Field Guide to the North American Teenager

Content Warning: The section of the guide mentions attempted death by suicide.

Protagonist Norris Kaplan is a Black French-Canadian teen boy who has just relocated from his home in Montreal to Austin, Texas. Norris lives with his mother, Judith, after his parents divorced two years before the beginning of the novel. Norris is the child of Haitian immigrants who moved to Canada before he was born. Norris is closest to his mother and his best friend, Eric, whom he left back in Canada. Upon arriving in Austin, Norris decides immediately that he dislikes the place and begins to criticize and judge every aspect of his new city, including the people. Norris’s habit of being openly critical is nothing new to him, however. In Chapter 2, Judith highlights how Norris’s mouth has gotten him in trouble and hurt his social connections in the past, emphasizing how much she wants Norris to temper his vocal criticisms for the sake of first impressions at his new school.

Norris’s judgmental nature and critical mouth are his primary sources of conflict throughout the novel. Before moving to Austin, Norris’s only exposure to American high school experiences was through teen-centric movies and television shows, so he uses tropes and stereotypes to filter his perception of those around him.