A Field Guide to High School

August 6, 2007
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.

September 1, 2007
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 Garrett, Armstrong Elementary School, Sachse, TX"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2008
When Andie's sister Claire departs for Yale, she leaves behind a handbook on how to survive high school. Claire offers keen observations, addressing everything from what to wear to making friends. In a major turnaround, she finally acknowledges, "everyone just has to figure it out for themselves." The book attempts to be light and breezy, but the framing device is distractingly contrived.

(Copyright 2008 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

June 1, 2007
On the morning that her perfect, overachieving sister, Claire, leaves for college, soon-to-be high-school freshman, Andie, discovers a parting gift. Claire has composed a field guide to the treacherous landscape of private high school, full of wisdom on many topics, from the school building itself to the idiosyncrasies of the various cliques. Andie and her best friend Bess comments appear periodically, but the bulk of this novel truly is a field guide that covers the minutiae of high school, as Claire knew it. Claire has a good eye for detail, and her personal stories of her four years at Plumstead Country Day occasionally accompany her descriptions. Reading the guide, Andie begins to understand that she and her flawless sister share similar anxieties and concerns. Claire ends her guide with suggested reading, viewing, and listening for better understanding high school, and a final note assures Andie, and the reader, that theyll be fine. This clever concept, ideal for fans of alternate formats, is entertainingly carried out.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)