Review: Tegan and Sara revisit their turbulent early years with the joint memoir ‘High School’

High School, the co-written joint memoir from Canadian identical twin musicians Tegan and Sara Quinn, is not your typical rock memoir. Tegan and Sara have reinvented their sound and image a number of times over the years, from their early indie-folk stylings to the synth-pop hooks of their more recent material, and that urge to continually present their material in new ways continues with High School, which ends where most rock memoirs often begin.

Tegan and Sara alternate chapters here in a more or less chronological fashion. Set within their actual years in high school, the book follows the twins through their turbulent teenage years in Calgary in the 90s, from their various circles of friends to discovering an early love of drugs, wild (and sometimes dangerous) house parties, and their earliest days as musicians, which each of them began in secret from the other after discovering their stepfather’s guitar.

Much of High School reads like a set of diary entries, filled with the sort of all-consuming emotion that generally hits hardest in one’s teenage years. There are instances of finding (and losing) friends, meeting their first true loves, and identifying their sexuality and coming out as gay in a culture and environment much less open than it is today.

While most rock memoirs are often focused on a musician’s entire career, Tegan and Sara have taken the opposite approach with High School. Their memoir follows the duo as they begin playing shows, including opening spots for 90s favourites like Hayden, and wraps up just as they’ve signed their first record deal. Instead of focusing on their various hit records over the years (not to mention their work with LGBT communities), the pair have presented a look at what led up to those years, and the relationships and circumstances that informed them as people.

There’s no shortage of drama in these pages, and the pair’s recollection is remarkable, making for a breezy, if troubling, read at times, given how reckless they were at such a young age. Yet despite all the drama and heartache, High School is an inspiring story, not only for those looking to pursue music as a career, but for anyone struggling with their sexuality in their teenage years. By focusing on this early formative era in their lives, Tegan and Sara have upended the traditional rock memoir, and crafted a revealing and refreshingly honest look at the two young women who would go onto to inspire countless others in their footsteps.

High School is available from Simon & Schuster now.