High School

By: Tegan Quin, Sara Quin

Narrated by: Tegan Quin, Sara Quin

"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)

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).

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.

Absolutely Wonderful

Listening to Tegan and Sara narrate their own struggles and triumphs as they learned how to cope with their high school experiences was wonderful on its own, but when I was also able to listen to tracks and footage from their lives, it reminded me of going through that experience myself and how I felt listening to their music for the first time. This was a marvelous experience and, as with their music, an impactful experience in the best possible way.

Entertaining story and great listen

Great story-telling with emotion and humor, having them do the narration just makes it one step above.

even better than the book.

i got my physical copy in the mail but could only read a couple chapters before i was late for work. so i got the audio book so i could listen while i drove and it was so so worth it. you get to hear the stories from the authors own voices and it includes music/audio interstitials that makes it worth getting even if you already have the book. ends with the authors interviewing each other.

I seriously loved this book!

Tegan and Sara did an amazing job describing the emotional roller coaster that is high school! I graduated in 1998 as well so we all grew up in the same era listening to the same kinds of music. Their book and story left me with a nostalgic sense of familiarity and appreciation for what it was really like to be a teenager in the late 90’s. They are also incredibly talented! Their song ‘closer’ has always been one of my favorites but hearing the old recordings of them was amazing! I wish there was a compilation cd with all those tracks available for purchase somewhere!! I highly recommend this book!

so good

My brother got this book for me as a Christmas present because he knows how much I love them and he was sure to mention that it got a good review from rolling Stone which was big
. whether you're gay or not it's a great listen.

Superbly told!!!

By far one of the best audiobooks I have listened to. Sara and Tegan do a wonderful job narrating their own stories and they put such emotion behind their words that it makes you feel like you can easily follow along.

Inspiring and enjoyable

Most amazing and relatable memoir I have read. The added songs and interview I loved

Raw and Tender

When asked if I'd be interested in listening to this audio book, my response was "No thanks. I'm not very good at listening to things. I'll just read." Boy am I glad I took the time to listen. I'm no longer an audio book virgin!

I must say hearing the authors share aloud their experiences/perspectives enhanced the stories for me. There were moments where I deeply felt their experiences since their retelling was raw yet tender. My heart still aches about the realization and admission about identity, but I am thankful for the sharing since these topics aren't usually discussed in this manner and I appreciate the care, sensitivity and handling the authors demonstrated. Also, the bonus of listening to the audio book is getting to hear the demos of their early work. It was evident that they had talent early on and to see/hear the new album that's based on material then further proves just how much they are a force to be reckoned with. They are so multi-dimensional that it's cerebral and enjoyable to witness/experience!

I know I am biased since I was already a fan of their work, but this memoir has made me become an even bigger fan. I know songs are generally inspired by life events, directly or not, so now with this glimpse/insight into their lives, I find myself revisiting their extensive catalog to see if I recognize traces of things.

Long story short, I highly recommend for all walks of life, but especially for the LGBTQ+ community and allies, because I'm sure everyone can relate to one way or another.

Thank you, authors Sara Quin and Tegan Quin, for telling your stories!