Colin is at the end of his senior year once again mourning the breakup of another Katherine. Katherine has been the name of all his girlfriends and this Katherine (the 19th) has broken his heart as every Katherine before her. Colin is a child prodigy which means he can learn information very quickly and succinctly, he also has a flair to anagram most everything. Hassan is his best friend who graduated a year ago and is content to sit and watch TV all day. After the aftermath of Colin being dumped once again, Hassan and Colin decide to go on a road trip. They want to drive without a destination and convince Hassan's traditional parents by saying Hassan will find a job.
They see a sign for the Archduke Franz Ferdinand's grave and decide to take a tour. There they meet Lindsey, Hollis (her mom) along with Colin, Lindsey's boyfriend who they boys call Tuck and their friends. Tuck is everything Colin isn't, who is tough football player and a little dumb. Colin does not understand what Lindsey sees in Tuck who isn't too kind to her at times. Hollis decides to hire the guys and Lindsey to collect story from the old timers in their rural Kentucky area. Hollis owns and employees most of the town with her family factory. Lindsey is smart and enjoyable to talk to and most all the townspeople love her. Colin agrees to work because it gives him time to work on his theorem about breakups. The guys quickly acclimated to their work and Hassan develops a relationship with the hottest girl in town. It is strange but the whole summer has been new experiences, shooting guns, hunting hogs and learning about the town and its people. Hollis is hiding something about the factory and they aren't quite sure until they make a surprise trip to Nashville where Hollis goes once a week. As Colin and Hassan reluctantly join Tuck and his friends on a hog hunt, they discover the truth about Tuck. As Lindsey recovers from all the unwelcome news, Colin and Lindsey are drawn together even closer.
An Abundance of Katherines was written in 2006 by John Green. It is among a long list of books written by Green whose name is synonymous with YA literature. His newest book, Turtles all the Way is slated for October 2017. His famous novel was The Fault in our Stars which became a best selling movie of the same name. An Abundance of Katherines was an Pritz honor book in 2007.
The classroom connections with this book include exploring the Math that Colin develops while working on theorem, discussions of the autistic spectrum and how that relates to Colin. The idea of working for the greater good rather than own desires like Hollis did and the benefits/disadvantages of these actions.
It is nice to see an person of Middle Eastern descent included as one of the main character with his religious values presented and the reflection of being an immigrant's child and racism. The book covers universal truths and themes of loneliness, acceptance without know how and the complicated emotions of a relationship and breakups. An Abundance of Katherines is a book that can be read purely for the enjoyment of reading and a fun story. John Green's work lends itself to creating reading ladders with readers because of his popularity and the movie.
Students might also be interested in a charitable organization he is involved Project for Awesome which is a nonprofit to raise money for charities.
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