Charming as a Verb

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Overall: This book really lived up to its name. I was utterly charmed by this story and absolutely loved it from beginning to end! The thing with being good at lying to others is that you end up being pretty great at lying to yourself too. The people around Henri's life are also stark and vibrant. Henri's Manhattan is one rich with life and possibility. You can even feel it move with him when he goes to visit Montreal when he has a college interview

Henri's best friend is Chinese and adopted by a Jewish family and this dynamic hardly gets screen time, I want to know moreDon’t be too hard on yourself, Haltiwanger. Like I said, it’s the great promise of the 0-generation,” Corinne says. “Either you’re exceptional or a nobody. No permission to be anything in between. It’s bullshit.” This book also does a great job exploring whether a specific path is chosen for prestige or for genuine reasons. As I'm questioning whether I even want a Phd or generally, to continue my education, it also felt like it hit close to home. Ahhhhh, how does one even make life choices, I need a binder like Corrinne For something to do, Henri had school. For something to anticipate, Henri had his shoe designer dream, college. For someone to love, Henri had just met Corinne. She was amazing to Henri. And you could tell. Being Corinne Troy is not a performance to Corinne Troy. There were also SOOO many Harry Potter references like at least five and as much as I love Harry Potter, I thought the references were overkill. There were other pop culture references too and I think sometimes it can be tasteful but in this case it just didn’t work out. I also didn’t find it funny or insightful either as the synopsis claims. I feel so bad for not liking this book because I went into it with the intention of loving it. It's been so long since I read a sweet romance, and I enjoyed it. I wasn't in love with the mc, and frankly, I liked the mc's love interest more than him. Charming As A Verb is a cute little romance filled with dogs, privileged students, and college stress. So without further ado, let's get in to it.

I want to say I would never con someone into trusting me, into liking me. But I do that, don’t I? That’s what I do all the time. Ben Philippe, Charming as a Verb It’s the final year of high school, a bittersweet time – the excitement and anxiety of looking ahead along with the nostalgia of what will be left behind. And Henri, the main character, is feeling both the highs and lows. He keeps busy with his dog-walking business, his star position on the debate team and the need to study hard and obtain top marks at the FATE academy. Underneath it all is his ambition to be accepted at Columbia University, not letting anything stand in the way of his dream. During this busy senior year, Henri discovers Corinne Troy, a classmate and neighbour who has been there all along but only now registers on Henri’s social radar. But despite this undercurrent of academic worry and social busy-ness, Henri presents himself as charming, a bit of a hustler and smooth talker who can generally get whatever he wants with a word and his trademark smile. But that’s the catch. Henri has to separate what he wants for himself from what others want for him. Ben Philippe was born in Haiti, raised in Montreal, Qc, Canada, and now resides in New York. He is a graduate of the Michener Center for Writers (UT Austin) and holds a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University. He still doesn’t have a valid driver’s license, which is both #beautiful and #brave.

There’s something almost freeing about this strange young woman who just comes up to him and says “No need for that BS smile: this is what I want; give it to me and I’ll go away.”

Can I just say that this book warmed my heart in several waves. Like on a heating scale of one to ten, this was cancer-causing. This book called out how single I am in so many ways, and I mean so many. I love cute romantic books because not only do they make me feel all warm and gooey inside, they also make me regret being a single gay bitch with no friends. All the children are charming as an adjective, but you’re as charming as a verb. Ben Philippe, Charming as a Verb Soon what started as a mutual hustle turns into something more surprising than either of them ever bargained for. . . . The overall theme of the novel is one which will appeal to young adults in secondary school since the characters in this same age group are faced with life choices about friendship, love and post-secondary education and careers. Philippe also touches on some more universal themes, not shying away from important and timely concerns like the ever-widening divide between rich and poor as well as the ongoing issues of immigration and racism. All of Philippe’s themes are approached in a serious manner, and yet his tone in the book is one of humour and a good-natured acceptance of his characters and their world.

Charming as a Verb Audiobook Narrator

All in all, Charming as a Verb was as entrancing as the cover promised to be, showing the excruciating pressure teens are to start their futures right all while making me nostalgic for my own high school days. With a bunch of funny antics and adorable dogs in the mix, Philippe’s second novel is perfect for anyone needing moral support through their senior year or who wants to relive their own high school days. Charming as a Verb focuses a lot on the pressure to get into college (especially a “good college”) and the impact this has on first-generation immigrants. Why did you want to mirror this experience for teens who struggle with the pressure to go to a certain school? What do you hope readers who are similar to Henri take away from his journey? Their first kiss Corinne just randomly jumps at him and kisses him and it talks about how she awkwardly bumps his chin with hers. And that their teeth smashed against each other’s on accident. like ow😬 In short, I thought this was cute. I think being in Henri's head was kind of exhausting, but in a way that was a sign of the author's talent for storytelling as Henri's life was exhausting. The guy's running around all day—charming people, making it by with dog walking, running to his next engagement, and having a constant dialogue with himself in his head—and it's a lot. It shows his impending burnout and shines a light on the impossible standards forced on teens today. Maybe we should give them a freaking break?