An Abundance of Katherines

When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton's type is girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact.

On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun — but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl.

Love, friendship, and a dead Austro-Hungarian archduke add up to surprising and heart-changing conclusions in this ingeniously layered comic novel about reinventing oneself by Printz medalist John Green, acclaimed author of Looking for Alaska.

"Green follows his debut novel, Looking for Alaska, with this comic story about Colin Singleton, who at 17, considers himself a failure. 'Formerly a prodigy. Formerly full of potential. Currently full of shit,' he thinks, when, on graduation day, his girlfriend breaks up with him, the 19th girl named Katherine he has dated and been dumped by. (That number includes some third- and fourth-grade encounters, one of which lasted three minutes.) Colin's best friend, Hassan, an overweight underachiever, suggests a road trip to lift Colin out of his funk. A highway sign advertising the grave of the Austro-Hungarian archduke whose assassination sparked WWI leads them to Gutshot, Tenn., and Lindsey Lee Wells, whose mother, Hollis, is the town's largest employer — she owns a factory that makes tampon strings. Hollis offers the boys jobs recording oral histories of local residents, which they accept, though Colin's true preoccupation is a mathematical formula ('The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability'), which will forecast the duration of all romantic relationships and enable him to make his mark on the world. It's not much of a plot, but Green's three companionable main characters make the most of it. Colin's epiphany — he can't predict the future but he can reinvent himself, maybe even date a girl not named Katherine — is pretty basic, but the intelligent humor that will make many readers eager to go along with him and Hassan for the ride. Ages 14-up. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"Sophisticated teens will enjoy the wordplay and the warm friendships portrayed. The text is augmented by footnotes and graphs, and an appendix explains the math, in case readers are interested." KLIATT

"The math angle and humorous anagrams may create additional interest for some teens." School Library Journal

"There are tender tearful moments of romance and sadness balanced by an ironic tone and esoteric footnotes along with complex math. Fully fun, challengingly complex and entirely entertaining." Kirkus Reviews

"Dialogue and plot flow together beautifully, enlivened by foreign languages, equations, and expository footnotes. It also includes an entertaining appendix explaining the theorem." VOYA

In this new novel from the acclaimed author of Looking for Alaska, Colin Singleton always falls for girls named Katherine — and he's been dumped 19 times, to be exact. Letting expectations go and allowing love are in the heart of his hilarious quest to find his missing piece and avenge dumpees everywhere.

John Green is the author of Looking for Alaska. He lives in New York City.