Please Ignore Vera Dietz

King. A.S. Please Ignore Vera Dietz. 2010. 326p. ISBN 9780375865862. Available as an eBook on Overdrive.

When Vera’s mother left the family, she left Vera and her father alone and lost. This separation devastated Vera’s father, but also affected Vera. Her father was an alcoholic high school drop-out when he got his 17 years old girlfriend pregnant. Her mother never really cared for Vera, and her departure at age 12 was never discussed in their household.

Many other things were never talked about either. Like how Charlie Kahn’s mother gets beaten up by her husband. Vera and Charlie have been best friends since they were four, but over the years Vera has grown to secretly fall in love with him. A rebel, a do-not-care attitude, and a free spirit, Charlie has always been reckless. Her dad told her not to fall in love with him, he was bad news and he was likely to commit the same mistakes his father did.

In fact, Vera’s father is concerned that Vera herself might repeat his history of alcoholism or her mother’s history of early pregnancy. So he tries to protect her from everything. Even from Charlie.

But Vera’s history with Charlie is complicated. They were best friends, then they drifted apart. Vera still loved Charlie, but when he hooked up with the detention heads, and started dating Jenny, Vera saw that their relationship was going to change. She didn’t think it would lead to Charlie’s death, nor that she would continue to love him and hate him at the same time.

Filled with secrets, Vera must decide if spilling them is the only way to redeem Charlie’s name. Can she relive the history of their relationship one more time?

If you liked this book, consider reading Thirteen Reasons Why, We Were Liars, If I Stay, Zoe Letting Go, Black Box, The Vanishing Season, or Kiss of Broken Glass. All of these books feature a tragedy and a voyage of self-discovery as the central element of the plot.