A scene where Norris is confronted by his mother for getting drunk and belligerent with a white cop is diluted by his refusal or inability to grasp the severity of the situation and the resultant minor consequences. The scenes showcasing his emotional growth are too brief and, despite foreshadowing, the climax falls flat because he still gets incredible personal access to people he’s hurt. Norris’ ego, fueled by his insecurities, often gets in the way of meaningful character development. He’s greeted in his new life by an assortment of acquaintances, Liam, who is white and struggling with depression Maddie, a self-sacrificing white cheerleader with a heart of gold and Aarti, his Indian-American love interest who offers connection. His professor mom’s new tenure-track job transplants Norris mid–school year, and his biting wit and sarcasm are exposed through his cataloging of his new world in a field guide–style burn book.

Norris Kaplan, the protagonist of Philippe’s debut novel, is a hypersweaty, uber-snarky black, Haitian, French-Canadian pushing to survive life in his new school. The characters are superbly drawn portrayed as whole people, the various elements of their identities are not the entirety of who they are.Ī teenage, not-so-lonely loner endures the wilds of high school in Austin, Texas. Their relationship prepares one of the girls to become president of the United States, and the twist ending will come as a surprise. Over the course of the year, the friends weather obstacles and realize the power of their friendship. Latinx artist Ava, who lives with depression, desires to find her birth mother and attend art school against her mother’s wishes white cross-country athlete CJ, who is self-conscious about her body, can’t crack the SATs, so she strengthens her college application by volunteering with disabled children biracial (black/white) student journalist Jordan lies about her age to interview a handsome councilman’s aide, and a mutual crush develops STEM-focused white lesbian Martha, named for her ancestor Martha Washington, worries that her family can’t afford MIT. This is far from their only problem: Though each is talented, they struggle this year with emotional, academic, social, and financial issues.

When their senior rite of passage, carving one’s name into the jungle gym at a local park, is threatened by a city council that wants to demolish the park, the girls rally to save the place where they became friends. The future is female: Her name is President Diffenderfer.īest friends since kindergarten, Ava, CJ, Jordan, and Martha tackle their senior year with great aplomb in Watson’s debut.

Most likely by sarah watson