Norris Kaplan is about to start his junior year at a new school in Austin, Tex., where his Haitian/Canadian mother recently got a job. He's heard Austin has a "unique flavor" and, upon arrival, he discovers that "none of this flavor... [is] hospitable to your average Canadian. No, to your average Canadian--black French Canadian no less--Austin, Texas, [blows] baby chunks."
Generally pessimistic and especially sour about moving to "the surface of the sun," Norris is determined to hate everything. Which he does. Until Aarti Puri. "Dark skinned... with... artificially dyed dark red hair," Aarti is artistic, smart and probably not into him. But Norris makes a deal with cheerleader Madison when applying for a job at her family's restaurant: he'll cover shifts when she has practice and she'll help him with Aarti. Slowly, with Maddie's help, Norris starts hanging with cheerleaders, makes friends with a nice loner and goes on dates with Aarti--he's "an actual American cliché." All the while, Norris writes in his journal witty, self-satisfied "field guide" entries disparaging life in Austin and the people around him. That type of mindset can backfire, though, and, when it does, Norris might have to leave Texas altogether.
Norris is self-absorbed with a cutting inner monologue. He should be wholly unlikable, but Quebecois-turned-Texan Ben Philippe manages to make Norris a humorous, sympathetic protagonist, lovable yet ultimately responsible for every moment of his own downfall. Norris is selfish, but Philippe is aware, regularly forcing Norris to recognize the humanity of others. Philippe continues this awareness by developing fully rounded characters who don't fit into Norris's stereotypes; no one is only vapid, only smart, only mean, or only an athlete. Which is "kind of the point," right? --Siân Gaetano, children's and YA editor, Shelf Awareness