Wild Things: YA Grown-Up discussion

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green What a terrific book. I really enjoyed it.

Issues for discussion: Relationships / what love and friendship is all about / fitting in; some alcohol use & sexual situations; college - to go or not to go?

For me, this is a book for high school kids. This is a smart book, very well-written. The main character is a genius and has trouble fitting in, but he has one really good friend, and they really love each other. Every girl he's ever dated is named Katherine, and he's just been dumped. He and his friend decide to go on a road trip to help him deal with the situation.

I really enjoyed this book, it was very funny at times. I'd say the one thing that kind of got on my nerves was the characters would use the word "fugging" all the time. Obviously, we know what they meant, and I'm not a fan of the f-word anyway, but for some reason the fact that this other word was used constantly was even more annoying. It actually would have been funny if he didn't use it so much.

Overall, I thought this was a great book. Very different from Looking for Alaska , much lighter and not so dark. But still something to ponder.

I've gone back and forth with this book. Journals actually say the book is 12+ and I do have it in my classroom, but there are parts that make me think it is too risque...

Thoughts?

(BTW- I listened to the audio and the "fugging" didn't bother me so much, but my other friend who read it said the same thing... maybe the audio made a difference?)

Ummm....I would say high-school Kelly. There was a brief sex scene in the book, and it was clear that two of the main characters had an intimate relationship also ... plus there was alcohol use, etc. I would call it high-school.

Kids love the book, and there are some great lessons in it, so I could see it for mature middle-school kids. I read it because my daughter told me it's her favorite book, and since then another teen her age (19) told me it's one of her favorites. I believe both read the book in high school. Just my own personal opinion, for what it's worth. It's a terrific book.