He’s doing all he can to make that happen (getting good grades, participating in extracurricular activities, charming all of his teachers, etc.) but it’s not going to be enough. Henri has his heart set on going to college at Columbia (partly because it’s his dad’s dream for him). This adorable story of parties and puppies has a humming undercurrent of pressure and stress and the juxtaposition makes for a gripping read. She’ll keep his secret (after all, Henri is very dependable and beloved by his canine charges) if Henri will take her to some parties and teach her how to be less intense. It’s a company Henri made up (complete with branding, t-shirts, website, etc.) to give him some credibility in order to secure customers.

See, Corinne has discovered that Uptown Updogs (the “business” where Henri claims to work) is not real. His newest customer is the adorable puppy of Corrine Troy, a girl from his school and building that Henri describes as “intense.” This moniker bothers Corrine so much (along with basically being labeled as lacking social skills in her teacher’s recommendation letter) that she decides to blackmail popular Henri into helping her socially. To earn money, Henri walks the dogs of his affluent neighbors. Dad is the superintendent of the high-rise they live in (as part of Dad’s salary) and Mom is a firefighter. Henri is a scholarship kid at a prestigious NYC private school. He understands he needs to work just a little bit harder (no, A LOT HARDER) than his wealthy peers. Henri Haltiwanger is the charming child of hardworking, Haitian immigrants.

Charming as a verb