An Abundance of Katherines

Author: John Green
Publisher: 2008, Speak
Lexile Measure: 0890
Classification: Fiction

Summary:
John Green strikes again with this novel narrated by teenage prodigy Colin Singleton as he embarks on a road trip with his best friend, Hassan, the summer after they graduate from high school.  Colin is attempting to flee from both a fear of wasting his intellectual potential and a broken heart inflicted on him by his ex-girlfriend, the nineteenth Katherine in a row.  Hassan is just attempting to flee.  The friends wind up in Gunshot, Tennessee, interviewing townspeople and making friends with a local girl, Lindsey Wells, who is wrestling with her own issues. 

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Language:
Unsupervised teenagers narrate and inhabit this story.  The language is what you would expect.  Colin and Hassan use “fug” and its derivations throughout the book as a euphemism for the “f word.” Additionally, Hassan refers to his penis as “thunderstick” (see, p. 8 and throughout).  Lindsey and her mother have to put money in a Mason jar every time they curse.

Profanity includes:

• *ss / *sshole (pp. 7, 10, 32, 56, 66, 67, 81, 108, 111, 117, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 140, 165, 175, 182)
  
• f*ck (p. 119)
  
• g*dd*mn (pp. 61, 107, 119, 124, 132, 141, 151, 152, 175)
  
• d*mn (p. 81)
  
• h*ll (pp. 8, 10, 24, 43, 52, 54, 67, 68, 80, 98, 107, 144, 174)
  
• b*stard (p. 13)
  
• d*ck (pp. 14, 74, 133)
  
• P*ssy (pp. 141,175, 177, 179)
  
• p*ss / p*ssed (pp. 18, 130, 132)
  
• sh*t (pp. 21, 24, 30, 38, 39, 43, 49, 52, 53, 67, 68, 71, 72, 74, 86, 87, 88, 100, 103, 105, 108, 110, 111, 124, 133, 139, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 152, 167, 169, 170)
  
• wh*re (p. 27)
  
• cr*p (pp. 22, 74, 104, 182)
  
• Jesus Christ (pp. 34, 37, 117, 152, 160)
  
• God (p. 66)
  

Drug and Alcohol Use:
The book does not contain many references to drug and alcohol use. In fact, Colin states (p. 13) that he does not drink, do drugs or smoke cigarettes.

• The book occasionally references drug use by others (see, pp. 22, 110-111, 115), although Colin never drinks, and Hassan only does once.
• Lindsey references drinking moonshine (p. 147).
  

Violence and Crime:

• Colin and Hassan get into a fight on pp. 178-181.
  

Sexual Content:

• There isn’t much in the way of sexual content. On p. 4, Colin discusses his parents’ explanation of how babies are made. Hassan, who is overweight, has “man boobs and “man tits,” and he and others refer to them occasionally (ex. pp. 72-73). 
  
• On page 69, Colin tells Lindsey a story about going to the zoo as a child and having a lion almost bite off his penis.  Later, she advises him on how to tell the story better, using “winkie” as a euphemism for “penis” (pp. 94-95).
  
• Colin and one of his Katherines crawl into his bed together and kiss on pp. 38-39. The book also references several instances when Lindsey makes out with her boyfriend (ex. pp. 53, 86-87) and when Colin and Hassan make out with their girlfriends (ex. pp. 76-79, 128-129).  Hassan catches his girlfriend having sex with Lindsey’s boyfriend in a graveyard on pp. 171-175.
  
• Colin and Lindsey kiss and spend the night together in a cave on pp. 200-209. Lindsey references kissing his stomach on p. 211. 
  
• On p.139, Lindsey tells Colin, “Smartypants, getting a gun in Gunshot, Tennessee, is easier than getting Chlamydia from a hooker."
  

Other:

• Hassan is an Arabic Muslim, and he uses Muslim terms and ideas throughout the book.  Colin and the other teens accept Hassan’s beliefs without judgment or comment.  Colin is half Jewish.
  

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Other Helpful Reviews:

• Good Reads
  
• Common Sense Media
  
• The Guardian