it is, hands down, the best kiss of my life. Being Corinne Troy is not a performance to Corinne Troy. For someone to love, Henri had just met Corinne. For something to anticipate, Henri had his shoe designer dream, college. Henri was only two shades away from what Rita Mae Brown says we need to be happy Happiness is pretty simple: someone to love, something to do, something to look forward to.įor something to do, Henri had school. His mum is pursuing her dream to become a firefighter, his father is the super at a Manhattan high rise, he has a thriving social life, his best friend, Ming a shoe-obsessed cinnamon roll and a dream to end up at Columbia. A Smile, a smile™️ and a genuine smile.ĭespite the shortcomings, Henri leads a charmed life. When you're poor and Black, you have A LOT working against you. He's aware of the arbitrary social totem pole. And so begins a friendship that will give Henri one of the wildest years of his life. His operation is not on the up-and-up and one of his neighbours, who is also a student at FATE, Corinne, decides to use this information to her advantage. Henri also moonlights as a dogwalker for the wealthy, uptight and without a lot of free time. He is a talented wunderkind, a future Tobie Hatfield. A Haitian-American going to FATE Academy. Set in my favourite thing ever, New York City, the story follows the young adult life of Henri Haltiwanger. Can you tell? Can you tell that I absofuckinglutely LOVED this book? Because I LOVED this book. All children are charming as an adjective, but you're charming as a verb.I LOVED this book.

Charming as a Verb by Ben Philippe