Books I've read: The Field Guide to the North American Teenager

 

This is another book I came across on the Libby app when I was searching for something to read after finishing my last Libby book.  It looked fun and quirky, so I gave it a whirl.

And it is fun and quirky, so I'm glad I picked it.

Norris, a black French Canadian, is forced to move to Austin Texas when his mother gets a good job at the university there.  With American television shows the only guide he has to life South of the border, Norris goes into this venture with a large chip on is shoulder.  He's quite determined not to enjoy this at all.

When a guidance counsellor gives him a notebook to write down his feelings and observations, she probably didn't expect Norris to begin cataloguing the people around him as if they were wildlife.  But that's what he does, keeping himself aloof from his peers while he observes and places everyone in their category.

There are the jocks with their hairy armpits, the cheerleaders who move in pony-tailed flocks, the loners who seem to make being alone look like an art and the manic pixie dream girl who might just be the one who gets Norris to put down his notebook and pen and pay attention.

Yet somehow, Norris gets dragged into life with these people and despite himself, starts to get to know them.  And when he does, he discovers that behind his casually-given labels are actual people with their own unique thoughts and feelings and opinions.  People he might actually want to be friends with.  Or maybe even date?

I enjoyed this book because Norris is a deliciously snarky and cynical narrator.  He's also kind of an asshole for most of the book.  He's so certain he's going to hate this new experience, he goes in without any kind of openness to the new experiences he's going to have.  He already has friends in Canada, so why does he need any here?  He doesn't give anyone a chance to prove themselves different once he's labeled them and cataloged the behavior in his notebook.

I always find it fascinating when a character you dislike from the start manages to hold your attention through an entire book.  And this book did just that.

So I'd recommend it despite that.

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:


Norris Kaplan is clever, cynical, and quite possibly too smart for his own good. A Black French Canadian, he knows from watching American sitcoms that those three things don’t bode well when you are moving to Austin, Texas.

Plunked into a new high school and sweating a ridiculous amount from the oppressive Texas heat, Norris finds himself cataloging everyone he the Cheerleaders, the Jocks, the Loners, and even the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Making a ton of friends has never been a priority for him, and this way he can at least amuse himself until it’s time to go back to Canada, where he belongs.

Yet against all odds, those labels soon become actual people to Norris…like loner Liam, who makes it his mission to befriend Norris, or Madison the beta cheerleader, who is so nice that it has to be a trap. Not to mention Aarti the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, who might, in fact, be a real love interest in the making.

But the night of the prom, Norris screws everything up royally. As he tries to pick up the pieces, he realizes it might be time to stop hiding behind his snarky opinions and start living his life—along with the people who have found their way into his heart.