An Abundance of Katherines

An Abundance of Katherines is the second novel from author John Green. It is a capable follow up to Looking for Alaska. Though I did not find it as engaging as Green’s previous novel, I would still recommend it as a good YA novel. Readers who chose to read both will be impressed with Green’s stylistic changes to fit with each novel and will appreciate that some great moments of humor exist in both novels.

An Abundances of Katherines tells the story of Colin Singleton, a teenage child-prodigy with several distinctive habits. One is a penchant for remembering lots of information; another is the ability to anagram practically any sentence spoken to him; the most defining though is insistency in only dating girls named Katherine. Not Kathryn, Catherine, Katie or Kate, Colin will only date KATHERINES; and, he does not seem to have an issue finding them, considering he’s dated 19! (Oh and he’s been dumped by all of them—but I guess you have to admire that he keeps trying?) Putting aside the fact that meeting nineteen Katherines before you even become an adult is highly implausible (let alone having relationships with them), this fun plot quirk provides quite the metaphor for dating the same type of girl, or even just staying in a comfortable pattern in any situation.

Some Spoilers Included: After being dumped by the nineteenth Katherine, Colin and his buddy Hassan embark on a road trip to try and take his mind off the break-up. They end up in Tennessee (interesting choice…) and meet a new friend named Lindsey (who can be a friend because she has no shot; she’s not a Katherine). Hassan and Colin decide to hang out for awhile in Lindsey’s hometown and find many ways to amuse themselves, such as Hassan finding love (perhaps?) and Colin attempting to construct a mathematical formula for relationships. Hassan is a funny side-kick and Colin is a pretty amusing, but slightly whiny, narrator, but it is Lindsey who saves the story---What is great about both John Green novels that I have read is that they have female characters that you would not typically find in YA and you find yourself relating to them and really liking their uniqueness even though they don’t have that identifiable girl-next door quality.--- At first appearing to be an enigmatic, free-spirited, confident girl, slowly the layers of her personality are peeled back to reveal a real deep teenage girl with a realistic and heartbreaking amount of self-doubt and self-awareness. Luckily, for Colin, and for readers, Lindsey is the type of girl that probably won’t follow any formulas.

Parent/Teacher Advisory: There is some language that I could see people taking issue with, but overall it’s much tamer than Looking for Alaska in terms of difficult content.

Overall recommendation: An Abundance of Katherines is a cute story that uses a unique concept to tell the story of a boy learning that you cannot find a formula for love, or life for that matter. Is it as dark or challenging as Looking for Alaska? Not really; as prescient as Little Brother? Not quite; is it a fun story that flips gender roles and has the girl rescuing the boy from a life crisis? Is it a good YA novel about teenage love? And does it accomplish its goal of telling that story? Yes! An Abundance of Katherines is kind of like a really good romantic comedy film. Will it when an Oscar? Probably not…But for that moment, it has the viewer/reader’s attention it will make them laugh and give them some hope and that, in its own way, makes it a piece of art worth your time.

Looking for Alaska

Looking for Alaska by John Green tells the story of a year in the life of sixteen year old Miles Halter at an Alabama boarding school. The novel follows Miles through a roller-coaster year of learning, lusting, and loss. Bored with his life in Florida, Miles convinces his parents to send away to Culver Creek Boarding School. While there, his roommate, “The Colonel”, introduces him to world of pranks, rules of loyalty and, most importantly, an enigmatic girl named Alaska. While Miles is a capable narrator and has a few fun quirks, like a special skill for remembering people’s last words and The Colonel is a hilariously witty and intriguing character with fabulous proletariat qualities, it is Alaska who dominates the focus of the characters, the storyline, and reader’s fascinations.

Alaska is a wonderfully troublesome character. She at times spouts out defenses about respecting females, while at the same time flaunts her sexual promiscuity. She imposes herself heavily into the lives and worries of her friends, but keeps others a safe distance from her own personal emotions. She is self-destructive, yet insightful; very at good at controlling (the people/situations around her and as well as her own reputation), but clearly in need of help; a larger than life character, but in another sense, the epitome of any self-aware teenage girl. Alaska is an abundance of dichotomies and, though she is at times polarizing, she is always interesting and is one of the most complicated female teenage characters that I have ever encountered.

I had some issues at first at becoming immersed in this novel. I was dwelling on the fact that I was viewing the novel in somewhat of a feminist lens and was annoyed that the reader had to be constantly reminded that Alaska was so sexual and that she was always put on a pedestal by all the boys. While I still feel this is a valid critique, I realize now that the representation of Alaska opens up many discussions about gender representation. I also started to see Alaska’s sexuality as another one of her mechanisms of control. So I see that characterization as less of a detriment now.

Parent/Teacher Advisory ***Some Spoilers***: This novel deals with teenage drinking, smoking, and sexuality in a very frank matter. It also contains what some may consider very foul language. However, the drinking/smoking is shown in a way that is realistic, yet it is not glorifying, which I think is an important distinction. Also, the language is far tamer than what you hear in many songs on I-Tunes Top Twenty. The only other concern is the sexual content, which I will admit gave me a little hesitation because at first, quite frankly, I didn’t see its necessity (particularly the scene that occurs between Miles and Lara); yet, after more consideration I can now argue that scene’s value too. The scenes of physical interaction are awkward and, for lack of a better word, shallow; but, they are important in that they provide a stark contrast for the scenes of emotional connectedness and understanding. So, in actuality, they send out a good message against vapid surface-level interactions and argue for much deeper relationships. Also, the novel deals with the death of a teenage student. It may be upsetting for some readers. Still, the author does such a good job of describing the emotions of the students left behind after the tragedy that readers should not be discouraged by the lack of a happily-ever-after ending.

Overall recommendation: Looking for Alaska is a hard book to summarize. I dislike even having to put one because it is a novel that can be read from so many vantage points that it seems almost detrimental to the work to try and explain what it is about. Does one focus on the gender relations in the novel and a boy finding his first love? Maybe one should discuss the way female sexuality is portrayed and how it reflects the confusing and often contradictory messages teenage girls are presented with? Or should the attention go towards the commentaries on social class through the “weekend warriors” and the separation that wealth (or more importantly lack of struggle for money) causes between some of the students at the boarding school? Or maybe it should relate to Alaska’s metaphor for escaping the metaphor of escaping the labyrinth of suffering and teenage life? You really cannot just pick one. This book is not only a great coming-of-age tale; it also deals with questions that continually haunt even adults: How will we ever get out of this labyrinth of suffering? How do you create a worldview that deals with loss and suffering in the world around us? How do you still have hope knowing that suffering is out there? There is much going on in this novel, but I hope I have done my best at providing a brief description to insight interest for personal exploration into Looking for Alaska.