1. The book as an objet : An Abundance of Katherines is a book written by John Green. The cover of the book at first is very confusing. The first thing we see is the small drawings below the author’s name. But they represent moments of the story. Also I didn’t get the math references in the cover but later it’s because Colin the main character is a prodigy. I think this layout is very simple, but it helps you to not judge a book by its cover. An abundance of Katherines was published on September 21, 2006. The name is linked to the story because being dumped for XIX Katherines is the cause the story happens, if it wasn’t for that, the story would have be different.
2. My work resources http://johngreenbooks.com/abundance-of-katherines/ http://johngreenbooks.com/bio-contact/ http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/an-abundance-of-katherines
3. My personal opinion: Overall I liked the book, because I find it different than every other novel I have ever read. I personally prefer teenager’s literature because I can relate with the situations and troubles the characters encounter. I laughed a lot with this book, it contains a lot humor, but I believe adults can have a hard time finding amusing the way I did, and this is because it’s primarily meant for teenagers. Also I find interesting the mix of literature, love and math. Personally I hate math but the way is used in the book is very clever, because it’s well explained and even people who hate math find it amusing and fun in this novel.There are no struggles with the language because even though it uses some specific language, the footnotes explain those terms, and also some historic references and it’s interesting that the book contains drawings, graphs in it. This book taugh me a lot of cultural things like the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. I was surprised by that. I enjoyed a lot this reading. I feel like I have become friend with Colin, because of the approach and the language used by John Green. However I didn’t like the ending I thought it was too simple, I was expecting more like a plot twist. But as I said I have loved this book, actually there is nothing in it that I don’t really like. I would like to see a movie made with this book like ‘‘the fault in our stars’’. I highly recommend this book because It’s amusing and interesting at the same time. It gives you advices on life, relationships and teaches you cultural facts. This book has it all.
4. Meaning : The literature genre is contemporary literature for young adults. The book consists in 19 chapters and is written in a third person narrative. This is so that readers can better empathize and understand Colin, the protagonist, and his approach to life. The story includes many footnotes that become an essential part to understanding Colin's brain and how it works. He explains carefully everything. The tone used eloquent, he seems comfortable telling us the story, and the feeling like the reader and the writer are close I mean friends. Abundance of Katherines is a fiction work that includes many mathematical terms and academic language. An example of these characteristics can be proved with one example : (photo taken from the beginning of chapter 6)
5. The contents : After being dumped by his girlfriend, Katherine XIX, Colin Singleton is a prodigy who is feared he had reached his full potential and feels incomplete. All his life he had been dreaming of having a“eureka” moment and becoming a genius. Meanwhile he waits, he tells us the story of nineteen girls named all Katherines he had dated, and all of them have dumped him. Colin depressed replayed over and over again that last time with Katherine XIX. Suddenly Hassam Harbish, his best friend convinced him to go on a road trip to forget the breakup. They end up in Tennessee and visit the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and encounter Lindsey. They stayed there, but Colin stared being attracted to Lindsey, while persecuting his eureka moment, and he created the theorem he created called the Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability.(to determine the curve of any relationship based on factors of the personalities of the two people in a relationship) and it works. The relationship between TOC and Lindsey ended when Colin and Hassam catch Katrina having sex with TOC and told Lindsey. Colin opened up to Lindsey and told her the story of every Katherine he has ever loved. And he used the dating formula on Lindsey to determine if it will last. The result was not pleasing; and the cause is that she is in love with Hassan. Sadly Colin realizes that his theorem cannot predict the future of relationships. Meanwhile Hassam applies to two college classes with Colin’s help. The book ends with the three driving to a nearby Wendy's. Colin feels a connection in the car. He concludes that he finally found peace and happiness by making a connection with other people. Characters list: - Colin: is the main character of the story. He is a former child prodigy who wishes to have a eureka moment. He has dated nineteen girls by the name of Katherine and dumped him - Hassan Harbish: is the Muslim best friend of Colin Singleton. He is intelligent but took a year off and hasn’t come back. Hassan is really Colin's only friend, and he initiates the road trip that changes Colin's life forever. -Lindsey Lee Wells: She loves Gutshot and intends to never leave. She is in a relationship with a boy named Colin. Lindsey eventually separates from TOC, and becomes the first girl Colin has ever dated that does not bear the name Katherine. - Hollis: Lindsey's mother, is an extreme workaholic. But she is very kind to the people who work at her factory, she hires Colin and Hassan -TOC: The other Colin. Lindsey’s ex, cheated on her. - Katherines: a serie of Colin exes who along with Colin are important to the story.
6. The Author :John Green was born on August 24, 1977, and he is still alive nowadays. Green was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is an American author of young adult fiction, YouTube video blogger (vlogger) and educator. He won the 2006 Printz Award for his debut novel, Looking for Alaska, and his sixth novel, The Fault in Our Stars, debuted at number 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list in January 2012. The 2014 film adaptation opened at #1 at the box office. In 2014, Green was included in Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Another film based on a Green novel, Paper Towns, was released on July 24, 2015. John Green is a relevant contemporary writer, because of its uniqueness, not only in the topics for his books but also his sharp dialogues, characters and plot twists in his stories. He writes creating characters young adults can relate to, and about common situations teenagers encounter in life. Stories down to earth that make us readers think and analyze various situations that are close to us is very interesting. Personally I think John Green’s style is refreshing we come from years of stories about vampires, magic and mythical creatures. According to the Wall Street Journal, "some credit him with ushering in a new golden era for contemporary, realistic, literary teen fiction, following more than a decade of dominance by books about young wizards, sparkly vampires and dystopia. Also Zareen Jaffery, executive editor of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers said "What I really like about what people are calling 'the John Green effect' is that there's more of an interest in authentic, genuine, relatable characters." Love, lost, tennagers matters like school, college life, a journey to overcome something are one of many topics John Green chooses for his books. John Green is best remembered for his New York Best Seller “The fault in our stars”, published in January 2012. And the movie released in the US in June 6, 2014. But also another is Looking for Alaska.
