A Field Guide to High School [Paperback]

Marissa Walsh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 9, 2008

Andie has just finished eighth grade and will be starting high school in the fall. The good news: Her super-popular valedictorian big sister, Claire, is graduating and won't be there to put Andie in the shadows. The bad news: Her super-popular valedictorian big sister, Claire, is graduating and won't be there to help her. But Claire hasn't forgotten Andie.

For her little sister, Claire has put together a guide that covers everything a freshman needs to know but didn't even think to ask. Andie reads every word and even shares it with her best friend, Bess.

But sometimes they wonder if Harvard-bound Claire got everything right! In this hilarious and honest look at one girl's heroic attempt to conquer high school, readers will get all the benefit of Claire's wisdom about making those four years more than bearable—and absolutely memorable. Fortunately, high school happens only once in a lifetime.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 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 © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

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 they'll be fine. This clever concept, ideal for fans of alternate formats, is entertainingly carried out. Booth, Heather --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (September 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385734115
• ISBN-13: 978-0385734110
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.4 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #732,059 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

writer, editor, girl with glasses.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Contains wisdom and fun to delight any middle school reader, October 7, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Field Guide to High School (Hardcover)

Marissa Walsh's A FIELD GUIDE TO HIGH SCHOOL tells of Andie, who has just finished eighth grade and will soon begin high school. Her big sister will be graduating as she enters school - and her guide for new freshman Andie contains wisdom and fun to delight any middle school reader contemplating high school's challenges.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, August 28, 2007

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Field Guide to High School (Hardcover)

Andie's nervous about starting high school. What if everyone compares her to her super-popular sister and finds her lacking?

Since Claire just graduated, she won't be there to help Andie, but neither will she be there to overshadow her. The day Claire leaves for college, she leaves behind a present for Andie: a field guide to high school.

Inside, she dishes on what not to do, the differences between the cliques, and the knowledge that everyone's insecure in high school. Is the answer really to just be yourself?

Andie shares the guide with her best friend, Bess, who will be attending a different high school. While the two friends pour over the guide with amusement and wonder, they realize that this tiny guide dishes on everything high school.

Readers will be left wondering if Andie follows her sister's advice and if she survives high school, though, since the book only spans one day.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Rummel