A review by schlanz
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
4.0
(My first review was better, but goodreads didn't save it.)
Here's the thing about John Green books. Every time I pick one up, I think, "Okay, I've heard this is pretty good, but I'm kind of a book snob, so we'll see," and, without fail, I end up loving it. Mr. Green has such a way of creating unique and unlikely, yet realistic and relatable, situations and unique and unlikely, yet realistic and relatable, characters that I can't help but fall in love with his writing. It's a wonderful curse.
However, my experience with An Abundance of Katherines was a bit different. I hadn't heard any spectacular reviews about it, and I wasn't too fond of the basic premise. I mean, come on. Nineteen Katherines? Really? The odds of that are preposterous. So I was a bit reluctant to pick up the book. But, of course, I ordered it from the library, if only because I was determined to read all of his published works, and this one happened to be the only full novel I had yet to read.
WARNING: SPOILERS
Already prejudiced against it, I opened the book and read the first page. Okay, there was a footnote. Not something you see in your everyday YA novel. It translated the word "Eureka." Cool. I figured translating would be any following footnotes' function as well. Three pages later, there was another footnote, which said "More on that later," which led me to a realization and two reasons to keep reading.
Realization: Footnotes would be an important part of this book.
Reason 1: I liked the footnotes and was intrigued by them.
Reason 2: I really had to get to the "later."
So there is was, the beginning of my falling into love with An Abundance of Katherines. By the middle of the novel—as with all Green books—I was sold. Maybe I didn't love it as much as his others, but it struck a chord with me, which is why I gave it four stars.
Why it struck a chord? Well, I could relate to Colin (not TOC, of course), Lindsey, and even Hassan. I'm a bit of a child prodigy myself, a chameleon, and that friend who listens to everyone else's problems without really sharing my own. It's rare that I find a book that explains some of those parts of me I could never find the words for, and this one did just that. Thus, it undoubtedly goes on my list of favorites.
And Katherine I being Katherine XIX really took me by surprise, enough that I had to stop reading, put the book down, mentally put the pieces together, and reconcile the two characters as one. I'm not often surprised by books, so kudos to you, John Green. You are one of the few who managed to do it.
The humor was also to my taste; I smirked/snorted a few times. On an unrelated note, I found it a little hard to believe that two sets of overprotective parents let their only sons go on a road trip together, but then again, they were guys, and guys tend to be allowed more freedom to do this sort of crazy thing than girls (like me), for reasons which I will never fully understand.
Anyways, I read and enjoyed every bit of this book, including every footnote and even the appendix, which I understood as well as an exhausted, slightly mentally-inclined teenager can during the summer. (Hello, early Senioritis!) I understand that this isn't everyone's cup of tea as far as books go, but it was certainly mine, and I thank you, John Green, for writing it, and your friend Daniel for doing the math (literally).
P.S. This is the only John Green book I've ever felt passionately enough to not only write a review but rewrite a review for because the first one that I spent over an hour on deleted itself. And yet it's not my favorite. Maybe it's just my mood or some strange connection my subconscious made—who knows? Perhaps I'll think up a theorem to explain it.
Here's the thing about John Green books. Every time I pick one up, I think, "Okay, I've heard this is pretty good, but I'm kind of a book snob, so we'll see," and, without fail, I end up loving it. Mr. Green has such a way of creating unique and unlikely, yet realistic and relatable, situations and unique and unlikely, yet realistic and relatable, characters that I can't help but fall in love with his writing. It's a wonderful curse.
However, my experience with An Abundance of Katherines was a bit different. I hadn't heard any spectacular reviews about it, and I wasn't too fond of the basic premise. I mean, come on. Nineteen Katherines? Really? The odds of that are preposterous. So I was a bit reluctant to pick up the book. But, of course, I ordered it from the library, if only because I was determined to read all of his published works, and this one happened to be the only full novel I had yet to read.
WARNING: SPOILERS
Already prejudiced against it, I opened the book and read the first page. Okay, there was a footnote. Not something you see in your everyday YA novel. It translated the word "Eureka." Cool. I figured translating would be any following footnotes' function as well. Three pages later, there was another footnote, which said "More on that later," which led me to a realization and two reasons to keep reading.
Realization: Footnotes would be an important part of this book.
Reason 1: I liked the footnotes and was intrigued by them.
Reason 2: I really had to get to the "later."
So there is was, the beginning of my falling into love with An Abundance of Katherines. By the middle of the novel—as with all Green books—I was sold. Maybe I didn't love it as much as his others, but it struck a chord with me, which is why I gave it four stars.
Why it struck a chord? Well, I could relate to Colin (not TOC, of course), Lindsey, and even Hassan. I'm a bit of a child prodigy myself, a chameleon, and that friend who listens to everyone else's problems without really sharing my own. It's rare that I find a book that explains some of those parts of me I could never find the words for, and this one did just that. Thus, it undoubtedly goes on my list of favorites.
And Katherine I being Katherine XIX really took me by surprise, enough that I had to stop reading, put the book down, mentally put the pieces together, and reconcile the two characters as one. I'm not often surprised by books, so kudos to you, John Green. You are one of the few who managed to do it.
The humor was also to my taste; I smirked/snorted a few times. On an unrelated note, I found it a little hard to believe that two sets of overprotective parents let their only sons go on a road trip together, but then again, they were guys, and guys tend to be allowed more freedom to do this sort of crazy thing than girls (like me), for reasons which I will never fully understand.
Anyways, I read and enjoyed every bit of this book, including every footnote and even the appendix, which I understood as well as an exhausted, slightly mentally-inclined teenager can during the summer. (Hello, early Senioritis!) I understand that this isn't everyone's cup of tea as far as books go, but it was certainly mine, and I thank you, John Green, for writing it, and your friend Daniel for doing the math (literally).
P.S. This is the only John Green book I've ever felt passionately enough to not only write a review but rewrite a review for because the first one that I spent over an hour on deleted itself. And yet it's not my favorite. Maybe it's just my mood or some strange connection my subconscious made—who knows? Perhaps I'll think up a theorem to explain it.