacation' by Emily Henry. The flashbacks really built up to a big conclusion and made the book interesting.
Also I love Roadtrip books so I thought this would be right up my alley. Well I thought wrong. The 'roadtrip' is them sleeping in the car once after Colin gets dumped and then finding a nice comfy house where they can stay for free as long as they want?
I'm also mad that Hassan was just used as the fat comic relief character. Colin is really not the best friend and when Hassan addresses that it just gets glanced over and he forgives him for everything.
Also the whole book was so mysogynistic. Refering to women as shallow and sluts/easy. Girls just felt very objectified in general. There was A LOT that made me super uncomfortable so here are 3 of my least favourite examples:
"She was incredibly hot - in that popular-girl-with-bleached-teeth-and-anorexia kind of way, which was Colin's least favourite way of being hot" Are you serious right now?? Also no one cares. Shut up.
They are at a fast food chain: "Colin asked the woman behind the cash register, whose body seemed to have suffered from perhaps a few too many meals at her place of employment,..."
"She looked prettier than she ever had before - Colin always preferred girls without makeup." Once again, we do not care. Also the 'she's prettier without makeup thing' is mentioned multiple times..
I didn't tab the things I hated and I'm definitely not skimming it again to find them so sorry I can't provide more evidence but I feel like this book is only for white male teenagers who want to believe that all their problems in life stem from girls not wanting to date them / breaking up with them.
Honestly I just really wanted this book to end. That is the reason I read it in one day because I knew I did not want to pick it up again tomorrow..
I think I made it clear now that I did not like this book. However the one thing I liked is that it occasionaly made me chuckle. There was some funny imagery but really .. how could anyone genuinly enjoy this book?? I am baffled. There was no storyline, no plottwist, no likable romance, no good flashbacks... Even the really quotable relatable lines that his other books have (to an extent that makes that slightly cringy) are non existent. Like the best 'quote' I could find was "You can love someone so much but you can never love people as much as you can miss them." And like yes, it sounds good. But can you tell me what you are actually trying to say with that?
Endnote: I am really disappointed by this and also very scared to pick up Will Grayson, Will Grayson which is another highly anticipated John Green book. Did I just turn smart enought to see that these books are bad? Or please let it be just this one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Bullying, Fatphobia, Grief, Gun violence, Abandonment, Ableism, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Medical content, and Misogyny
rory_john14's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
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
bugzandthingz's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Cursing
leighvanne's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
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
nytephoenyx's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- 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
This is the part where I’m supposed to talk about how much I didn’t like An Abundance of Katherines. How I think it’s John Green’s worst book, how it’s completely unrealistic and the characters are unreliable and the romance(s) are ridiculous and the Muslim representation is a mess. I’ve been in the book community and I’ve been reading John Green long enough to know the community’s opinions on An Abundance of Katherines.
The thing is… I don’t feel that way at all. In fact, An Abundance of Katherine’s is my favorite John Green novel. It’s a highly controversial opinion and I won’t go so far as to say the book is perfect, because it’s 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 wouldn’t go so far as to say the characters are likable, but I also think… this is a really interesting book. My favorite things about John Green’s novels are not the characters or the relationships or the surface plot. It’s the conversations within the book, the profound observations. I know that’s a bit snotty, but… I do like these things.
Let’s 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 it’s like saying “dude”. 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? … … … 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 didn’t do this on his own. Hassan’s character was designed by collaboration with Green’s friend Hassan al-Rawas, who is Muslim himself and provided the Arabic words. I am not excusing the sketchy bits of Hassan’s character, but for years I didn’t 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 he’s not claiming to have written an autistic character. Colin is generally unlikable but his struggling for significance, to make a difference in the world… that is relatable and I like that part of the story. We also have Lindsey’s struggle to find who she wants to be, who she wants to be with, and how to be happy. Both Colin and Lindsey’s 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 don’t 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 Colin’s 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, it’s a book written in layers but seems overly simple (because that’s what folks expect from Green) and it’s not going to appeal to many, many readers. In fact, I wouldn’t recommend An Abundance of Katherines to most readers – if they’re looking for a John Green book, I’ll likely recommend fan favorite Looking for Alaska.
But for me, I really enjoy An Abundance of Katherines. It’s a highly flawed book that takes a while to get into, but I am always engrossed and at the end, I’m happy I read it. For me, this is a good book. If you’re a fan of John Green’s other books, you probably will find this one disappointing. If you – like so many others – find the Green brothers pretentious and the definition of privilege, then you really won’t like this book. If you’re looking for an easy-to-read YA contemporary with flawed characters that are outside your normal types… 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.
The thing is… I don’t feel that way at all. In fact, An Abundance of Katherine’s is my favorite John Green novel. It’s a highly controversial opinion and I won’t go so far as to say the book is perfect, because it’s 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 wouldn’t go so far as to say the characters are likable, but I also think… this is a really interesting book. My favorite things about John Green’s novels are not the characters or the relationships or the surface plot. It’s the conversations within the book, the profound observations. I know that’s a bit snotty, but… I do like these things.
Let’s 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 it’s like saying “dude”. 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? … … … 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 didn’t do this on his own. Hassan’s character was designed by collaboration with Green’s friend Hassan al-Rawas, who is Muslim himself and provided the Arabic words. I am not excusing the sketchy bits of Hassan’s character, but for years I didn’t 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 he’s not claiming to have written an autistic character. Colin is generally unlikable but his struggling for significance, to make a difference in the world… that is relatable and I like that part of the story. We also have Lindsey’s struggle to find who she wants to be, who she wants to be with, and how to be happy. Both Colin and Lindsey’s 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 don’t 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 Colin’s 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, it’s a book written in layers but seems overly simple (because that’s what folks expect from Green) and it’s not going to appeal to many, many readers. In fact, I wouldn’t recommend An Abundance of Katherines to most readers – if they’re looking for a John Green book, I’ll likely recommend fan favorite Looking for Alaska.
But for me, I really enjoy An Abundance of Katherines. It’s a highly flawed book that takes a while to get into, but I am always engrossed and at the end, I’m happy I read it. For me, this is a good book. If you’re a fan of John Green’s other books, you probably will find this one disappointing. If you – like so many others – find the Green brothers pretentious and the definition of privilege, then you really won’t like this book. If you’re looking for an easy-to-read YA contemporary with flawed characters that are outside your normal types… 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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Fatphobia, Islamophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity and Sexual content
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