Scan barcode
A review by cgreaderbee
Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King
4.0
This book was quietly demanding and emotive; I didn't expect to connect to it as much as I did.
I found myself simultaneously able to relate to and surprised by the characters, their relationships, their decisions. It left me feeling very engaged and invested in it all.
We follow the story of Vera after the death of Charlie - her neighbor, her best friend, her first love. But also a boy who hurts and betrays her.
Charlie was a complicated and damaged character. He struggled under the burden of an abusive upbringing and an avalanche of bad choices. You couldn't help feeling both angry at him and sympathizing with him. He's a nostalgic yet unforgivable character.
Vera herself is a complex character. She struggles to fight against the seemingly inevitable tides of her genes and background - living with her protective, ex-alcoholic father and abandoned by a troubled, ex-stripper mother who never truly wanted her. She wants to stay hidden from her past while also trying to identify who she is in the mix of it all.
The story line fluctuated between the past and present, slowly presenting the history between Vera and Charlie, from impressionable youth to the tense and dramatic outline of events that ultimately lead to Charlie's untimely death. In the mix of all that is the present Vera struggling to come to terms with Charlie's death and the role and responsibility she has in uncovering the truth.
The story also has segments of insight from the POV of Vera's father, the town's iconic landmark, and the deceased Charlie. I appreciated the wise hindsight and brutal reality that came with deceased Charlie's POV. He reflected on the fears and failures behind Charlie's decisions, his love and feeling of unworthiness for Vera.
Ultimately, there was a sense of urgency and drama beneath the story, and you just couldn't look away - you had to see what happened through to the end, good or bad.
I found myself simultaneously able to relate to and surprised by the characters, their relationships, their decisions. It left me feeling very engaged and invested in it all.
We follow the story of Vera after the death of Charlie - her neighbor, her best friend, her first love. But also a boy who hurts and betrays her.
Charlie was a complicated and damaged character. He struggled under the burden of an abusive upbringing and an avalanche of bad choices. You couldn't help feeling both angry at him and sympathizing with him. He's a nostalgic yet unforgivable character.
Vera herself is a complex character. She struggles to fight against the seemingly inevitable tides of her genes and background - living with her protective, ex-alcoholic father and abandoned by a troubled, ex-stripper mother who never truly wanted her. She wants to stay hidden from her past while also trying to identify who she is in the mix of it all.
The story line fluctuated between the past and present, slowly presenting the history between Vera and Charlie, from impressionable youth to the tense and dramatic outline of events that ultimately lead to Charlie's untimely death. In the mix of all that is the present Vera struggling to come to terms with Charlie's death and the role and responsibility she has in uncovering the truth.
The story also has segments of insight from the POV of Vera's father, the town's iconic landmark, and the deceased Charlie. I appreciated the wise hindsight and brutal reality that came with deceased Charlie's POV. He reflected on the fears and failures behind Charlie's decisions, his love and feeling of unworthiness for Vera.
Ultimately, there was a sense of urgency and drama beneath the story, and you just couldn't look away - you had to see what happened through to the end, good or bad.