Physical copies of this book were kindly provided by Indigo Books & Music Inc., in exchange for an honest review.
This book ended up being so different from what I had expected! Though I shouldn’t be too surprised, since this is Philippe’s debut novel, so he’s definitely a new-to-me author. The main character of this book, Norris, was likeable for me from the start, and there was a lot of snarky humour sprinkled throughout this book, which was great. I think that I liked the humour the most, if I had to pick a top favourite thing! It was also quite interesting to read about Texas from the perspective of a fellow Canadian, even if he is from a different part of Canada than me. I can definitely understand how Norris must have felt when he moved from Montreal, Quebec to Austin, Texas (especially as a teen).
I also loved how this book pointed out that nothing is really black and white, even when it comes to high school students, cliques, teachers, etc. (I won’t say any more about that, though, because I might spoil something.) Another thing that I really liked about The Field Guide to the North American Teenager was how the characters were portrayed. The story is told from Norris’ perspective, so we learn about Norris (there was definitely some self-discovery involved), as well as the other characters, at the same pace as he is. The way that this book is written made me feel as if I was experiencing a lot of things with Norris, or at the same time as Norris, which in turn made me feel very invested in the characters and what was going to happen. I definitely enjoyed this one and will for sure be keeping an eye on this author and what he’ll publish next!
Ben Philippe was born in Haiti, raised in Montreal, QC, Canada, and now resides in New York. He is a graduate of the Michener Center for Writers and holds a BA in Sociology from Columbia University. He won the 2013 Tennessee Williams Fiction Contest and his writing has appeared in Observer, Vanity Fair, Thrillist, and others. He still doesn’t have a valid driver’s license.
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was the Indigo Teen Staff Pick of the Month for January!
Thanks for your review! This book has been on my radar, but I wasn’t too sure about it. I’m glad to hear that you liked it, though, and I’ll have to add it to my TBR!
Ohhhh there you go! Hehe. I hope you’ll enjoy it!