From third grade through his senior year of high school, Colin Singleton, child prodigy*, has dated 19 girls. All of them have been named Katherine, and all of them have dumped* him. Not for the same reasons, and not in the same way.

    Right after Singleton graduates from high school, Katherine the 19th breaks up with him, leaving him in low spirits. His best friend, Hassan, thinks that he can only be cured* with a road trip.

    After some rather aimless driving, the two find themselves in Gutshot, Tennessee, where locals persuade* them to stay with a job offer. Since there are no Katherines in sight, only Lindseys and Katrinas, the two boys settle in for the summer to interview textile* workers. Meanwhile, Singleton tries to come up with a mathematical formula* for predicting* the end result of a romantic relationship — his eureka* moment.

    The laugh-out-loud humor ranges from delightfully sophomoric* to intellectual, and the boys’ sarcastic* repartee* will help readers get through the slower parts of the story, which are basically local history interviews.

    The idea behind the book is that everyone’s story counts, and what Singleton contributes to the world, no matter how small it may seem, will indeed matter.

    Layered with fun characters, anagrams*, formulas, flashbacks*, and footnotes, this complex yet easy-to-read novel is not only interesting, but also very smart.

    The book is available at amazon.com and domestic online bookstore dangdang.com.(SD-Agencies)