Charming as a Verb

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And, though he works hard, and the ivy league college admissions system is undoubtedly rigged against anyone without connections and money, his forging the recommendation letter spurs from his entitlement as well as the academic pressure from his dad. Today’s snarky young anti-hero instead looks like Norris, the black French Canadian boy in The Field Guide to the North American Teenager . Also, for how prominent dog-walking is in the synopsis, there is very little of it in the book and I would have liked to have heard more about this “less-than-honest” dog-walking business. This is probably one of the most realistic portrayal of a confused young adult in terms of choosing their university and the stress and pressure that comes with it. A lot of people complained about the romance feeling like an insta-love and I can see that, since I think there were only 2 interactions before they developed feelings?

In Philippe’s funny debut, 16-year-old black French-Canadian Norris Kaplan must navigate life and love in Austin, Tex. I wish there were switching of povs because Henri was not doing a good job at narrating the whole book. I should really listen to my inner self when I dnf a book and not come back to it just because I'm seeing a lot of high ratings through my feed.A witty, well-developed bildungsroman that presents a Black teenager carefully attempting to navigate systems that disproportionately disadvantage him. That story had incredible characters, spectacular humor, and lots of emotional depth, and I saw all those elements on display in Charming as a Verb as well.

Henri Haltiwanger, high school senior with a trademark Smile, is navigating the end of high school amidst classes, debate team, his dog-walking side business, and applying to college with his hopes and dreams resting on admission to Columbia.I think it’s definitely one that can find its audience if you enjoy a rom-com that explores some more serious themes, but it just was not for me. If Henri and Corinne were more intriguing or this novel dropped the romance altogether, I would have considered the book as charming as it claimed to be.