Character Clues

Character Analysis

Thoughts and Opinions

We get to hear a lot of Colin's thoughts in this book… maybe too many in fact. Colin's always thinking back to a time when he was with a Katherine, especially K-19. He thinks about things she said or did, and then sits around moping about losing her. But we also get a taste of Hassan and Lindsey's thoughts too. We hear Hassan tell Colin some random factoid isn't interesting, and we listen to Lindsey opening up to Colin about her personality. Since finding yourself is a huge part of what the book's about, a lot of what the characters think helps them sort out what kind of person they are going to be and, in the process, we as readers get to know them better too.

Sex and Love

Hmm… this one is a no-brainer. The whole book is about Colin's search for love, and he tells us from the very beginning: "All I ever wanted was for her to love me and to do something meaningful with my life. And look. I mean, look" (2.8). Aw—poor guy. As the novel progresses, Colin figures out that's not all he wanted, though, and he moves on past the Katherines (all nineteen of them) and figures out what he really wants from life. Still, the search to define and understand love is what Colin's whole story is all about. He doesn't just want to have a special lady in his life—he wants to be able to predict and control love as well. Eventually, he learns that's not really possible, but still wants to fall in love anyway.

Actions

You might think Colin is a dude of few actions, but they actually tell us a lot about him. Even though he can't be found bungee jumping or partying, his actions speak volumes. For example, when Hassan and Lindsey go cruising around town, Colin stays home because he doesn't see the point:

Without a word, Colin grabbed his book (a biography of Thomas Edison) and headed upstairs to his room, where he lay on his bed and read in peace. Over the next five hours, he finished that book and started one he found on the bookshelf in his room called Foxfire. Foxfire discussed how people did things in the old days of Appalachia. (11.10)

Yep, that pretty much sums it up. He stays home, away from everyone and reading, not because he's got the new Hunger Games and can't put it down, but because he wants to keep reading and learning instead of going out and living. His little habit of studying takes over his life.

Names

We've got to give names a shout-out here—after all, every girl Colin dates is named Katherine. Why is that? It's at least partially to remind us that they're one tangled mess in his head, and that instead of thinking of them as individual relationships, Colin mainly thinks of them as an endless string of people dumping him. It isn't very personal, and this is driven home by the fact that they all share a name. Hope on over to the "Characters" and "Symbolism, Imagery, Allergory" sections for more on the Katherines.