The field guide to the north american teenager audiobook free

About the author

Ben Philippe is a New York–based writer and screenwriter, born in Haiti and raised in Montreal, Canada. He has a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University and an MFA in fiction and screenwriting from the Michener Center for Writers in Austin, Texas. He also teaches film studies and screenwriting at Barnard College. He is the author of the William C. Morris Award–winning novel The Field Guide to the North American Teenager. Find him online at www.benphilippe.com.

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What people think about The Field Guide to the North American Teenager

3.6

123 ratings / 12 Reviews

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• Norris has to do a lot of adjusting after his move from Canada to Texas. A Black French Canadian, he's a hockey player, a smart ass, and what he knows about Texas is limited to stereotypes and American high schools as portrayed in the media. He can't keep his mouth shut and his outsider stance is quickly flipped as he befriends a cheerleader and has her giving him advice to date the girl he sets his sights on, Aarty. It's funny, cringy, and an enjoyable read.

• I would like to read more of this author because there's a lot of clever-funny going on here. But I am mystified by the decision to write this in 3rd person when the narrative screams 1st.

• I read this novel at the request of a friend. She wanted an opinion on finding something to engage her teenager in the current news-media dialogue on racism. This book isn’t a good choice because it is more about a middle-school kid (Norris) trying to fit in at a new high school. Beyond that, the fact he is black, French-Canadian does not come across as the source of the drama that pervades this novel. In fact, there was too much high-school drama which didn’t convey an authentic situation. I was disappointed at the amount of stereotyping (jocks, cheer leaders, an introductory school counsellor). I’ve read a number of YA novels in the contemporary fiction genre and this one fell flat. Too busy being snarky and sarcastic, Norris didn’t come across as a realistic teen voice.

• Norris moves with his mom from Montreal to Austin, Texas and must try to survive the heat, the separation from his best friend, and most of all, navigating the Typical Texas Teenagers in his new school. It doesn't help that he's a black French Canadian or that his mouth is sometimes faster than his sense of tact.Part YA sweet romance, part coming-of-age, part #ownvoices narrative of a black teen in the modern-day South. I enjoyed this one immensely and think it definitely deserves this year's Morris Award. The characters were very well drawn: complex in their motivations and wants/needs and all easy to empathize with and root for and love. And although that too-precocious-for-a-teen element was present in the writing, it wasn't as bothersome as it is in other YA authors.

• Evergreen Bk Award nominee 2022: Very snarky, humorous narrative of black Canadian teen traveling from Montreal, Canada (divorce, dad stays mom moves) going to Austin TX where his mom has new college teaching job. Lots of heart - year in the life sort of story.

• Norris Kaplan moves from Canada to Austin, Texas because his mother has received a job offer at the University in Austin. At first, Norris is extremely reluctant to acclimate to the new school and prefers to spend time alone only looking forward to the vacation he has coming back up to Canada. Then through an act of bullying, Norris is defended by a bunch of Cheerleaders by Aarti with whom he immediately falls in love. Norris decides to take a job at a local BBQ restaurant to cover the cost of airfare as his mother and he is lower middle class and ends up working with the owners' daughter who is one of the cheerleaders, Madison. This is a feel-good story that reads like a classic 90's high school drama. I ADORED Norris as the main character. He was witty and sarcastic without being overbearing. One of the best main characters that I have ever read.