Ben Philippe – författare

William C. Morris YA Debut Award Winner!A hilarious YA contemporary realistic novel about a witty Black French Canadian teen who moves to Austin, Texas, and experiences the joys, clichés, and awkward humiliations of the American high school experience—including falling in love. Perfect for fans of Nicola Yoon, When Dimple Met Rishi, and John Green. Norris Kaplan is clever, cynical, and quite possibly too smart for his own good. A Black French Canadian, he knows from watching American sitcoms that those three things don’t bode well when you are moving to Austin, Texas.Plunked into a new high school and sweating a ridiculous amount from the oppressive Texas heat, Norris finds himself cataloging everyone he meets: the Cheerleaders, the Jocks, the Loners, and even the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Making a ton of friends has never been a priority for him, and this way he can at least amuse himself until it’s time to go back to Canada, where he belongs.Yet against all odds, those labels soon become actual people to Norris…like loner Liam, who makes it his mission to befriend Norris, or Madison the beta cheerleader, who is so nice that it has to be a trap. Not to mention Aarti the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, who might, in fact, be a real love interest in the making. But the night of the prom, Norris screws everything up royally. As he tries to pick up the pieces, he realizes it might be time to stop hiding behind his snarky opinions and start living his life—along with the people who have found their way into his heart.

Surprises await a clever Black French Canadian teen when he''s forced to attend high school in Austin, Texas, in this hilarious contemporary YA novel.William C. Morris YA Debut Award Winner!"A witty debut with whip-smart dialogue that will find much love among fans of authors like John Green and Jason Reynolds." —SLJ (starred review)Meet Norris Kaplan. As a Black French Canadian who has been recently plunked into Austin, Texas, he is not happy. Norris''s superpower has always been the ability to wield a sharp comeback and keep people at a safe distance. He''ll do just his time there until he can finally go back home.Having grown up on a steady diet of American TV, Norris knows just what to expect when he starts at a prototypical American high school. Sure enough, he soon encounters:Aarti, the Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Preys on sexually inexperienced, awkward teen boys.Madison, the Beta Cheerleader: In the middle of cheerleading pyramid. "Good listener."Liam, the Loner: Sad eyes. Headphones not necessarily playing anything.Hairy Armpits, the Bully: Improperly groomed linebacker. Missing Link understudy.Against all odds, though, he finds himself with a love interest, a new potential best friend, and what appears to be a budding ice hockey team. Will he give in and start living his life and maybe even (groan) enjoy it? Or will he blow it all by being . . . well, Norris?"With a perfect balance of snark, keen observation, and wry humor, Ben Phillippe has given us the brilliant Norris Kaplan—by far, the funniest, wittiest, smartest character I''ve ever read!" —Ibi Zoboi, author of American Street

From the award-winning author of The Field Guide to the North American Teenager comes a whip-smart and layered romantic comedy. Perfect for fans of Nicola Yoon and Jenny Han. Henri “Halti” Haltiwanger can charm just about anyone. He is a star debater and popular student at the prestigious FATE academy, the dutiful first-generation Haitian son, and the trusted dog walker for his wealthy New York City neighbors. But his easy smiles mask a burning ambition to attend his dream college, Columbia University.There is only one person who seems immune to Henri’s charms: his “intense” classmate and neighbor Corinne Troy. When she uncovers Henri’s less-than-honest dog-walking scheme, she blackmails him into helping her change her image at school. Henri agrees, seeing a potential upside for himself.Soon what started as a mutual hustle turns into something more surprising than either of them ever bargained for. . . . This is a sharply funny and insightful novel about the countless hustles we have to keep from doing the hardest thing: being ourselves.

From the award-winning author of The Field Guide to theNorth American Teenager comes a whip-smart and layered romantic comedy. Perfectfor fans of Nicola Yoon and Jenny Han. Henri “Halti” Haltiwanger can charm just about anyone.He is a star debater and popular student at the prestigious FATE academy, thedutiful first-generation Haitian son, and the trusted dog walker for hiswealthy New York City neighbors. But his easy smiles mask a burning ambition toattend his dream college, Columbia University.There is only one person who seems immune to Henri’s charms: his “intense”classmate and neighbor Corinne Troy. When she uncovers Henri’s less-than-honestdog-walking scheme, she blackmails him into helping her change her image atschool. Henri agrees, seeing a potential upside for himself.Soon what started as a mutual hustle turns into something moresurprising than either of them ever bargained for. . . . This is a sharply funny and insightful novel about the countlesshustles we have to keep from doing the hardest thing: being ourselves.

A biting, hilarious memoir in essays chronicling a lifetime of being the Black friend* in white spaces. (*see also: foreign kid, boyfriend, coworker, student, teacher, enemy)"Flat-out funny. . . This is a great next-book for fans of What Doesn''t Kill You Makes You Blacker and We Are Never Meeting in Real Life, but if a reader hasn''t turned to either of those yet, Philippe''s disarming, illuminating, and hilarious chronicle is a great place to start." —BooklistIn an era in which "I have many Black friends" is often a medal of wokeness, Ben Phillipe hilariously chronicles the experiences of being on the receiving end of those fist bumps. He takes through his immigrant childhood, from wanting nothing more than friends to sit with at lunch, to his awkward teenage years, to college in the age of Obama, and on to adulthood during the first Trump administration—two sides of the same American coin.Ben takes his role as your new Black friend seriously, providing original and borrowed wisdom on stereotypes, slurs, the whole "swimming thing," how much Beyoncé is too much Beyoncé, Black Girl Magic, the rise of the Karens, affirmative action, the Black Lives Matter movement, and other conversations you might want to have with your new BBFF.Sure, I''ll Be Your Black Friend is a conversational take on topics both light and heavy universal, and deeply personal that reveals incisive truths about the need for connection in all of us."I still mute Ben''s texts, but I inhaled his hilarious book, which is so full of razor-sharp wit and punches to the gut that it almost made me sick. In a good way!" —Samantha Irby, New York Times–bestselling author of Wow, No Thank You"Philippe has created a funny, and at times harrowing, memoir of his experience as a Black man." —Library Journal