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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
This was hilarious; I laughed so many times. The writing was great, and though there were a lot of stereotypes and cliches, I felt that it helped serve the book rather than hurt it (which is unusual for me).
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed so much about this book. 2/3 of the way through, I was loving the wit and the romance, but I was convinced that I knew how it was going to play out, and I figured that the predictability would have it landing in the 3.5-4 star range. But [a:Ben Philippe|7271643|Ben Philippe|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1540153303p2/7271643.jpg] turned things upside down on me, and the last third of the book was so fresh and unexpected that it easily nudged things into the 4.5-5.0 category. What a great debut. I heart Norris.
Good read. Ending was a little anticlimactic, but it’s a perfect, moody, syndical teen book. Unique approach to setting each chapter as an entry in a field guide.
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This isn’t the most revolutionary or innovative book I’ve ever read, but it is a nice high school story with interesting characters.
I don't read a lot of YA, but this book was suggested on the front page of Libby and as someone who changed schools a lot growing up, the premise caught my eye. I thought I'd probably skim through the part where Norris moves and then move on to my reading list, but I got hooked in the first chapter and sped through the rest.
Norris is a hilarious and witty narrator, and the world Philippe creates for him feels so real. This book really captures the weird variety of people you meet in high school, and I appreciated that it reflects some universal aspects of being the new kid while also being specific to being a second-generation Haitian French-Canadian lad moving from Montreal to Austin. I come from a different immigrant background and typically pass as white, so it was really eye-opening for me to see how differently Norris and his mother navigated their new home (in the South, no less!) as a black family. Overall, this was an excellent read with a good balance of humor and substance.
Other highlights - I loved how the shared immigrant background was both an underlying tension and bonding catalyst in Norris's relationship with Aarti. I feel like that's a not uncommon experience when growing up with immigrant parents, and it was cool to see it portrayed in fiction. Norris's whole experience of meeting Aarti's family was really entertaining. I also quite enjoyed Norris having ZERO filter whatsoever.
Norris is a hilarious and witty narrator, and the world Philippe creates for him feels so real. This book really captures the weird variety of people you meet in high school, and I appreciated that it reflects some universal aspects of being the new kid while also being specific to being a second-generation Haitian French-Canadian lad moving from Montreal to Austin. I come from a different immigrant background and typically pass as white, so it was really eye-opening for me to see how differently Norris and his mother navigated their new home (in the South, no less!) as a black family. Overall, this was an excellent read with a good balance of humor and substance.
Other highlights - I loved how the shared immigrant background was both an underlying tension and bonding catalyst in Norris's relationship with Aarti. I feel like that's a not uncommon experience when growing up with immigrant parents, and it was cool to see it portrayed in fiction. Norris's whole experience of meeting Aarti's family was really entertaining. I also quite enjoyed Norris having ZERO filter whatsoever.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced