Please Ignore Vera Dietz

Impossible to Ignore

I couldn't put this book down! I just had to know what happened! There was never a dull moment, and the beginning is so captivating. Please Ignore Vera Dietz is easily, one of the best books I've ever read in this genre. This book is edgy, witty, and the characters are awesome.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A Great Book!

I read this when I checked it out from my school's library. It got off to a somewhat slow start, and it took me a while to get into it. Usually, I can read an entire book at school in a week, this one took me two or three. I really liked the story though, and the characters.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Awesome!

I havent goin the book on the nook but i'm reading it rite now and it has good spunk and i'm crazy hooked

Is this story depressing????

Is it??

Cool book

This book is funny and super fun to read you have to read this amazing!!!!:)

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Highly Recommend

This is a great example of YA Fiction. The story was told beautifully, I cant wait to read more from A.S. King.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

MY FRIEND READ IT, SO ITS GOOD?

MY FRIEND SAID IT'S A GOOD BOOK, I WANT TO READ IT!

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Great YA Fiction

Vera's used to be best friend, Charlie died. Their friendship took a turn for the worst 6 months earlier. Fast moving story told from several points of view, Vera, her father, Charlie's ghost, even inanimate objects. Vera is trying to put Charlie and all the rumors and nastiness behind her, but she is being haunted by Charlie's ghost.
There are a few mysteries throughout the story that kept me reading at breakneck pace (well, I can't really read at a breakneck pace, but you know what I mean.) Why and how did Charlie die? What happened to end the friendship? What is going on between Vera and her father and why is their relationship so matter of fact?

Really, the best part of the book is the growth of the relationship between Vera and her father. Vera's mother abandoned the family years ago. This is one of the barriers standing between Vera and her father.

Amazing Book

This book is fantastic. One of those that haunts you long after you have finished. It is definitely for a mature reader, 10 grade and up, as there is sex, drugs, alcohol, child abuse, etc. But it is so moving, and surprisingly funny at times. Vera's dad is hilarious, and so helpless. The only complaint I have heard from my students who have read this is that the very end is strange and doesn't seem to fit. Besides that amazing!

King does it again!

Ever since her best friend Charlie died, Vera's had a hard time dealing with life. Wait, back up. Ever since Charlie ditched Vera for the detentionheads (and THEN died), Vera's had a hard time dealing with life. And her dad, the biggest proponent of the "just ignore it" philosophy, is slow to notice, or at least slow to show Vera that he's noticing. And somehow Vera is stuck living life as a full-time high school student/full-time pizza delivery technician.

Even describing the book is a little confusing and wrapped up in itself. But King pulls it off in a way that only she can, by allowing the pagoda on the hill (yes, a building), Vera's dad, and Vera's dead best friend to all weigh in, along with Vera herself, on Vera's life. Through their joint narration, we get a glimpse of the real Vera (and the real Charlie and the real Vera's Dad). They're all flawed. There are no knights (or supernatural beings of your choice) in shining armor here. They're all just trying to make it through. Even Charlie, who is doing so from beyond the grave.

Though this is part mystery (we know Charlie's dead, but we don't know how or why), part "issue" book (Vera drinks a lot, much to the concern of her recovering alcoholic dad), part dangerous relationship (1-Vera's crush is in his twenties. 2-the flashbacks contain a guy who wants to take grade school Vera and Charlie's pictures. 3-Vera is herself the product of a young high school romance gone wrong), it is mostly a darkly funny book about grief. Everyone, except maybe the pagoda, is grieving someone. It's the way that they each deal with their grief, Vera and Charlie over the loss of each other and their friendship, Vera and her dad over the abandonment by Vera's mom, that makes this such a compelling book. There is plenty of the weird, the funny, the snarkiness, and the romance to keep the book fun, but it is the way that Vera et. al. deal with the more serious aspects that made me care about them.

It sounds all over the place, and I wish I could write a more coherent/convincing review. You'll just have to trust me that Please Ignore Vera Dietz is one that you really should pick up.


Book source: Philly Free Library

Here's me using AWESOMESAUCE in my review!

Please Ignore Vera Dietz is AWESOMESAUCE that will definitely make you wanting some pizza while reading! Take heed, dear Readers, that you might want to arm yourself with pizza before taking on A.S. King's sophomore release. I had been worried that nothing could top D100D - I mean, who can really best pirates? - but seriously I think Vera Dietz can kick their booties out of the ballpark! No pirates to be had here, but Vera Dietz has enough on her plate to deal with! Her best friend died, but before that he really screwed her up and now she has to face the world alone. Please Ignore Vera Dietz is not simply about Vera - it involves her single dad who is trying to do right by her, the dead best friend who is trying to make amends through ghostly means, the pagoda who overlooks the neighborhood, and Vera's younger self who tries to describer her relationship with Charlie. I got drawn deeper and deeper into the story as Ms. King danced in and out of the many different perspectives. It's hard to pinpoint what exactly I loved about Please Ignore Vera Dietz. Vera's narration just flowed really smoothly, and you can't help but love her quirkiness. Her relationship with Charlie is larger-than-life, and I couldn't help but wish that Charlie was still alive. And don't get me started on the flowcharts - if you love flowcharts, then you definitely need to check these out! Hilarious! Not to mention that Ms. King kindly gave a shout-out to the Boys from the Dwarf - and I had to giggle because I am a fan! This book definitely is MAGIC, pure and simple, and I really really really hope you pick up a copy right now because it'll be like meeting a long-lost friend!

GREAT READ!

I absolutely LOVED this book. I just couldn't put it down. The characters are well-developed and King's writing style is amazing. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick unique read.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz

Please Ignore Vera Dietz was definitely one of my favorite books of 2010. I think that when authors take a break from the norm, it always turns out so sweetly. I really, really liked Vera in this book. She wasn't the.um, nice girl that she's perceived to be. Her dry-humor had me laughing aloud nearly every page.
I think that Charlie's little chapters were just icing on the cake. Not only do we really get to see how Vera feels, but how Charlie feels (or felt), even from The Beyond. Charlie being dead, you would think that he's barely mentioned, and that Vera is always grieving and sad and all 'wahhhh' but she wasn't, and the book was so freaking different and shocking that I'm STILL thinking about it! (No, really, I am. Everything is so fresh in my mind, as though I just read it yesterday!)
Boy/Girl books being my favorite, this book was destined to get 'golden status' from me, and earn a spot on my shelf forever.
What else can I say? Oh, yea, READ THIS. I don't normally just out-right tell people to read this book, but I am now. If you like books that are.well, unusual, then this is the book for you. It's exciting, and things happen (happened) that were just shocking. So much so that on numerous occasions I think I may have gasped aloud (which I hate admitting), and even cried over.
Such a great book! The writing was just perfect as well. (And could the cover be any cuter? It's so simple.but you will get the meaning of the lighter within the first 50 or so pages. Oh, and the color reminds me of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, which is a bonus for both reader and author, since that book is so popular.)

Absolutely Amazing

A.S. King has no qualms about writing the tough stuff. Her first book was gritty, funny and romantic- I loved Dust of 100 Dogs. Vera Dietz is also gritty, runny and romantic- but in a different way. This book is beautifully written, and plays with emotions like few authors can.You cannot get this book out of your head.

Amazing

AHHHHH!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVED this book!!!!
From the first chapter on I was completely hooked and already in love. The story just popped off the pages and the characters came to life and completely drew me into their story. The book flowed so smoothly and there was never a slow patch to have to get through. I devoured every page, even staying up late to finish it off, and then I couldn't go to sleep because I couldn't come off of the book high.

Vera was a fantastic character. She was so wonderfully sarcastic, I wanted to be her :) This book really centered around her grief and her trying to get through the death of her best friend, all while going through the process of growing into a woman. She was so smart and mature, but also flawed and scarred. Vera was left by her mother at a young age and raised by her father, but neither of them ever really got over it, and this helped to shape her personality and the way she dealt with losing Charlie.

I loved how the story would go from the present and then it would flash back to a memory that Vera would have from her childhood with Charlie, until the whole story of what really happened that night was revealed. There was also some really funny moments when the story would be briefly interrupted by a message from the dead kid, or Vera's dad, or even the Pagoda on the hill.

This book had me laughing out loud and crying and spitting mad. I loved every page of it and think that everyone else will too! I hope you all rush out to buy your copy RIGHT NOW!! You won't regret it! (and if you do, what's wrong with you???lol)

An original and amazing voice in young adult literature

Wonderful. Unique, deep, touching, and wonderful. I loved A.S. King's first novel, THE DUST OF 100 DOGS, and couldn't see how she could top it. Now I do. Outstanding and amazing.

highly recommended, for teens as well as adults! (great for book clubs...)

What a refreshing read after all the "dark" tomes out there for teens/young adults today. High school teachers: please add this to your reading lists! Super for all levels of readers. Well done, A.S. King. Can't wait for your next book!

Here's me using wow in a sentence.

What words can I use to sum up PLEASE IGNORE VERA DEITZ other than wow? How about heartbreaking, or honest, or terrifying or funny or...well I could go on and on. This is the story of Vera, a girl who was betrayed by her best friend who she secretly loved. But now he's dead and only she can clear his name. But does she want to after what he did to her? PLEASE IGNORE VERA DEITZ is not an easy book; some of the themes in it are tough and will make you squirm, but you will be grabbed by the throat from the beginning and won't be able to put it down until you find out the truth. The truth that even Vera doesn't know. A beautiful, poignant story about love, friendship and what it really means to be classy. And quite truthfully, I will never look at pickles the same way again.

No text was provided for this review.