The Field Guide to the North American Teenager - Ben Philippe

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the cover:

"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."

I picked this book up after a friend recommended it, and I'm glad she suggested I read it, both because it's a great book and because I might have given up on it otherwise. Weird dichotomy, right? Yeah, well...I'm a weird person. In fairness, I wouldn't say I considered giving up on it because of any true flaws on the book's part. It was more because it's summer, I'm a children's librarian, and as such I have been S O B U S Y S O T I R E D O M G FUCK. 

When I have time I like to treat reading like bingewatching a show on Netflix...coffee, snacks, cozy spot on the couch, read all day. That's my jam. When you don't have a full day to devote to reading, you have to resort to stealing moments to read a chapter here and a chapter there, and when that happens...sometimes it's harder to get into a new book. Like this one. Because look...let's just say it...

Norris Kaplan is not a likable character! He's hella snarky, judgmental, and he bases way more of his first impressions of people on high school movie stereotypes than he should. Perhaps in his head he is the misunderstood new kid loner, but in real life...dude is kind of a bully. BUT! This is why for certain books having the time for a binge read is important. Because...

Much like IRL teenagers, Norris grows and changes! It has been a while since I graduated high school, but this book felt so true to my teenage experience. I've been there, Norris. I too spent a lot of my high school years feeling like a misunderstood outsider, being so overly prepared for how other people might react to me that I was too ready with the snarky quips and ended up coming off as a dick because I was so afraid that people were going to be horrible to me that I was horrible to them first. It isn't easy being the new person, the different person, the person who doesn't already have a friend group, and while it was tough at first adjusting to Norris's inner (and often outer) critiques, he learns a lot of lessons throughout the course of the book and comes out of it a better person. As a bonus, the closer I got to the end the more nervous I was that it would wrap up superduper neatly and end too perfectly, but I was pleasantly surprised. This might be one of my favorite endings to a book ever.

I do have one question after finishing reading this book, and it is this: Do the teens of today watch movies like The Mighty Ducks? Don't get me wrong, they should. It may just be nostalgia speaking, but the movies of my childhood were wonderful. That said...do they?

Amber & Dusk - Lyra Selene

My rating: ⭐⭐

From the cover:

"Sylvie has always known she deserves more. Out in the permanent twilight of the Dusklands, her guardians called her power to create illusions a curse. But Sylvie knows it gives her a place in Coeur d'Or, the palais of the Amber Empress and her highborn legacies. 

So Sylvie sets off toward the Amber City, a glittering jewel under a sun that never sets, to take what is hers.

But her hope for a better life is quickly dimmed. The empress invites her in only as part of a wicked wager among her powerful courtiers. Sylvie must assume a new name, Mirage, and begin to navigate secretive social circles and deadly games of intrigue in order to claim her spot. Soon it becomes apparent that nothing is as it appears and no one, including her cruel yet captivating sponsor, Sunder, will answer her questions. As Mirage strives to assume what should be her rightful place, she'll have to consider whether it is worth the price she must pay."

Amber & Dusk reads like an outline of major plot points - lots of THINGS happen, but there isn't much in between to develop characters, build up to actions, or connect the reader to what is going on. Sylvie's journey starts off in a caravan, traveling from the Dusklands to Coeur d'Or because she deserves to be there! But...why? She has a legacy, whatever that means, but why does that lead to such a strong sense of entitlement? 

After Sylvie makes it to Coeur d'Or, learns that life at the palais is nothing like she expected, and becomes Mirage her sense of entitlement holds strong. We get sporadic scenes of her training with her sponsors, which basically consists of her getting angry at them and not actually putting in the work she needs to to strengthen her legacy, interspersed with weird attempted-witty repartee between her and Sunder, and every couple of chapters something new and major happens out of nowhere, keeping the reader ping-ponging back and forth between weird, apropos of nothing, new developments. 

Ultimately, the Big Revelation toward the end of the book was obvious from the first couple of chapters, the final showdown was lackluster, and at the end of the day while there are some great individual scenes in this book, as a whole it didn't work for me. Like Mirage's power, this book was mostly flash, not a lot of substance. 

I'm Not Dying with You Tonight - Gilly Segal and Kimberly Jones

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the Cover:

"Lena and Campbell aren't friends.

Lena has her killer style, her awesome boyfriend, and a plan. She knows she's going to make it big. Campbell, on the other hand, is just trying to keep her head down and get through the year at her new school.

When both girls attend the Friday-night football game, what neither expects is for everything to descend into sudden mass chaos. Chaos born from violence and hate. Chaos that unexpectedly throws them together.

They aren't friends. They hardly understand the other's point of view. But none of that matters when the city is up in flames, and they only have each other to rely on if they're going to survive the night."

💭💭💭

This book clocks in at 272 of some of the fastest pages I have ever read. It alternates between two voices. Campbell is new to McPherson High School, doesn't know anyone, and still isn't sure what she's doing here or how she got roped into helping run the concession stand at this weekend's football game. Lena, stylish and assertive, grew up here and knows how to handle herself when shit goes down...or at least, she thinks she does. Neither are expecting to find themselves in the middle of the fight that breaks out at halftime, but the riot that ensues forces them to band together to escape the school unscathed, and escaping the school is only the beginning. Their night is about to take a turn from bad to much, much worse. These two young women may live in the same city, but it's clear from their first interaction that they come from different worlds. With only each other to rely on, will they be able to work together and keep the silent promise they've made each other? 

The pace of this book pulls the reader in from the first chapter, taking you along as Lena and Campbell escape the concession stand, trying to find their way home, and it will have you on the edge of your seat until the last pages. The characters all felt like people I could have gone to school with in high school, and the emotions Lena and Campbell experience leap off the page. The differences in Lena and Campbell's experiences also provide a frank look at racism in the United States. This book is a conversation starter, and it's a conversation that needs to be had.