A Field Guide to High School

Julie Just

Walsh's first novel is a smart and knowing satire that is probably all too on target as the survival guide it pretends to be.
—The New York Times

Publishers Weekly

This slender book-within-a-book, while witty, reads more like background for a novel than a full-fledged work in itself. Claire, who has just left for Yale, has penned little sister Andie a guidebook to the private high school where Claire reigned supreme and where Andie is poised to enter as a freshman. With her bestie Bess (who's about to enter a Catholic school), Andie-and readers-absorb Claire's words of wisdom, which have been set into the pages of an old field guide to "poisonous plants" and "venomous animals." This wry touch closely resembles the use of zoology in Mean Girls, a movie quoted here along with other pop culture references. Kids familiar with those references will already know Walsh's (Not Like I'm Jealous or Anything) territory and players (goths, skaters, Muffys, Hiltons). Some of Claire's counsel might be shrewd but it's hard to implement (she tells her sister to be sick on the day of the ninth-grade class trip, since "nothing good comes of it"); much is obvious (while giving students distinct labels, she notes that "everyone... is insecure. Everyone. Insecure. Equally"). The narrative element, exploring the bond between the sisters, is too thin to compensate for the lack of a plot. Ages 12-up. (Aug.)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Children's Literature

AGERANGE: Ages 12 to 16.

Anyone who has survived high school knows that simply mastering the complex social structures can take as much hard work and studying as history, geography, or biology. That is the premise of Marissa Walsh's novel, in which eighth-grader Andie's high-achieving older sister Claire (on the way to Yale for "some pre-pre-preorientation college thing") gives her younger sister a doctored-up Peterson's field guide to poisonous plants and venomous animals. In this case, though, Claire has cleverly replaced the field guide text with her own recommendations about surviving the treacherous landscape of her (and soon to be Andie's) private high school. Claire offers advice on everything from how to get to school ("It's not cool to take the bus, but it's not as bad as being driven by a parent or other adult.") to how to spend the lunch hour ("Lunch is, above all, a social activity. Eating is secondary.") to which sports are cool (field hockey--"there's nothing cuter for fall than a little field hockey skirt") and which are not (softball--"don't even think about it."). Claire's guidelines, which often take the form of lists identifying different social types, school traditions, and more, are interspersed with the commentary of Andie and her best friend Bess as they digest the information Claire has imparted and prepare to face the years ahead. Although Walsh's unusual format is initially appealing, the rare glimpses into Andie's personality fail to advance her story, making the book more valuable as a work of social satire than as an insightful novel per se. Nevertheless, readers (especially those navigating the wilds of their own schools) will appreciate thegood-humored perspective and snarky commentary offered by Claire's most unconventional field guide. Reviewer: Norah Piehl

KLIATT - Janis Flint-Ferguson

Andie's sister Claire is leaving for Yale and although Andie, about to go to high school, was going to go along on the trip, instead she stays home. She has the house to herself and finds a book her sister left for her, the Field Guide to High School. Andie calls her best friend Bess to spend the day with her and share the book. Together they read through the cool ways to get to school, what the first day is like, what to wear, what to study and how to enjoy the traditions of the private school she will be attending. The guide is a snippet of life at the Plumstead Country Day School as seen by one who successfully maneuvered her way through it. By the end of the day, Claire is at Yale and has called Andie several times, and Andie is preparing for her own high school field experience. The book is cute and trendy, filled with references to pop culture and lists of songs and books that the 2007 reader will know and understand.

School Library Journal

Gr 7-9
When Claire heads off to Yale (early admission), she leaves her eighth-grade sister a book entitled A Field Guide to High School . In it, she explains the key to running the social and academic gambit at their private school, and discusses the elements of each social group and the importance of knowing what not to wear. She stresses the need to choose the right people from the very start of school, and tells her how she was so successful: "By being constantly aware of my surroundings. By keeping my friends close and my enemies closer. By striking first." Claire's voice is witty and wry and easy to read, but it lacks a personal connection. The font changes between narrator and commentary by Andi and her best friend, providing nicely spaced text. The occasional spot illustrations resemble those found in field-guide manuals, yet each one is labeled to reflect an aspect of high school (Scorpions/Spiders/Centipedes; Sophomores/Juniors/Seniors). The numerous pop-culture references and even top 10 lists enable readers to connect with the novel but it reads just like a field guide with minimal character/reader interaction.
—Emily GarrettCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Because there is no room in the car, Andie, the soon-to-be ninth-grader, is left behind, as her parents drive her older sister Claire to start her freshman year at Yale. Once at home, Andie finds the Field Guide that Claire wrote for her using chapter headings from a real guide. Andie will be entering the same posh private school from which Claire recently graduated as valedictorian. The first half (POISONOUS PLANTS) is comprised of detailed ins and outs of private school and advice that tends toward overbearing ("Don't dress up too much. . . . Don't introduce yourself as my sister.") and the accumulated effect eventually emphasizes poor Claire's own fierce alienation. The second half (VENOMOUS ANIMALS), mostly humorous and clever, categorizes every specimen of the high-school genus and species. While the book-within-the-book idea is an interesting one, its potential never seems to develop fully. Andie's minimal response may leave readers wondering about its purpose-for kids to laugh at themselves or to articulate a more subversive message about individuality? Backmatter includes lists for top reads, music and television. Glaringly omitted is Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak (1999), to which, in part, this book may owe a debt. (Fiction. 12-14)