Book review by the Bookshelf Detective, Kim Tomsic
PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ by A. S. King
Five Lollipop Rating
The dramatic tale of high school senior Vera and the confusing mind game following the death of her best friend Charlie. Charlie and Vera’s friendship started at age four. When they were five and ten and twelve, their friendship was about sleepovers, a tree house, and keeping secrets (like the one about Charlie’s missing underwear or the other about Vera’s mom). When Vera and Charlie enter high school, their friendship is tainted by unspoken crushes, lies, betrayal, and addiction. While Vera tries to compartmentalize the dirty secret behind Charlie’s death, she is forced to confront the truth about other relationships in her life. Author A.S. King is a master of voice. She makes the reader easily believe that an eighteen year old girl, a dead boy, and even a pagoda are narrating. Hard issues are dealt with in an authentic and even funny manner, but it’s the hopefulness that keeps the pages swiftly turning.
Genre: Y.A. (Knopf books for Young Readers October 12, 2010 ISBN 978-0-375-86586-2 Hardcover $16.99)
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