An Abundance of Katherines

Green, John. An Abundance of Katherines. New York City: Dutton Books, 2006.

Colin Singleton, former child prodigy, has just graduated from high school and has just been dumped by his girlfriend, Katherine. In fact, he has been dumped by every Katherine he has dated, but this Katherine was the Katherine. In the pit of despair, Colin is persuaded to go on a road trip to clear his mind by his best (and only) friend Hassan. Driving aimlessly, Colin and Hassan decide to make a pit stop in the backwoods of Tennessee to visit the grave of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Gutshot, a decision that turns into a job opportunity for the two friends. Lindsey and her mother (who owns the Gutshot General Store and the local plant that is the town’s livelihood) invite the two boys to stay with them in their sprawling pink mansion. Daily the three teens are tasked with asking every resident in the town about their history in Gutshot and the evening is left open for Colin to work on his mathematical theory that explains why he has no luck with Katherine’s (and some light reading). Eventually, through hearing life stories across the town, having some adventures (boar hunting!) and spending time with Lindsey, Colin realizes that even though he considers himself a has-been or never-was, everyone counts to someone. Though he might not be a genius and cannot predict the future, Colin can mean something to someone, even if it ends up being a Lindsey and not a Katherine.

The text of the story, written from Colin’s perspective, reads with the geekiness you might expect when going through the brain of a child prodigy. Complete with footnotes and an appendix (which might help explain Colin’s theory to those remedial in math), the novel is stocked full of anecdotal trivia; for instance, Colin explains to a townsperson that the shower curtain flies inward because a vortex is created from the shower head spitting out water. Moments like these personify the fact that Colin is knowledgeable about nearly everything and his character develops in little flashes like these. However, some readers might find all the extra information a little difficult to follow. Amy Pattee warns of this in her critique in School Library Journal. She says, “[t]he narrative is…peppered with anagrams, trivia…and interrupted by footnotes that explain, translate and expound upon the text in the forms of asides. It… has the potential to both win over and alienate readers.” Not only can the additional notes be hard to follow, but some readers may find them overwhelming or be disinterested with them altogether.

The interactions between Hassan and Colin (and Lindsey, in certain sections of the book) are believable and read genuine. These conversations also provide important comic relief to what could be an otherwise heavy scene and assist in rounding out the main characters. Cindy Dobrez agreed with this idea by stating “the…humor ranges from delightfully sophomoric to subtly intellectual, and the boys sarcastic repartee will help readers navigate the slower parts of the story.” (Booklist). Colin, in dealing with his new situation, occasionally reminiscences about some of the Katherines, a devise that further cultivates the readers understand of Colin’s history and motivations. The reader comes to understand that Colin is not just smart, but that he works hard to be that way. Colin and other major characters in the story are given depth, are multi-faceted and have attributes with which teen readers can identify. Lindsey goes as far as to tell Colin that she is never authentic with anyone; she acts and behaves differently with each group of people she is around, never getting the chance to be Lindsey. Teens can identify with the struggle of figuring out who they are and what they want rather easily.

Book cover can be found at: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/g/john-green/abundance-of-katherines.htm

What I Saw and How I Lied

Blundell, Judy. What I Saw and How I Lied. New York City: Scholastic Press, 2008.

Fifteen year old Evie Spooner lives with her mother (Bev), stepfather (Joe) and Joe’s mother in post World War II Queens. Joe Spooner has come back from the war and done fairly well for himself, opening up a series of appliance stores, but his formerly happy-go-lucky attitude has begun to sour. After a phone call that shakes Joe up, he gathers the family and they leave on a vacation to Palm Beach. Once they arrive, they find that the majority of the town is gone for the season, save for one hotel. Settling in, the family becomes fast friends with the Grayson’s, a husband and wife who are hoteliers back in New York. Joe makes a plan to buy the hotel with Mr. Grayson and tells the family they may eb staying for a while longer. Soon after, Evie meets Peter, a handsome young man who just happens to know Joe from the war. Joe does not seem keen on Peter spending so much time with the group, but Evie continues to seek him out, falling deeper into infatuation. Evie reads all of Peter’s body language and listens intently to his words, only to convince herself of her intense feelings being reciprocated. Eventually, she learns that Peter’s trip to Palm Beach was purposeful rather than coincidental and Joe did something during the war that he can never take back. Meanwhile, the hotel deal has fallen through, and a hurricane is whipping up nearby. Joe convinces Peter and Bev to go out on a boat before they all leave; though the water is treacherous, Peter assures Evie he is good on a boat. The storm nears and passes, but the three adults did not return before it hit shore. When Evie’s parents return, they soon learn that Peter died on the trip and Joe and Bev are implicated in the murder. Evie must step up, swallow the knowledge that she has since gained (it seems that Bev was truly the object of Peter’s affections, not Evie) and help her family overcome the situation they now face.

The language and attention to detail in regard to the setting of the novel truly casts the story in the time it was set. Clothes, shoes, hairstyles and makeup are given extra attention, as they might be when a teen girl is the narrator of the story. In 1947, Palm Beach was a highly segregated community; Jews and African-Americans were not welcome into hotel or even on the island (no deed could be given to members of either community). Returning from a rather tense dinner, Mr. Grayson is given a message and it is revealed that the Graysons are Jewish. The demeanor of the hotel manager changes dramatically, every point of which Evie notes, down to the fact that the manager now seems disgusted to even have the Graysons in the lobby. It evokes emotions in Evie that remind her of how she watched a friend mistreat a Jewish girl back home in the neighborhood. Attention to detail such as this crafts a story that has a foothold in history. Jennifer Hubert remarks on this aspect saying, “Using pitch-perfect dialogue and short sentences filled with meaning, Blundell…subtly explores issues of post WWII racism, sexism and socioeconomic class.” (Booklist)

The whole plot of the story revolves Evie’s changing perspective; she is directly in the middle of her teen years, figuring out love and having her first pangs of affection. Burgeoning womanhood is coupled with a new view on her parents. Always an obedient child, Evie is beginning to notice that not everything that her parents do is in her (or their own) best interest. She starts to comprehend the way that adults communicate with each other, sometimes in subtle undertones and that not everything is on the surface. Evie grapples with the idea of justice, truthfulness and integrity, much as a teen reader would at the same age. She is discovering that not everything is as it appears, nor is everyone the same after traumatic events. Through Evie, the reader can appreciate wrestling with something that seems to difficult, but ultimately knowing and choosing to do the right thing.

Book cover can be found on http://nicolepoliti.wordpress.com/2009/09/08/what-i-saw-and-how-i-lied-by-judy-blundell/

Seventeenth Summer

Daly, Maureen. Seventeenth Summer. New York City: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1942.

In the summer just after graduation from high school Angie, a quiet girl, sees handsome Jack Duluth at a local hangout. While she does not date, Angie finds herself thinking about Jack quite a bit. Jack’s father owns the local bakery and stops by to make a delivery one afternoon and asks Angie to spend some time with him that evening. Angie finds herself self-conscious and feeling a bit awkward on the date comparing herself to other girls she thinks that Jack may find attractive. Even so, Jack asks her to accompany her to a dance and it is there that Jack confesses how much he likes Angie and they kiss. Over the summer, Angie and Jack have a falling out, but once the pair talk they are inseparable. As time passes, Angie begins to question the strength of the feelings she is having, thinking they are too advanced for someone her age, finding herself falling in love with Jack. The end of the summer looms over them, for Angie will be leaving their Wisconsin town for school in Chicago, when Jack reveals he will be returning to Oklahoma with the rest of his family. Bittersweet and honest, Jack and Angie leave each other at the train station with Angie thinking to herself that there would “never be a summer as sweet as [her] seventeenth.”

Maureen Daly began work on Seventeenth Summer while she was still in college, which gives the novel a different feel than if an adult, completely removed from childhood, would have written the work. Daly also sets the novel in an area close to where she herself grew up, providing her the opportunity to give delightful and detailed descriptions of the lake and countryside of Angie and Jack’s hometown. The author describes the smell and taste of the summer, truly drawing in the reader to the surroundings in which Angie and her family reside. In fact, the background could easily be considered another character in the story, it is so well developed.

The story itself is written in a style reminiscent to a diary – this technique lends itself well to the narration given to the reader by Angie. Sometimes written in desperate tones, the reader feels as if they are the only one who understand how deeply Angie feels, following her through elation, disappointment, wanting, needing, anger and desire. Although the story takes place in the early 1940’s, Angie’s story reads reminiscent of many young women’s first love tales. Angie struggle to understand love and finding contentment in a relationship can be understood regardless of the generation gaps between modern day teens and 1940’s teens. The New York Times noted that the novel is “both a timeless romance and a period piece, making it an utterly enchanting book – one which rings true and sweet and fresh and sound.” Some of the terminology and struggles that the characters face (Angie wonders if it makes her seem “fast” to be kissing Jack so soon, which is something that a modern day teen may think is very old-fashioned) are going to seem foreign to the reader, but in the end, the story is about two teenagers finding first, true love, something with which any reader can identify.

Book cover can be found at http://maureendaly.com/?attachment_id=4