Customer Reviews

Please Ignore Vera Dietz

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I'll keep this short.

I'm a middle-aged man who gave up on YA literature when he was a YA. Which was a long, long time ago.

But PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ is the real deal. No glittery vampires. No baloney. Just real, live people with real, live problems. Like the ones I had when I was a YA myself. And like the ones you might have right now.

It's a book with heart, a book with soul.

It's a book that will endure.

Buy a copy right this minute, and help make sure that that happens.

I don't even know where to begin. Have you ever read a book that completely blew you away, but you knew you would never be able to put it into words? That's what this book did to me. I will never be able to do it justice with my measly little review. The entire time I was reading it I was trying to come up with words to use in my review, but I never had any! So what to say, what to say?...

Did you read The Dust of 100 Dogs? If you didn't, drop everything you are doing right now and go buy it! It was incredible. You have never read anything like it before, trust me! How does an author write a follow up that lives up to the extremely high expectations set by 100 Dogs? We should ask A.S. King, because she definitely did it.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz is about Vera Dietz, obviously. She's a little odd, but in a good way. She's dealing with the death of her ex-best friend, Charlie. She loved him. She hated him. She knows what happened the night he died, but can she find it in her to forgive him and clear his name?

Vera was such a fantastic protagonist! She was witty and smart, but she still did dumb things. She is a teenager so she is allowed a few dumb things. I connected with her instantly. My heart broke for her but she was unbelievable strong. She definitely held her own.
Her best friend Charlie is dead from the very beginning of the book, but you get glimpses of their relationship in the History chapters. I loved Charlie, and hated him. Just like Vera did. I wanted things to turn out differently for them, but obviously it couldn't because he was dead from page 1!

What makes this book so special? The writing! A.S. King has a way of telling you a story that will make you turn pages faster than you ever have before. The story is beautifully complex without being over done. She weaves the mystery and questions in flawlessly, but you don't get impatient for answers because the path to get there is so engaging. None of it was predictable and I never lost interest. Not even for a few seconds. The chores went undone while reading this book!

I must reiterate that this review doesn't do this book justice. Please, just read it and find out for yourself! Be prepared to read it in one sitting because it is addicting!

Please Ignore Vera Dietz is a phenomenal book. The writing is gorgeous--gritty, honest and raw and at the same time quirky, poetic and hilarious--and Vera herself is a bright and beautifully complicated character whose story will break your heart in the best possible way. A brilliant and powerful story about love, loss, betrayal, forgiveness, redemption...and of course, pizza delivery.

Vera Dietz has spent her entire life putting out "please ignore Vera Dietz" signals and wrestling with what she believes is her fate to end up exactly like her parents--an alcoholic stripper. When her best friend since childhood, Charlie Kahn, dies unexpectedly, Vera knows how to clear his name of the crime associated with his death, but she's stuck. Still mad at him for betraying her months earlier, she stays quiet, trying to deal with his death, her resentment towards him, and her own fate.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz is a powerful, tragic, and surprisingly poignant book. The majority of the book is narrated by Vera, who is a real, flawed, and darkly humorous character with a voice that demands to be listened to. Her narrative alternates between the past and present, and every so often a chapter from the point of view of Charlie, Vera's father, or even the pagoda in their hometown shows up in surprisingly refreshing interludes. King provides an excellent balance between all of these points of view, and the different perspectives give this book another interesting layer as readers can see firsthand the troubles Vera's father faced in his life and the mistakes he doesn't want his daughter to repeat, and Charlie's own regrets. The issue of children "fated" to become their parents is dealt with well, and King realistically portrays the conflicts and temptations that Vera faces without sugarcoating anything. Please Ignore Vera Dietz is as much about Vera's struggle to forgive Charlie as it is about her reconciling her feelings about her mother's abandonment and finally opening up to her father. This is an unforgettable book about mistakes, second chances, redemption, and becoming your own person--please don't ignore Vera Dietz.

Vera Dietz has quite a life. Her parents got married young and for all the wrong reasons. Her mother left several years ago and her father's answer to everything is work. Vera is a senior in high school and has a full time job delivering pizzas. Vera has been best friends with her neighbor Charlie for years - she loves him and knows all of his deepest, darkest secrets.

Charlie turns his back on Vera and starts to run with a different crowd. When he dies under suspicious circumstances, it's up to Vera to clear his name, but can she get over her hurt to do it?

I adored Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A. S. King! The story is so creative - it's told from Vera's point of view, but occasionally switches to "brief words" from the dead guy (Charlie), the Pagoda (a local landmark) and Ken, Vera's dad. It's a unique way to tell a story, and in some instances, I might find it a little odd, but it really works with this book.

Vera is a fabulous character. She's smart, irreverent, mature, and hard working. She's a good kid who just wants to get out of high school in one piece. When rumors start to fly, she says:

"While I quietly hoped it would all go away and sent my old PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ signals into the atmosphere, the rumor grew."

Vera hopes to stay out of all the drama of high school but finds it impossible when Charlie dies. Now she has to figure out what she should do.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz touches on some serious topics with a touch of humor, so it would make a wonderful book to discuss with teens. Do yourself a favor, and read this book!

In most cases, Vera Dietz would rather be invisible. She wishes she could just blend into the walls in high school, because she'd rather not have to deal with all the labels and rumors given to her because of her parents. But even though Vera wants to be invisible, she doesn't want to be alone. She just wants a best friend to be invisible with. And for a while she has one in Charlie Kahn--until he betrays her. Now Vera is alone with too many secrets that aren't hers to keep or share. When Charlie dies under suspicious circumstances, Vera is probably the only person who can even come close to the truth. But how can Vera overcome the pain Charlie put her through to do the right thing and clear his name--and does she even want to?

I absolutely loved King's first novel The Dust of 100 Dogs, and even though the premise of her second novel Please Ignore Vera Dietz could not be more different from King's debut, it is still a great success. Please Ignore Vera Dietz is told from a handful of different perspectives, living, dead, and even inanimate, and even if it seems confusing as to how a certain detail or memory relates to the story at hand, everything comes together so nicely. I actually really enjoyed experiencing all these different points of view, especially the more bizarre ones because I had no doubt that King could make it work; she just has that kind of talent. The actual story is actually somewhat hard to describe because it is so complex. There's so much more to Vera than a pizza delivery job and a slight alcohol problem, and I wholeheartedly enjoyed being privy to Vera's life and struggles. Once again, I have been impressed by King's skill at creating vivid characters and an unusual yet fantastic story and timeline.

Fans of King's debut The Dust of 100 Dogs should definitely check out Please Ignore Vera Dietz for the merit of King's writing alone, as well as readers who enjoyed The Space Between Trees by Katie Williams and Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver.

Vera Dietz is insightful, funny, troubled, smart, hard working, and far from perfect. The story is primarily told by Vera, with chapters by other narrators interspersed (Charlie, Vera's father, a building....) As the cover blurb "Brilliant!" is from Ellen Hopkins, I was expecting an edgy, somewhat over-the-top style, and this book happily surprised me with the unexpected depth of several of the characters. Great for mid-teens looking for a wise-cracking tough gal and a boy from an abusive home, who can put their angst into words (both four-letter and much longer.) There is a dramatic plot, some iffy interaction with a creepy adult, a little mean girl action, and a mystery all wrapped together. For those who like their YA hard-boiled with a splash of melodrama and laced with intelligent overtones, this would be a good choice.

2011 Printz Honor Award Winner!Looking for Alaska [Paperback] by Green, JohnSpeak (Platinum Edition)IdenticalBurned
If you like gritty, "real" books about teen angst (think John Green's Looking for Alaska, Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak), Please Ignore Vera Dietz is for you. Ditto if you are a fan of Ellen Hopkins's hard-to-believe but mesmerizing tales of unavoidable tragedy. As the title implies, 17-year-old Vera Dietz just wants to fly under the radar until she can graduate from high school and leave town for good. She has a lot to hide: her mother is a former stripper, her dad is a recovering alcoholic, she has a binge drinking problem, and oh, yes, her best friend Charlie has just died under mysterious circumstances. Vera has information about Charlie that she needs to share with the police, but she has been taught not to involve herself in unpleasantness--and Charlie's life and death were anything but pleasant. Vera has to overcome her own demons and a paralyzing sense of guilt (she was angry with Charlie before he died, and her refusal to help him may have contributed to his death) before she can act. This story can be confusing at times: there are too many narrators (including Charlie's ghosts--yes, plural--and a talking pagoda) and frequent flashbacks. The plot is a bit over-the-top (drugs, alcohol abuse, domestic violence, divorce, animal abuse, arson, pedophiles, pornography, white supremacists, murder, and more--all in one book!). That said, the novel is beautifully written (thus the award) and a compelling read--I literally didn't put it down because I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next. What better compliment can a reader give an author than that?! Sexual references, language, and violence make this book inappropriate for younger readers. Dawn Butcher, 7-12 Library Media Specialist

I had this book on my to read shelf for longer than I wanted and after finally carving out the time, I was only disappointed that I hadn't found the time earlier. This book caught hold of my heartstrings and didn't let go.

Vera is a normal teen exposed to a tremendous secret that chips away at her common sense and we take the journey with Vera down her and Charlie's destructive paths, hitting the low point with them and soar in celebration when the cycle finally breaks.

Ms. King had my emotion wrapped up in the story - I laughed and I cried and I loved this book.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz opens up with a death. And a funeral. Vera Dietz, entering her senior year of high school, has to attend her best friend's funeral. Her best friend who she loved once. Her best friend who she hates now. Her best friend who screwed her over. Her best friend who died. Her best friend who's secrets she always kept, who she secretly loved, who ruined everything for her. Charlie, the "best friend," died under dark circumstances, and Vera knows a lot more than everyone who's making assumptions about his death. Vera knows that she should clear his name... But does she even want to?

Vera Dietz has got to be one of my favorite books of 2010. Because everything about it was perfect. The characters, the writing, the plot, the emotion. I felt it all. And loved it all. Vera Dietz and I would be best friends. I think anyone could be best friends with Vera, just because she's so relatable, and real. And sarcastic. And emotional. And funny. Which goes with the sarcastic. And she's outcasted from those snobby small-town I-Suck-That-Football-Player's-D*** girls. Which goes with the emotional. I don't know. I just really, really, really, really loved Vera. Not in a Omigod-I'm-So-Fake-I-Love-You-Bffs-Forever-Girl kinda way, but in a I-Admire-Her-So-Much kinda way. You know, I think I really got Vera. She had all this anger and hurt and beauty shoved up inside of her.

And Charlie, her best friend! Omg, y'all. I know it says "best friend" a lot in the description, but I like to look at Charlie as Vera's boyfriend. Because that's what they basically were. They just didn't actually consider themselves as in a relationship because they were scared. Of all that a relationship entails. (Off-topic, but I wouldn't know!!!! Because I've been single for soooo freakin' long. Ugh.) It kept me on the edge, seeing Vera and Charlie interact with each other. I mean, yeah, he's dead, but there're flash-backs and such. I also really loved how, in some chapters, Charlie--in all his deadness--will be the narrator, and get some words out to the reader. It added a whole lotta depth to the story. A.S. King also wove dating violence and abuse into the story, and as you guys alreayd know, I'm a haa-uuuuuge women's rights person. I loved seeing those undertones in the story.

I was equally in love with Amy King's writing. It was beautiful, poetic, beautiful, poetic, oh, and beautiful and poetic. Did I mention beautiful and poetic? <--That is all.

Despite the title's request, don't ignore Vera Dietz. Because her story is beautiful, and should not be ignored. I didn't ignore Vera Dietz, I gave her attention. And I'm so (dang!) glad I did, because, as I said, her story is beautiful, and should not be ignored.

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