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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
Enjoyable new kid story with a main character who has some growing to do. Lots of humor and a great localized setting. Every time I kept coming back to read I kept expecting first person, that’s how close the third-person is.
This book had some really funny parts and I really enjoyed them. But the book as a whole, I did not enjoy.
Similar feelings to the Christie Affair, that I read in February... I just don't like the mc. At first I thought I'd like Norris's funny, sarcastic comments. But they become very annoying very quickly. To the point I considered not finishing it. I finished reading it for Maddie, because I needed to know if she got what she deserved.
Don't take my low rating as a reason to not read it, please! There were people in book club who really liked it. But it's not my genre, firstly, and secondly, I can't stand Norris. I'm a character person, if I love the characters, I love the book. That just didn't happen here.
Similar feelings to the Christie Affair, that I read in February... I just don't like the mc. At first I thought I'd like Norris's funny, sarcastic comments. But they become very annoying very quickly. To the point I considered not finishing it. I finished reading it for Maddie, because I needed to know if she got what she deserved.
Don't take my low rating as a reason to not read it, please! There were people in book club who really liked it. But it's not my genre, firstly, and secondly, I can't stand Norris. I'm a character person, if I love the characters, I love the book. That just didn't happen here.
4.25 ✨
Norris is definitely a flawed and judgy person but I loved his character development and Ben Philippe’s writing style is just hilarious. This made me laugh so much but I was also bawling my eyes out so yupp I enjoyed it.
Norris is definitely a flawed and judgy person but I loved his character development and Ben Philippe’s writing style is just hilarious. This made me laugh so much but I was also bawling my eyes out so yupp I enjoyed it.
For a debut novel, this was pretty good. It still didn’t quite do it for me - it felt like the author was trying really hard, like, all the time. It was also really predictable. Still enjoyable, and I look forward to what the author does next.
I really like YA fiction, despite being on the other side of 50. I think part of it is that when I was a teenager, many of us were all reading things our brains may not have been ready for, despite our reading levels being more than capable. (Seriously, I was reading Leon Uris at 13! WTH?) I enjoy the snarky characters, the big issues modern YA fiction tackle, and the quick reads.
The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Philippe hit the spot for a great YA read. While the main character is fair more like able than he thinks, he has enough flaws to make him interesting and relatable. I enjoyed how Philippe made most of the other characters layered and nuanced as well (with a couple of notable exceptions).
I’d be interested to see how this book would be different if written post-pandemic. I would love to give a 3.8/5 stars ranking.
The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Philippe hit the spot for a great YA read. While the main character is fair more like able than he thinks, he has enough flaws to make him interesting and relatable. I enjoyed how Philippe made most of the other characters layered and nuanced as well (with a couple of notable exceptions).
I’d be interested to see how this book would be different if written post-pandemic. I would love to give a 3.8/5 stars ranking.
2.5 stars. This book had an interesting premise and a few glimmers that shown through, and I especially appreciate the diversity of characters, but I simply did not like Norris, the snarky main character, much at all, even after he began to recognize his own flaws. There just wasn’t real, resonant emotion in this one for me. It fell flat and it took forever to get through. Also, the third person limited narrative perspective just felt weird. Why?
If I had to rate this book on my enjoyment it’d be one star. But the writing isn’t terrible just predictable and not for me. I mean I just finished it and I already forgot everything that happened. I appreciate the black male protagonist, but he’s so insufferable. The best part of this was Norris’s mom.
2.5/5 stars
2.5/5 stars
So good. Author did an outstanding job with character voice. Funny and poignant!
Norris "Canada" Kaplan moves from Montreal to Austin Texas and embarks on a snarky overhaul of his teen image
Writing in his notebook, a "Field Guide" to all the jocks, cheerleaders and misfits at High School, Norris slowly assimilates into an All American Teen.
Came for the snark, stayed for the wholesome.
Writing in his notebook, a "Field Guide" to all the jocks, cheerleaders and misfits at High School, Norris slowly assimilates into an All American Teen.
Came for the snark, stayed for the wholesome.
I grew up in the Pacific Northwest. As such, I had never experienced warm rain until I moved to central Pennsylvania to start my undergraduate education. When I made my plans to make this move to PA, I didn't expect to come back to Washington. I was expecting to meet my life partner in college and settle down somewhere other than the smallish town where I grew up.
But then, I experienced warm rain for the first time.
And the humidity of the Mid-Atlantic.
I don't know that it was an instantaneous decision, and it wasn't ALL about the weather, but certainly within the first semester I was there, I knew I needed to come back to the Pacific Northwest.
I've been to Austin once. It's the only part of Texas I've visited. I went for a professional conference, after being told it was the only part of Texas I might like. "It's weird, like Portland" people said. When I got there, I found it was "weird" in a way that faintly resembled PDX's vibe. But it was "weird" with a cowboy hat on. It was ok, but not in a way that felt better to me than the way the PacNW does "weird."
Because of these lived experiences, I really felt Norris' discomfort with the heat and cultural stylings of Austin, Texas. He talks extensively about how much he sweats in Austin. He changes his shirt at least once every school day.
He also struggles with the fact that some of the people he meets fulfill all of his stereotypes of American/Texas teenagers. I have a similar reaction when I meet people who fit in my boxes too well.
This character was relatable.
That's what everyone says about this book, right?
And yeah, it was true for this pushing-40 white librarian from Washington too.
I really liked his mom. The fact that his parents were divorced, that she was an academic, but that a fancy-sounding job like that wasn't actually lucrative or a cure-all for their life.
I had some quibbles:
- The notebook, and notes at the beginning of each chapter seemed a little gimmicky through most of the book, and their plot relevance came kinda out of nowhere when it did arrive.
- I went in with the misconception that the primary character was gay, so was disappointed that there was only one, quite minor, character who was part of the queer community.
- I had a hard time believing his mom
Overall, though, I found a lot to relate to in this story about a Haitian-Canadian Black kid adjusting to life in Austin, TX.
I'll certainly be taking it to my next High School visits. Debating about Middle School, though (due to drinking, cussing, and the general sensibility).
But then, I experienced warm rain for the first time.
And the humidity of the Mid-Atlantic.
I don't know that it was an instantaneous decision, and it wasn't ALL about the weather, but certainly within the first semester I was there, I knew I needed to come back to the Pacific Northwest.
I've been to Austin once. It's the only part of Texas I've visited. I went for a professional conference, after being told it was the only part of Texas I might like. "It's weird, like Portland" people said. When I got there, I found it was "weird" in a way that faintly resembled PDX's vibe. But it was "weird" with a cowboy hat on. It was ok, but not in a way that felt better to me than the way the PacNW does "weird."
Because of these lived experiences, I really felt Norris' discomfort with the heat and cultural stylings of Austin, Texas. He talks extensively about how much he sweats in Austin. He changes his shirt at least once every school day.
He also struggles with the fact that some of the people he meets fulfill all of his stereotypes of American/Texas teenagers. I have a similar reaction when I meet people who fit in my boxes too well.
This character was relatable.
That's what everyone says about this book, right?
And yeah, it was true for this pushing-40 white librarian from Washington too.
I really liked his mom. The fact that his parents were divorced, that she was an academic, but that a fancy-sounding job like that wasn't actually lucrative or a cure-all for their life.
I had some quibbles:
- The notebook, and notes at the beginning of each chapter seemed a little gimmicky through most of the book, and their plot relevance came kinda out of nowhere when it did arrive.
- I went in with the misconception that the primary character was gay, so was disappointed that there was only one, quite minor, character who was part of the queer community.
- I had a hard time believing his mom
Spoiler
would actually be able to let him decide whether or not they stayed in the United States.Overall, though, I found a lot to relate to in this story about a Haitian-Canadian Black kid adjusting to life in Austin, TX.
I'll certainly be taking it to my next High School visits. Debating about Middle School, though (due to drinking, cussing, and the general sensibility).