Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A. S. King

I just recently finished Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A. S. King and I loved it!  For those who haven't read it yet, the book is about a high-school senior named Vera Dietz whose best friend Charlie dies suddenly.  Throughout the book, Vera considers her friendship with Charlie and tries to cope with his death, as well as his horrible treatment of her in the months before he dies.  I think the reader will be surprised by the truth about Charlie's death; I know I did not expect certain portions of the "true story."

In terms of Vera's character, I thought she was extremely relate-able (minus the drinking problem).  Her issues with her father and her efforts to determine what direction her life is headed give her credibility as a "real" teen.  However, some of the issues that Vera deals with are relatively unique and some teens may not understand or sympathize.  For example, Vera is continuously haunted by Charlie throughout the book.  Although I'm sure most of you are imagining Vera seeing the image of Charlie from time-to-time or hearing his voice, what actually happens is a bit more intense.  Rather than seeing one Charlie, Vera is haunted by numerous Charlies (at some points I think she mentions a specific number, such as 100 or 1,000).  These Charlies suffocate Vera and actually interfere with her life a little bit.  Some students may find this unbelievable (I admit, at times I thought the Charlies were behaving a bit ridiculously).  However, I think their presence and the way they affect Vera successfully conveys how much Charlie's death affects Vera and how Vera needs to unburden herself (and clear Charlie's name) by confessing the truth. 

One of my favorite elements of this book is how A. S. King includes certain chapters from the point of view of Charlie, Mr. Dietz, and the Pagoda (an inanimate object).  I think this provides the reader with helpful information and allows us to believe that both of these important men in Vera's life truly care(d) about her and want the best for her.  In addition, I also think it helps the reader to understand the flaws of both men and how some of their actions toward Vera were inappropriate or not supportive.  Mr. Dietz's flow charts are particularly amusing, since they provide the reader with a good insight into his character (he constantly thinks of actions in terms of consequences or where the action will lead you.  Also, Mr. Dietz is a very rational character and, as an accountant, the flow charts seem to make sense for his character.

At times throughout the novel, I became frustrated with Mr. Dietz's character because of some of his actions.  I felt that he was too controlling with Vera at certain points, while too lenient at others.  When he actually had Vera call her mother (who had abandoned the family 6 years ago) to talk to her rather than talk to her about her drinking and dating a 23-year-old, I felt that he was being particularly ridiculous.  Why rely on Vera's conversation with her mother to set her on the "right path?"  Especially since Mr. Dietz was the parent who had the problems with alcohol.  I was surprised he did not handle that part himself.  Did he really think Vera would be receptive to her mother who is no longer around and only sends her a birthday card?  By the end of the book, however, Mr. Dietz's actions made more sense to me.  One aspect of his character that I simply could not get over was some of his hypocrisy.  For instance, he keeps rationalizing the fact that he does not encourage Vera's love of animals or allow her to have a pet by stating that people spend too much money on their pets.  Mr. Dietz opines that there are starving children all over the world (even in their own town) and yet people spend lots of money taking care of their pets.  He believes that these people should spend that "extra" money on the starving children.  While I think that this is a valid opinion in theory, Mr. Dietz's character is so tight with money, I don't think he spends the extra money that he saves by not allowing Vera to have a pet on the starving children of the town.  While this is not explicitly stated, I'm just guessing that he doesn't.  It doesn't seem likely.  So that hypocrisy really bothers me.  Also, the fact that he does not encourage Vera to work with animals, which is something she loves so much (and could be therapeutic for her after her mother's abandonment) struck me as kind of...cold.  I was going to type "heartless," but I really don't believe Mr. Dietz is heartless, just misguided and somewhat lost.

I really enjoyed the fact that Vera's character is independent and strong.  While she does make mistakes and still obviously has some emotions about her mother that have not been dealt with, Vera is a good example of someone who does not allow others' opinions or attitudes toward her to affect her life very much.  Although I would not advocate teens to take Vera's "please ignore Vera Dietz" approach while in school, I am glad to see a female protagonist who refuses to join the "Detentionheads" in their ridiculous behavior, even after her best friend begins to hang out with them.  I also admire A. S. King for writing a female character who feels that she does not have to behave like Jenny Flick in order to get a guy to like her.  In my opinion, there are too many "Jenny Flicks" in the world.  While not all of them are as cruel or as much of a sociopath as Jenny's character, I think that many girls today feel that they need to dress in a revealing way or wear too much makeup or do poorly in school simply to attract male attention.  I found it particularly interesting that Charlie actually confesses that the reason why Jenny Flick never liked Vera is because "she's [Vera's] classy without having to try" (p. 293).  Hopefully teen girls who read this book will finally realize that being classy and having standards is extremely important and that guys (especially the right kind of guys) will love them for these attributes.  While this seems to be a subtle message, I think it is important that A. S. King included that sentence in the book.

Overall, I highly recommend reading this book.  I'm seriously considering purchasing it so that I can read it again in the future.