Percontation Points

P: 6/11/26 M: 6/18/26

Chapter 4.4

At home, I flop on my bed fully dressed. Maybe I’ll skip school tomorrow to job hunt. If I start working at Quick Chicken now, I could be an assistant manager by the time I’m thirty-five. There’s no way I’ll get into MIT with a criminal record.

I would love to see actual consequences start to happen. Unfortunately, you know nothing bad is going to happen. Which makes me kind of not look forward to the rest of this.

I’ve never felt, all of which, I now know, are symptoms of brain tumors. In a word, I feel hopeless.

Chapter 4.4 summary: Charlie knows that what he did is bad, and that if Jo rats on him, he’ll have a criminal record. But enough about that… Charlotte called Becca, who hands him her phone. Charlotte congratulates him on a job well done. He tries to ask if they’re okay, but Charlotte kind of hangs up on him without answering. Mm, yeah. She’s clearly using Charlie simply to get back at her shitty sister. Charlie then spends the next page researching about cancer online. Except that we don’t actually see what he finds out, yet so much time is spent on this.

Chapter 4.5

“Believe me, Ms. Finch. I understand.”

Chapter 4.5 summary: The next day, Charlie slinks into lit class. Ms. F doesn’t say anything about last night, and only makes Charlie get up and do his group project presentation first. It’s about how there are an infinite number of poem possibilities… Even though that doesn’t really make any sort of mathematical sense. Anybody can write a new poem that’s never been done before. But even Ms. F seems impressed with their presentation, even though Charlie does go off on this rant about infinity. Seriously, what is this guy’s problem about the concept of infinity? Before she dismisses the group, she asks to talk to Charlie in her office after class is over for the day. He goes as instructed, where she congratulates him on a job well done of stink-bombing her house. She asks how long that he’s known Charlotte, and then goes on this rant about a shitty teacher who called Charlotte “stupid”. Honestly, I know that I’ve been ragging on Jo, but we literally don’t know shit about her because this has been told to us 100% from Charlie’s perspective. We don’t even know much about Charlotte, despite the fact that the plot revolves around her. It’s because neither Charlotte nor Jo are actual characters, and are simply plot devices to further a this man’s journey into adulthood. Jo is an obstacle he’s decided he must overcome in order to win the prize of Charlotte. I hate this so much.

P: 6/10/26 M: 6/17/26

Chapter 4.2

Greta and James are impressed with my rumpled face. When I step into the kitchen where James is making a taco dinner, he drops the wooden spoon and cries out, “C-man got smacked.” I think he may piss himself from laughing so hard.

I hate fucking every single goddamned person in this stupid book so much. Like there’s always at least one character that I’m rooting for. But not in this. Charlie is an emotionally-constipated man-child who will never be able to function out in the real world. His parents are fucking monsters for having created Charlie. They’re also monsters because they’re literally never around. James is some immature little cuntweasle who thinks that pretending to faint in lit class is somehow going to convince the teacher to leave. Greta is a fucking piece of shit who tells other people’s secrets without permission. Neither of these three people are great on their own, but when you put them together, and it becomes a radiation cesspool of them feeding off of each other’s stupidity. Charlotte is also obnoxious, constantly pushing Charlie to do things that he’s clearly uncomfortable with, and then punches him when he tried to express sympathy for her tumour. Like how can I be rooting for neither of you here?! She also doesn’t get a free pass simply because she’s got a brain tumour. We don’t know much about Jo, but she seems like an overbearing asshole for forcing Charlotte to do things that she clearly doesn’t want to do to the point where Charlotte would rather spend 100% of her free time hanging out at the Hanson house. Hell, even the school principal is a fucking asswipe. Literally the only character who is getting away unscathed is Becca… If only because she’s not a character, she’s a plot device needed to put Charlotte into place. Without her, none of this would work, because why the fuck is this girl hanging around the house so much? Actually, I take that back. Mrs. D was trying to convince Charlie to understand how human nature works. The only reason why it didn’t take is because he was insistent that she was some miserable old hag who was intent on ruining his life. I wish that she’d called the police and filed a formal complaint, rather than to try and teach him valuable life lessons.

“See. It matters. Greta’s here because she’s loyal to you. I’m here for Greta. Why are you here, freezing your nuts off, for Charlotte Finch?” And it’s there. The answer is there, like it was always part of me. “Because she matters.” “Right. If I were to lose Greta, I’d never be the same. Look at my mom, for Christ’s sake.” He pauses, his hands opening and closing at his sides like he’s trying to grasp the words right out of the air. “Without Dad, she became a shell, Chuck. And no matter what my sisters and I did, we couldn’t fill her up again. It’s been five years and I’m only beginning to see signs of life in her. Loss like that has a long half-life. This matter has a mass so heavy it could crush you if you’re not careful.”

I’m not saying this to completely diminish Charlotte’s value as a person. What I’m saying is… Why the fuck does Charlie care so much about Charlotte? Even after finding out that she’s got a brain tumour… he still doesn’t know the first fucking thing about her! He’s literally sitting outside of her house, in the cold, and for what? James talks about the relationship of his dead father and living mother. But I imagine that his parents dated for several years, were married for a couple more, and had three(four?) kids together. Charlie has known Charlotte for a few months, and literally only knows that she likes Singing in the Rain. SO DO A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE. THAT’S NOT A PERSONALITY TRAIT!!

Ms. Finch is pacing on a patio behind the house with her phone. “Dad, she’s being ridiculous.” She stops pacing and drops the phone from her ear, looking up to the star filled sky. Returning to the phone, she says, “We can’t make her do anything.”

Going back to my comment about Jo being a completely terrible person… Do you want to know what would be super upsetting to anybody? Being forced to pack up and move because you can’t figure your own life out. Do you want to know what the absolute cherry on top of that shit sundae would be? Having a fucking brain tumour. Of course Charlotte hates her life. I would too! I think anybody would! Jo is a fucking shitty sister. Granted, we don’t actually know what’s going on with any of them. Mainly because Charlie is a self-absorbed asshole. But I doubt seeing Jo’s POV would somehow change my opinion. Moving your sister to a new town isn’t going to magically fix things and make Charlotte better.

The one with Charlotte’s name burned onto it.

Chapter 4.2 summary: After having his ass beat by Charlotte, Charlie goes over to James’s house to be comforted by his friends. Well, “comforted” is more like it. After they’re done pointing and laughing at him (including James’s little sisters), they eventually get into Charlie’s car and… decide to go stalk Charlotte some. I don’t understand anything that’s happening. But then again, I’m not sure that the book understands what’s happening either. Charlotte and Charlie have zero connection, no chemistry, and are really only connected via the plot device of Becca. As James and Charlie are crouched outside of Charlotte’s house in this back forest area, James tries to understand why Charlie is so obsessed with this random girl. He tries to tell Charlie that this is only going to lead to heartbreak, because of the brain tumour. But Charlie is too stupid to understand a single thing. Then they get closer to the house, where they overhear Jo complaining to her father on the phone about how she can’t make Charlotte do anything. But then the dog starts to bark, and Jo goes inside. Then they watch Charlotte drawing something in her sketchbook, and she starts to cry. At this point, Charlie knows that he’s “in too deep”. Even though the entire thing feels like the little kid in the dollar store pool complaining about drowning. It’s not deep, he’s simply obsessed with this girl, and thinks that he’s somehow owed a prize simply because he’s a man. Ugh. MPDG wank fodder.

Chapter 4.3

“But there’s no cute explanation for this.” She rattles the paper on the last word. I rub my sweaty palms down the thighs of my pants. “It’s just a stink bomb.” “Just?” I shrug. “It’s only chemistry, Gret.” James peers over Greta’s shoulder. “No way, man. Finch could have us arrested.”

Jesus fucking christ. Is this book for real now? Now they’re going to go start chucking stink bombs into their teacher’s HOUSE?!

Somehow, I’m pretty sure this isn’t what Mrs. Dunwitty meant when she told me to man up, but it’s the best I can come up with on short notice.

How the hell is “chuck stink bombs into your teacher’s house” the take-away that Charlie got from all of that? Jesus fucking christ, this guy needs to finally face some actual consequences.

“Chuck,” Greta says, her voice mournful. “This is between the Finch sisters. You shouldn’t get involved. This isn’t your battle.”

Every single character is telling this to him, including Charlotte. Yet the narration has yet to give the readers literally any sort of explanation (even a shitty one) as to why Charlie has become so obsessed with this girl.

Did Ms. Finch see me? Yes.

Chapter 4.3 summary: Yes, that’s right. Charlie has now proceeded to plan “put stink bombs inside of Ms. Finch’s house”. Why? The fuck if I know. Again, the narration has never once offered any hint of explanation as to why he’s doing any of this. Like maybe if the sole reason was simply because of a girl… But Charlotte hasn’t exactly expressed much interest in him, even romantically. The two of them exist like a jellyfish and a squirrel: separately. And again, every single person has pointed out to Charlie how dumb that this is. But this is the hill that he’s chosen to die on. They use the cover of Halloween and James’s little sisters to get up to the Finch house. There, the plan is to lure Jo’s “hellhound” out with a steak, and then Charlie will shove a box full of chemical stink in through the doggy door. But as they’re doing this, Charlie fucks up and opens up the box too early. They also hear James apologising to Ms. Finch for his little sister having vomited on the front porch. To make matters worse, as Charlie and Greta make their escape, Charlie realises that Jo spotted them, and likely identified them.

P: 6/9/26 M: 6/16/26

Chapter 4.0

I wake to a distinct pounding. My mouth feels like I’ve spent all night sucking on James’s ratty Adidas sneakers. And my head—oh my God, my head. I wriggle further under my covers to get away from the thudding in my head. Except it isn’t just in my head. Thud! Thud! Thud! “Better be decent in there, boys. I’m coming in.” I peek from my covers. Greta promised she’d be back, first thing in the morning. Actually, she said, “I can’t talk to you when you look like you’re gonna puke. Sleep it off drunk-ass.”

Parents? Lol, what’s that? Not in my shitty YA novel.

“I’m not supposed to know this. I overheard my mom’s half of the conversation and some of Dr. Whiting’s, too.”

HIPPA? Lol, what the fuck is that? (We’re encountering a lot of this today.)

“He doesn’t care about Ms. Finch any more than he does about any of us though. I heard him say he was counting on her to turn around the school’s reputation. It’s all about the prestige. He’s worried Finch will let a little thing like her sister being sick get in the way of her performance at school.”

I’m convinced that every single person at this school is a sociopath who is completely incapable of feeling actual human emotions. Because what the fresh hell is wrong with this man?

“What kind of sick?” James asks. “Cancer.”

I know that it’s not Greta’s fault that she overheard their shitty principal talking super loudly about all of this. But it’s kind of shitty of her to tell Charlotte’s cancer diagnosis to Charlie and James. Like this isn’t your fucking secret to share, bitch!

“I don’t know how to solve for any of this.” “So don’t,” she says. “Walk away. It’s not your job to solve anything for the Finches. They sucked you in, and this is going to chew you up and spit you out. Charlotte should have told you. She shouldn’t have pulled you into this. This is her fault. Walk away, Chuck.”

I 100% agree with this, however. Like I’m sorry that Charlotte’s mother died. I’m sorry that Jo is being the overbearing parental figure in her little sister’s life. I’m sorry that Charlotte has cancer. But literally none of this has to do with Charlie, James, or Greta. Yet Charlie insists on making it his problem simply because he wants into Charlotte’s pants.

“Yes,” she says, patting my knee. “And you just love circles, don’t you?” I do. Circles are my favorite.

Chapter 4.0 summary: Their little “party” is broken up when Greta comes back, summoned by James’s text. Somehow or another, she manages to get all four of them back to the house and put to bed. In the morning, Greta comes back to get the boys up. What happened to Becca and Charlotte is anybody’s guess. It’s so funny that the second that they’re off-page, nobody gives a shit about them. Anyway, Greta tells them that she overheard their literal loud-moth principal complaining that Jo’s sister has cancer, and that it would take Jo’s attention away from her teaching position. Again, what an asshole. However, rather than to mind her own fucking business, Greta now tells James and Charlie about this. But in the same fucking breath, she tells Charlie to walk away from Charlotte and Jo, and that the Finch family is simply “dragging him down”. He refuses, and insists that he has got to think of some way to help her.

Chapter 4.1

“Jesus, Charlotte. We live in the same world. I deserve to know the truth. Answer the question.”

You don’t deserve the truth simply because you fucking know her, actually. Especially not something as personal as a health diagnosis.

“Charlotte, I’m worried about you,” I whisper. Fury pours through the cracks of her thick walls as her grip tightens on my collar again. Her other fist pulls back and shoots forward like a rubber band let loose. The moment Charlotte’s fist makes contact the world explodes around me. Everything goes from red to black and the only thing holding me up is Charlotte Finch’s other fist wound in the fabric of my shirt. Subject: Charlotte Finch, Method: Try to console her after learning of her cancer, Result: Punched in the face.

At some point, you’d think that he’d learn not to fucking touch women without their consent. Maybe he needs to be punched in the face a few more times though. LITERAL FIVE YEAR OLDS UNDERSTAND THIS CONCEPT. IT’S NOT DIFFICULT. YET HE’S ACTING LIKE IT’S HARDER THAN ROCKET SCIENCE!!

I close my eyes to keep the room from spinning. When I feel steady enough to open them, Charlotte has disappeared.

Chapter 4.1 summary: After getting James and Greta out from his house, Charlie then goes and pulls Charlotte out from Becca’s room. She kind of guesses that he knows about her cancer, and asks how he found out. She’s obviously upset about the entire thing… But also tells him that she’s had this brain tumour for over 7 years now. Charlie tries to comfort her, but this only earns him a punch in the face from Charlotte. Because this guy is too stupid to function. Charlotte does feel bad about hitting him, but not the reason why she did it. As she cleans him up and puts tampons in his nose, she tells him that she has an overabundance of people feeling sorry for her every other place she goes. That the Hanson house is literally the only place where she’s free to do whatever she wants. That Becca knows, but Becca wasn’t weird about the entire thing. Before she leaves, Charlotte reminds him that having cancer isn’t a personality trait.