Please Ignore Vera Dietz Book Review

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King can only be described as an experience. The book follows 17-year-old Vera Dietz in a journey of self-discovery starting with the death of her best friend Charlie Kahn. Although the cause of his death was seemingly known, only Vera knows what really happened to Charlie. This story follows her through two separate timelines, one of her past experiences in chronological order and the other of the present, that both contribute towards understanding her thought process as it leads up to the climax of her decision to either tell about or keep secret about the true circumstances of Charlie’s death. The plot that is described in a variety of different perspectives sends the reader on a wild thought process that leaves them confused as to whether or not Vera will come clean about the mysterious death of her longtime friend. The experience that is this book leaves a sense of pride and sympathy for the characters within the novel, and isn’t that all that’s required to make a book good? As said before, there is a sense of pride and sympathy to be found while reading through this story. This is especially extraordinary within this novel due to how the reader gets to view this through multiple characters’ perspectives. For example, up until one section where Charlie narrates there is a feeling of distaste for him as a person, “I was an idiot about Vera and about Jenny Flick… I wasn’t trying to hurt Vera. I wasn’t trying to impress the Detentionheads. I didn’t really even like them” (King, 118). This quote from the victim himself shows that he wasn’t as bad as he was described by other narrators in the chapters prior. There are many other examples like this throughout the novel but with other characters, such as Ken Dietz or even Vera herself, which only furthers the point that these characters inflict sympathy and pride about them unto the reader. This book is also great at putting unfortunate events into perspective. Throughout the novel, there are themes such as underage drug addiction, teenage pregnancy, bullying, abandonment, and domestic abuse. The entire plot follows these events within the characters not only to give them a depth of sorts but mainly to exemplify that this is the reality of the world and there are people out there that suffer to these examples and more. As Charlie Kahn puts it, “Why do people think there are clear answers for things anyway? There aren’t” (King, 205), there are no good answers as to why these things happen. King does a great job of showing that these tragedies are a real problem and there are consequences for them, but she also states many times in the writing that it’s not impossible to fix these problems. An obvious non-spoiler example would be the character Ken Dietz, a recovered alcoholic who had a kid around the age of 20 and was left by his wife only 12 years after. He leads a good life from the beginning of the book and an exemplary life by the end as a great father and a responsible human being. Ken is one of a few characters within this book that show no problem is impossible to overcome. Overall the book sends a great message as the story progresses. Please Ignore Vera Dietz was a great experience to enjoy with every chapter read. It had its highs and lows throughout the plot, especially due to how in-depth the characters felt. The growth seen within each person in the book made me care about if they would get the endings they deserved. They all had their hardships, but when they overcame them it gave me such a feeling of relief and joy. I would recommend this book especially to anyone who may feel lost in their problems or anyone who knows people who feel that way. The story is a great example of no matter how badly someone is trapped within their own predicament, there is always a way to find clarity.