The Nineteenth Katherine
John Green's young adult novel, “An Abundance of Katherines”, narrates the story of Colin Singleton, a child prodigy that hopes to become a genius in the future and whose past girlfriends have all been called Katherines. As Colin graduates high school and is dumped by his nineteenth girlfriend named Katherine, he starts longing for having his own “Eureka” moment and hopes to become a genius one day. His best, and only friend, Hassan Harbish convinces Colin to go on a road trip together so that he can take his mind off of Katherine XIX. As Colin drives with Hassan, his love for anagrams and stories from Colin`s childhood are explained. As a child prodigy, Colin was able to read at the young age of two years old, which made his education much easier as a kid but, nonetheless, he had trouble making friends in school and was bullied and made fun of as a young student.
Figure It Out...
“But mothers lie. It`s in the job description.” (Green, 2)
As a new found child prodigy, Colin Singleton asked his mom if he was ever going to have a “Eureka” moment, to which his mom, obviously, responded yes. But, Colin grows up and realizes that people lie (even moms). I think that this is something that every child will eventually discover to be, sadly, true. I was very upset when I first found out that neither Santa, the Easter Bunny, or the Tooth Fairy were real. To be honest, holidays have been increasingly easier since my parents do not have to sneak out to put presents under the tree or to hide chocolate eggs around the garden. It was not until recently that I realized that all the times my parents lied to me, they were always protecting me from how sad the truth can be. My mom especially encouraged me, with these stories, to believe in happiness and to believe in the impossible. She definitely made my childhood a little bit more magical by telling me these stories. I like to believe that she didn't want my sisters and I to know that magic does not come in the form of an old man in a red suit, who gives presents to all the children in the world in one night a year.
“Prodigies can very quickly learn what other people have already figured out; geniuses discover that which no one has ever previously discovered. Prodigies learn, geniuses do.” (Green, 8)
As the book continues, Colin`s wishes of becoming a genius when he is older are discovered. He explains that most prodigies don't become geniuses, and that relatively smart people can also become geniuses. This got me wondering about how many people have actually made it into making a big discovery and being called a genius. Additionally, this also got me thinking of how many people don't actually become geniuses but that were considered to be intellectually gifted as children. But these quote also got me thinking that Colin`s definition of a genius is not only linked to a genius`s discovery, but to his or her fame. In all honesty, there are probably thousands of people who have been able to make a big discoverment but are not wildly famous. Will Colin make a big discoverment and become a genius? Will he become a famous genius or not?
Next Up...
This book has honestly been so much better than I thought it would be when I first decided to read it. I assumed that it would be a weird love story between Colin and some girl named Katherine. But, so far, I have really enjoyed the book and I am actually really excited to continue reading it. I seriously can't guess or predict what will happen in the next few chapters since the author continues to introduce the characters of the story. I have really enjoyed the way the author incorporates stories from the characters` childhoods within the plot of the story. I hope that the story of Colin and Hassan`s friendship is further explained in since I have only read about how they met. I also hope that Colin has his “Eureka” moment somewhere later in the book.
