eslismyjam's review against another edition
5.0
After reading this and Me Before You back to back I was thrown into a book hangover the likes of which I've never seen. It's easy to see why this was a Printz Honor book. This one's got a lot of soul. A bunch of other reviews commented that when they first picked this book up they thought, "great another issue book about grief." I guess this is an issue book and it's definitely for teens, but Vera is so much awesomer than most other angsty grief stricken fictional teens. What happens to Charlie is damn tragic, but Vera gives it to us straight. There are so many times during this book when I feel like it could have gone way over the top. Vera's father is a recovering alcoholic. Her mom got pregnant in high school, and became a stripper and then ran away with a rich doctor. Charlie was Vera's BFF since forever but he has an abusive father and a mother who is a battered woman. This book has drugs, drinking and a lot of poor desicions made by teens. We look at all of those things in a list, it seems like this book is basically just a soap-opera. But it's not, it's not at all. Mostly because King does a great job weaving all the threads together, little by little. It's also because although Vera is our narrator, we get a taste of some of the other characters for a few chapters here and there which paints a much fuller picture of the world that Vera is living in.
I'm not sure that I liked being taken out of Vera's head without any warning, but it seemed to serve a purpose. Getting inside Charlie's head, even for only a short chapter or two, it essential for the reader to understand the whole story.
This book is tragic not only because a kid dies, in a senseless and horrible way, but because the adults are very passive in the whole process. Vera's dad tells her over and over again not to get involved with the violence going on in Charlie's house next door. So, finally when Charlie starts doing other things that she knows are going to cause him trouble, she does nothing. The relationship between Charlie and Vera gets more and more complicated the older they get, the more they like each other and can't admit it. She knows that it's not right to ignore Charlie's problems, but adults know best right? She's just following her dad's lead. That really bothered me. Adults need to stand up. I admit that all of these terrible things do happen to teens and they have to deal with them, but it's also possible for the occasional adult to step and take responsibility. So that bugged me. However, even though Vera's dad bugged me with this attitude it didn't detract from the story. Because it is Vera's story, not his and it really didn't matter.
The bit that made me really get the feels was learning about Charlie. Charlie and Vera, together but not. And then Charlie and Vera as enemies as Charlie purposely pushes her away, because he doesn't think he's good enough for her. His downward spiral is heart-wrenching, especially as an adult reading this book and imagining other kids that might have had the same life that they ended up throwing away because they felt there were no other options.
I'm not sure that I liked being taken out of Vera's head without any warning, but it seemed to serve a purpose. Getting inside Charlie's head, even for only a short chapter or two, it essential for the reader to understand the whole story.
This book is tragic not only because a kid dies, in a senseless and horrible way, but because the adults are very passive in the whole process. Vera's dad tells her over and over again not to get involved with the violence going on in Charlie's house next door. So, finally when Charlie starts doing other things that she knows are going to cause him trouble, she does nothing. The relationship between Charlie and Vera gets more and more complicated the older they get, the more they like each other and can't admit it. She knows that it's not right to ignore Charlie's problems, but adults know best right? She's just following her dad's lead. That really bothered me. Adults need to stand up. I admit that all of these terrible things do happen to teens and they have to deal with them, but it's also possible for the occasional adult to step and take responsibility. So that bugged me. However, even though Vera's dad bugged me with this attitude it didn't detract from the story. Because it is Vera's story, not his and it really didn't matter.
The bit that made me really get the feels was learning about Charlie. Charlie and Vera, together but not. And then Charlie and Vera as enemies as Charlie purposely pushes her away, because he doesn't think he's good enough for her. His downward spiral is heart-wrenching, especially as an adult reading this book and imagining other kids that might have had the same life that they ended up throwing away because they felt there were no other options.
livreads7's review against another edition
5.0
This book was such perfection. I loved the dynamics of the two best friends, Vera and Charley, and how Vera copes when Charley dies. Though we don't know the details about how exactly Charley died the ending reveals it and it choked me up a bit. The whole last part of the book choked me up a bit to be honest.
Though this book has swearing I feel like it adds realism to the teenage characters in this story.
Vera and Charley are both such realistic people who I would feel make good friends in real life.
I loved the plot and how the story goes back and forth from past to present and even through different characters' perspectives. My favorites were "A brief word from the Pagoda". Hilarious.
The story was both funny, sad, and real. I loved it. I would definitely re-read it in the future.
Though this book has swearing I feel like it adds realism to the teenage characters in this story.
Vera and Charley are both such realistic people who I would feel make good friends in real life.
I loved the plot and how the story goes back and forth from past to present and even through different characters' perspectives. My favorites were "A brief word from the Pagoda". Hilarious.
The story was both funny, sad, and real. I loved it. I would definitely re-read it in the future.
smolgalaxybrain's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
dylandoesread's review against another edition
5.0
A lot of YA novels are creative, well thought out, and exude originality. But this one also has something many fail to include: the voice of a young adult.
Vera Dietz actually sounds like a teenager. Like a girl in high school who has pretty intense teenage problems. A lot of her life is screwed up—we start out by learning her best friend (and kind of boyfriend) is dead, and then we go on a journey to learn what happened to him. And there's a lot of life crap exposed along the way. But it all sounds real and believable. And sometimes funny. A big part of this believability comes from the language used as well. Vera doesn't sound like a 50-year-old English professor pretending to be a 17-year-old. She sounds like a 17-year-old. Who delivers pizza. And sees ghosts. Fun stuff like that. (Note: this is pretty much an R-rated book, so not for the younger readers of YA.)
Vera Dietz actually sounds like a teenager. Like a girl in high school who has pretty intense teenage problems. A lot of her life is screwed up—we start out by learning her best friend (and kind of boyfriend) is dead, and then we go on a journey to learn what happened to him. And there's a lot of life crap exposed along the way. But it all sounds real and believable. And sometimes funny. A big part of this believability comes from the language used as well. Vera doesn't sound like a 50-year-old English professor pretending to be a 17-year-old. She sounds like a 17-year-old. Who delivers pizza. And sees ghosts. Fun stuff like that. (Note: this is pretty much an R-rated book, so not for the younger readers of YA.)
kraewalker's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ufcasey's review against another edition
5.0
This is a sometimes strange but completely wonderful book. Where else can you read about flow charts, a talking pagoda, and multiple imaginary versions of a dead kid? Ok that sounds weird and probably isn't a good recommendation for this book, so ignore that. Instead focus on this: this book is about a boy and a girl who are childhood friends, grow up, grow apart, and then one of them dies under unusual circumstances. The beginning of the story takes place at the funeral and moves forward depicting how Vera tries to move on with her life after the loss of her ex best friend. However this storyline is sporadically interrupted by a second storyline about Vera and Charlie's past, starting with their childhood and moving forward towards the day Charlie dies. At the end, the two story lines converge, and I just never wanted this book to end. This book is definitely going on my favorites shelf. Also, I highly recommend the audiobook!
gcullman's review against another edition
3.0
Well written and moving. I really liked the multiple sporadic narrators. Vera Dietz is a pretty great character. The story is sad and I rooted for Vera the whole time.
manda_reads's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
1-star ratings are usually reserved for books I mark as did not finish. This book however is the exception to that rule. While I finished this book, I did not like it one bit. I think my dislike for the book stems from the fact that I failed to connect to or with any of the characters in the book. All of the characters seemed devoid of any emotion.