An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

The strengths of this book are its characters, from weirdly wired Colin to his funny best buddy and Green’s ability to get into the heads of odd-bod misfits. It also benefits from the length because there is only so far you can take a story about a boy searching for a mathematical equation and 19 girls called Katherine!

Colin is looking for an answer to the Katherine conundrum (he keeps dating and being dumped by them) His best friend, Hassan (very stereotyped but very funny) needs to get away from his overbearing dad and university expectations so the two set off on a road trip. The two don’t get very far and end up in a town called “Gutshot” living with a textile mill owner and her daughter in a giant pink house.

Reviews in general for this aren’t great and I can see why, it’s a little repetitive and goes back and forth randomly. Some parts are clearly set up just to move the characters from one situation to the next, but I enjoyed it - even if it’s really just about a whiny, self obsessed high school boy who can’t make friends or keep a girlfriend and is fixated on anagrams and maths! 

Review by Rosanna Tharakan-May

@thereaderinthesands