High School

By: Tegan Quin, Sara Quin

Narrated by: Tegan Quin, Sara Quin

Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's Summary

"Tegan and Sara Quin’s joint memoir is perfect in audiobook form.... Knowing and loving Tegan and Sara the musicians will obviously make this listen extra special, but it’s by no means a prerequisite to entry. High School, very literally, is for everyone." (Paste, best audiobooks of 2019) 

This program is read by the authors and features bonus interviews and rough recordings of Tegan and Sara's first songs, recorded on cassette tapes in the late '90s, and rediscovered 20 years later while writing High School.

From the iconic musicians Tegan and Sara comes a memoir about high school, detailing their first loves and first songs in a compelling look back at their humble beginnings.

High School is the revelatory and unique coming-of-age story of Sara and Tegan Quin, identical twins from Calgary, Alberta, who grew up at the height of grunge and rave culture in the '90s, well before they became the celebrated musicians and global LGBTQ icons we know today. While grappling with their identity and sexuality, often alone, they also faced academic meltdown, their parents’ divorce, and the looming pressure of what might come after high school. Written in alternating chapters from both Tegan's and Sara’s points of view, the book is a raw account of the drugs, alcohol, love, music, and friendship they explored in their formative years.

A transcendent story of first loves and first songs, High School captures the tangle of discordant and parallel memories of two sisters who grew up in distinct ways even as they lived just down the hall from each another. This is the origin story of Tegan and Sara.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2019 Tegan Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin (P)2019 Macmillan Audio

Critic Reviews

"Tegan and Sara Quin’s joint memoir is perfect in audiobook form. Structured like a dynamic Young Adult novel, this high school-focused memoir is peppered with original recordings from the twins’ early days making music as queer teens in 1990s Calgary. In this way, High School is a wonderfully disorienting 4-D listening experience - the fourth dimension being time, as the listener is repeatedly shot back decades while the sisters’ memories dip in and out of their shared past. Knowing and loving Tegan and Sara the musicians will obviously make this listen extra special, but it’s by no means a prerequisite to entry. High School, very literally, is for everyone." (Paste) 

“Complexly intimate, smartly crafted, and packing a subtle emotional wallop.... A quietly heroic origin story.” (Rolling Stone) 

“Tegan and Sara are massively gifted songwriters, so this genius memoir shouldn’t have shocked me like it did. There’s simply nothing like it; it’s completely original, utterly gripping, and gorgeously written. High School is a fresh, beautiful, and fearlessly powerful coming-of-age memoir.” (Augusten Burroughs, New York Times best-selling author of Running with Scissors and Toil & Trouble)

I'm such a big fan.

I was riveted. I love it when the author narrates their own stories. The additional songs were totally awesome!

A universal deep dive into high school nostalgia

The only thing better than getting a honest, sincere and vivid ride through someone's high school experience is getting two. Most music memoirs are deliriously boring in their efforts to push the narrative of who they are now and ignore the history of what got them to where they are, thankfully, Tegan and Sara do the exact opposite. Tegan and Sara will rip your heart open with the ever-healing, universal wounds of high school. Their storytelling, which if you have ever seen them live you know that the banter is almost as good as the music, is so brutally honest that you can't help but hang onto every word. The audible version of the book is so incredibly good, not just because of the Canadian emphasis, but the demo recordings bring so much life to the story that you feel as if you are in the Plunk/Sara & Tegan group of friends, cheering the duo on as they discover their absolute talent. I loved this book, I would recommend it to anyone, especially those who have loved at an age where their emotions were big enough to swallow them whole. I can't wait to listen to this again (and again).

Perfection in an audiobook

The audiobook is intertwined with real recordings and audio from Tegan and Sara’s youth with makes this story all the more powerful. I didn’t want to stop listening. Reading their own words, Tegan and Sara tell the story of their high school days and give us context to how they became the amazing artists and icons they are today. A must listen.

Touching, relatable, beautifully read!

This book comes from a place of deep honesty and emotion and is just a joy to listen to.

Really great on narration choice

This was a great book about their early years and the narration was wonderful. I like that there are clips of their music that was recorded back then sprinkled in. Will listen to again.

I stayed up way too late to finish this book.

Tegan and Sara are natural storytellers. It felt like I was listening to old friends. I could relate to almost everything throughout their beautifully written memoir. Remembering my own high school days, it was a needed reminder that I wasn’t alone. Feeling like I didn’t fit in, not sure what was next in life, trying to figure out who I was, which if I’m honest, I’m still learning. I’m also an identical twin, and I had multiple moments of, “I know exactly what they’re talking about. I’ve felt that way too.” The relationship I have with my sister isn’t like any other relationship in my life. This book reminded me that I never want to take it for granted. Hands down, the best book I’ve read this year.

High Praise for High School

Very intimate and raw. I highly recommend giving this a listen. It resonates to many a young queers’ experience. The awkwardness and even the shame of being found out felt so palpable. I could say more but I won’t. You’ll just have to listen for yourself.

Intriguing glimpse of the Quin duo

I personally love when audiobooks are read by the authors cuz you feel a more genuine sense of what emotions are being conveyed through the story.

Authors Sara and Tegan Quin both split the book equitably and the chapters took turns between the siblings. The inclusion of referenced music tracks in the chapters and photos in an accompanying PDF. They also have a 25 minute Q&A from the authors regarding the book writing process.

I finger snapped along to the reflections of high school love, fears of adolescence, first jobs, feuds with parents and tensions of coming out. I also found it engaging and hearing the personality differences between Sara and Tegan; a mass contrast to how the media homogenizes the twin siblings.

I created an Audible account for this

By the end of this story you’ll have a crush on their mom. But in more seriousness, Tegan and Sara really hit the nail on what it’s like to be scared and confused about sexuality in adolescence. Their story is so raw and I constantly found myself looking back to my teen years. I was able to relate to those same emotions they were feeling. On multiple occasions, I caught myself with a shit eating grin or holding back tears. Even if you’re not a fan of their music, give this story a listen. And when I say listen, I mean listen! The audio book is narrated by Tegan and Sara themselves. The audiobook also includes original audio of songs from their Plunk years. I wish I had heard this story when I was in high school and scared to accept who I am. I did have their music, but this book really hits you differently. It’s very intimate and I can’t wait to see what their live show is going to be like when I see them in Nashville!! This book is a gift.

One of my new favorite Audiobooks!

Although I’ve been a fan of their music for many years, I was unsure if I’d enjoy a memoir as it’s not really my go to genre for books/audiobooks. I loved everything about this audiobook. The structure, their story telling ability, the included music clips and more. I’ll definitely be returning to this audiobook in the near future for another listen.