Ben Philippe

From the award-winning author of The Field Guide to the North American Teenager comes a whip-smart and layered romantic comedy. Perfect for fans of Nicola Yoon and Jenny Han. Henri "Halti" Haltiwanger can charm just about anyone. He is a star debater and popular student at the prestigious FATE academy, the dutiful first-generation Haitian son, and the trusted dog walker for his wealthy New York City neighbors. But his easy smiles mask a burning ambition to attend his dream college, Columbia University. There is only one person who seems immune to Henri's charms: his "intense" classmate and neighbor Corinne Troy. When she uncovers Henri's less-than-honest dog-walking scheme, she blackmails him into helping her change her image at school. Henri agrees, seeing a potential upside for himself. Soon what started as a mutual hustle turns into something more surprising than either of them ever bargained for. . . . This is a sharply funny and insightful novel about the countless hustles we have to keep from doing the hardest thing: being ourselves.

Charming As a Verb

Sarah Sammis

Charming as a Verb by Ben Philippe is primarily set in New York City, in and around FATE school. Henri Halti Haltiwanger is a senior and his entire life he's been set on attending Columbia. To save up money he's been working as a dog walker and it's through that gig he meets the girl who might help him reach his goal.

Corinne Troy lives in the same building as him. Her mother is a Columbia dean and might be his last ditch hope to get in after bungling his interview. She, though, can see through his charms and blackmails him into helping her be more social so she can get into her first choice college. While helping her, they become friends, and then fall in love.

Henri's family dynamic reminds me of Miles Morales: Spider-Man . 

330000 - couple city railroad

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2020/comm...

rita

THIS WAS SO GOOD??? Blew my mind how good this was because!! Wow!!! It was so sweet and funny and made me tear up and laugh and i just love this book so so much!! Everything was so well written and I finished it in a day and had such a good time reading it. Definitely one of my favourite books so far this year, such a fun read. I DON’T KNOW I feel like it’s been so long since i’ve read a ya book (or any book) that was just fun. I want to reread it in early spring for fun. Reminded me of how I felt when I read tatbilb for the first time. 

The entire family dynamic was so!!! Go Henri’s mom!! Henri and his dad’s talk at the end made me tear up. Corinne is also j such a solid character and she’s! I love her! The way the setting was written was so so good too. I honestly adored Ming and his relationship with Henri. Corinne’s family was so. I don’t know but i loved the way they were written!


Overall just amazing! I skimmed a few pages after the email thing because I can’t handle stress but just. the entire story and how the conflict was resolved and everything was so so good and !! I’m rambling now but I love this book so so much.

alexandra

i binged this book and enjoyed it so so much!!

- Black #ownvoices author + rep
- set in nyc aka the BEST
- realistic hs senior experience in terms of academics and college applications
- cute rom-com with wonderful characters !!!

Elisa Bieg

3/4 of this were good. Adorable characters, accent on friendship, being a decent person, working hard, and making the best of what you get. Fun dialogue, good chemistry. 

Then, the out-of-character, unnecessary drama that turns everything on its head, and is resolved in a very unlikely, overly optimistic way. Character assassination followed by la-di-da consequences and slaps on someone’s wrist, which means not even a lesson in morality. No.

3 STARS

Alyssa Huffman

okay. this was kinda cute! but, i was also kinda bored the whole time. might be time for me to stop reading books about high schoolers because theyre becoming less and less relatable. also books from a male POV just do not do it for me. my bad! also (SPOILER) but why make the main characters not end up together in the last chapter if youre going to have them magically be back together in the epilogue.

l.h.

Jana Jenkinns 

Finished this in one solid sitting. It was a great read, filled with relatable wants from my late teens. The hunger for post-secondary education and the hustle to get there; The passion to achieve your dreams. Add in the unexpected introduction of a key person to enter one's life and change it for the better. 

All in all, a book I would definitely recommend.

Ana Robbinson

Ben Philippe is adept at writing adorable, eloquent and really loveable characters who colossally mess up midway through the book and then redeem themselves in the end. 


It seems to be his style, but it works. I like it. And the next one, he's writing is a non-fiction. How welcome of a departure it would be from his normal writing is a thing to be seen. 

As much as I loved this book and Henry and Corinne, I do feel that the book often felt a little disjointed here and there. It took me a few tries to get a hang of it. 

But if you do decide to give this a shot, I don't think you'd regret it.

✨Tyler ✨

this isn't bad by any means, but ya really just doesn't do much for me anymore. I'm a decade past being in high school and applying for colleges so i just don't connect to stories like this anymore. but it's well written, the narrator of the audiobook did a good job as well, and it probably hits all the right notes for the audience this is written for.

javaria

definitely better than The Sun is Also a Star. enjoyed the narrative a lot. would have loved reading it before my own college adms- 

character development was good too. but side characters had more of CD than the main one? felt like that! 

t'was real cute and predictable
a good weekend read!

From the award-winning author of The Field Guide to the North American Teenager comes a whip-smart and layered romantic comedy. Perfect for fans of Nicola Yoon and Jenny Han. Henri “Halti” Haltiwanger can charm just about anyone. He is a star debater and popular student at the prestigious FATE academy, the dutiful first-generation Haitian son, and the trusted dog walker for his wealthy New York City neighbors. But his easy smiles mask a burning ambition to attend his dream college, Columbia University. There is only one person who seems immune to Henri’s charms: his “intense” classmate and neighbor Corinne Troy. When she uncovers Henri’s less-than-honest dog-walking scheme, she blackmails him into helping her change her image at school. Henri agrees, seeing a potential upside for himself. Soon what started as a mutual hustle turns into something more surprising than either of them ever bargained for. . . . This is a sharply funny and insightful novel about the countless hustles we have to keep from doing the hardest thing: being ourselves.

Charming as a Verb

Flavia Louise

This book was quite sweet for the most part but also discussed some serious points.

Kim Tyo-Dickerson

Handsome, smooth-talking, popular Senior Henri "Halti" Haltiwanger is the only son of hardworking Haitian immigrants, his father is the superintendent of their apartment building and his mom is working hard to become a NYC fire fighter. Halti attends the prestigious Fine Arts Technical Education Academy (FATE) in New York City on the Upper West side, runs his own dog-walking business semi-legitimately, is a flashy member of his school's debate team, and has a fascination with sneaker design that he shares with his best friend Ming, who was adopted from China by Jewish American parents. Halti relies a lot on his charm and talent to make his way at FATE, which has a very diverse student body that allows Halti as a second-generation immigrant to blend right in. But Halti doesn't have the money, status or connections the other students have and he feels his difference even though no one can see it and no one ever comes to his apartment to see how poor his family is. 

Everything in Halti's life is aiming for one major life goal, being accepted at his dream college, Columbia University, the only school Halti and his dad have ever wanted Halti to attend, the university that would establish the Haltiwanger family as an American success story. Unfortunately, a couple twists to Halti's plans happen early on in his last year at FATE. He has a disappointing interview with a Columbia alum that shakes his confidence in his application prospects and then one of his classmates who lives with her mom in Halti's building, Corinne Troy, catches on that his dog-walking business isn't everything he says it is. Sure, he's a great dog-walker for her new puppy Palm Tree, but Uptown Dogs has a major secret that Corinne discovers. Seeing an opportunity to beef up her own college application for Princeton, Corinne blackmails Halti into helping her create a new image, starting with a new nickname "Cori", that will impress her high school guidance counselor and ultimately the Princeton admissions team. Going to parties together, eating lunch together, and helping bright, articulate, yet awkward Cori wade successfully into FATE's social waters is more fun than Halti expected. The fact that Cori's mom just happens to be a Dean at Columbia is also constantly in Halti's mind. As Halti and Cori become friends, and perhaps more, Halti is faced with some serious decisions about who he is and how far he will go to pursue his dreams. 

Philppe's has written a very witty, realistic fiction novel that has just the right amount of heart and humor. One of the most enjoyable aspects of this novel is the realistic development of the Haitian diaspora family members, characters that represent the very common and important NYC story centered on families who come to America for a better life and how those pressures to make it in their new country compound all the normal family pressures and anxieties of Seniors preparing to go to college. Halti has the Haltiwanger litany down "Punctuality. Work ethic. Education. Not counting other people's money", all the values his Mom and Dad instilled in him, values that are not shared or perhaps needed as much by most of his friends at FATE and their families. At one point Halti recounts the various family stories he was told by his parents about coming to America and deciding to live in NYC. This view into the immigrant experience is not the only story at the center of Charming as a Verb but it shapes the decisions Halti makes and creates the confusion and wariness in his character that readers will root for even though he takes some wrong turns along the way.

Highly recommended for grades 9 and up.

Laura Yaneth Martinez

I had such high expectations & so this ended up being a flop for me. I gave it like 3.5 stars. What missed the mark was the fact that the author rushed certain scenes but then took too much time in others. AKA, there was a lot of description of things/ unimportant characters and a lot of floating over the main characters. I wish we got more into their lives and the people around them instead of side descriptions and tangents.

Charming As a Verb

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