Charming as a Verb — Teen Book Review

Henri Haltiwanger walks his wealthy New York City neighbors’ dogs in the mornings for extra cash. He’s also star of the debate team as well as a student at the prestigious FATE academy, all thanks to his easy charm. The motive behind his carefully cultivated personality: getting into his dream college, Columbia University. And then Henri meets Corinne Troy, his “intense” neighbor and classmate, who just so happens to be the one person not charmed by Henri’s presence. On the contrary, she blackmails Henri to help her become more popular—if he doesn’t help, she’ll spill the beans about how he scams his dog-walking customers. From that point on, Henri and Corinne’s paths are set to cross again and again, filled with more surprises than they could ever imagine.

What really shines about Charming as a Verb is the dialogue—it’s witty, snarky, and unabashedly real. As a teen myself, I really appreciated how realistic the dialogue was. Of the two main characters, I especially adored Corinne. She’s a headstrong girl who does come off as “intense,” but not in the way that Henri makes it out to be. Rather, she’s the kind of girl that makes you go “Oh, wow. I wish I were as confident as her.” Henri, on the other hand, is unfortunately quite the bland narrator, and I found it hard to become attached to him as a character. He also (spoilers ahead) makes some questionable decisions later on and isn’t very considerate about his actions until it all blows up in his face. Charming as a Verb is a lovely, well-paced romance with sweet humor and true feelings.

4 stars.