Waiting on Wednesday #8: The Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Philippe

Hey everyone! And happy Wednesday! I’m definitely having a lot of fun with Waiting on Wednesday, so you can expect for me to participate in this meme for quite some time! This week’s book was written by a Canadian who moved to the US, and the main character in his book goes through the same thing (but moves to Texas rather than NYC)! This one sounds very funny, and since I’m Canadian myself, I’m hoping to find some stuff that’s very relevant to me and my culture in this book!

“Can’t-Wait Wednesday [or Waiting on Wednesday] is a weekly meme hosted [by] Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine. If you’re continuing with WOW, feel free to link those up as well! Find out more here.”

Title: The Field Guide to the North American Teenager
Author: Ben Philippe
Type: Fiction
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins)
Published: January 22, 2019

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 meets: 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. Be it 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. He even starts playing actual hockey with these Texans.

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.

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.