
Please Ignore Vera Dietz

Please Ignore Vera Dietz is very much a character-driven story, partially due to Vera's desire to be ignored by the high school masses. Vera's voice is incredibly compelling, and her raw sadness, and anger bleeds through in her words, regardless of how much she tries to mask it. She's intelligent, hard working, and genuine, and I immediately found myself connecting to her. My heart broke for her - and for Charlie and her father, both of whom were also wonderfully written, flawed characters that I couldn't help but love.
King tackles many difficult topics in Please Ignore Vera Dietz: from abusive parents to alcoholism, among other things, it certainly isn't a light read. While it may seem like that's a lot of tough issues to display at once, it's certainly reflective of reality -- these awful circumstances happen more often than we'd like to think, and sometimes are even happening next door. It's not all gloom and doom, however; Between talking pickles and a narration from the pagoda, these heavy, and sometimes uncomfortable, topics are counterbalanced with the perfect amounts of surrealism and humour.
Overall, Please Ignore Vera Dietz is a beautiful, heartbreaking examination of grief, love, and regret that is truly unforgettable. I highly, highly recommend it.