A Field Guide To High School

Walsh, Marissa. A Field Guide to High School: A Novel. New York: Delacorte Press, 2007.

[Book cover credit: www.alibris.com]

Genre: Realistic/Issues

Annotation:
This is a hilarious guide to high school. It covers anything from the cafeteria to the jocks.

Booktalk Review:
Written as a guide from one college-bound sister to her younger sister about to enter high school, this read is sure to make anyone laugh. Here is an excerpt from the book that describes a certain type of girl:

SHREWS AND GILA MONSTERS
[HILTONS]

SIMILAR SPECIES: Mean girls. The plastics. The Heathers. Pretties. Princesses. Popular People. Cheerleaders. Beautiful people.
EXAMPLES: Heathers. Cher from Clueless. Kelly from Saved by the Bell.
BEHAVIOR: Frequent hair whipping, color/outfit coordinating, not eating.
IDENTIFICATION: Long hair. Evil eye. Little dog.
AS SEEN IN: Heathers. Mean Girls. Popular. Clueless.
HABITAT: Mall. Bathroom.
NOTE: Dig below the surface and they're just like everybody else. [p.104]

Her spot-on and sometimes vicious descriptions and mocking flavor make this gossip-worthy book an enjoyable read.

Teen Review:
Shut up! It was so funny how she made fun of everybody! I think some of the advice is crazy, but some of it is good. Laura, 16

Check out this website for a short bio of the auther (it doesn't have any info on this book, though):
http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Marissa-Walsh/37119608