Charming as a Verb by Ben Philippe

SPOILERS BE HERE

Short review cuz busy. I enjoyed this book; it was a super easy, fluffy read. It felt more realistic than other YA high school books, although I can't necessarily put my finger on why. I do wonder if that's how high schools actually are now—super into making everyone involved in extracurriculars, weird class schedules, woke. That's how Watch Us Rise was too. It was nice that it touched on the dark side of college admissions, which is topical, and how desperation can lead to bad decisions. The characters were interesting and I loved the settings.

What I didn't like was how everything turned out great. Henri made a huuuuuuge mistake but basically suffered no consequences. He still ended up with his girlfriend (their relationship was rushed and deserved some more focus). He still got into his real dream school. The person he impersonated forgave him handily, as did his parents. He was suspended but hey, that's fine, he was able to catch up on homework! Sure, people deserve second chances, but I wish he had suffered at least one real consequence instead of everything being hunky-dory.

Completed: 10 January 2021
Rating: 3.5/5 (it may be higher than that but 4 and 5 are reserved for rereads and I probably wouldn't reread this)
Recommend: Yes

Comments

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