An Abundance of Katherines - John Green - Oct 08

John Green's second novel. The characters are again the less than popular kids, but they go on a road trip. Right after graduation the main character and his best friend hit the road. Why? Because Colin has been dumped by his girlfriend, Katherine the 19th. Yes, he has been dumped by 19 girlfriends...all named Katherine.

So, Colin just happens to be a child prodigy and he tries to create a mathematical formula which will predict the outcome of a relationship based on factors of each parties personalities.

It is a good story with some youthful adventure. Math is used in the story. Math which is way over my head. It does not matter much really. The math does not create or define the story at all. It is just part of the story. Math can be fun.

Also, the author has the main character have the ability to anagram very easily. Colin can come up with a list of anagrams for anything on the spur of the moment. In case you care, an anagram is when you take the letters in a word or phrase, rearrange them, and come up with a new word or phrase.

This is the first fiction book I have ever read that had footnotes throughout. The footnotes are used to explain things that are not part of the story, but they are used as backup information which enhances the story. It is quite interesting how that was done.

So, combine youth, intelligence, heartbreak, guts, mathematical theory, anagrams and footnotes...take it all on a road trip...mix in some love interest and some conflict...what do you get? A pretty darned good book.