Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S.King

I am embarrassed to say that A.S. King's Please Ignore Vera Dietz has been sitting on my bookshelf for years, waiting for me to pick it up. I first ran across this Printz Honors-winning novel on one of those "best young adult fiction" type lists online. I hadn't heard of it before, so my interest was piqued. Later on, I happened to see a copy of it sitting out on a display table at Barnes and Noble, so I picked it up. I stuck it on my shelf and promptly forgot about it for several years. While looking for some shorter award-winners to read this month, I rediscovered Vera Dietz, noted the shiny medal on its cover, and finally read it. I was pleased to discover that it was very deserving of the critical recognition that it has received.

The plot centers around the relationship between Vera Dietz and Charlie Kahn, two teenagers that have been neighbors and best friends since they were four. At the beginning of the novel, we learn that Charlie has recently died under somewhat mysterious and dark circumstances, that this has happened roughly five months after Vera and Charlie broke off their friendship over a deep (but currently unexplained) betrayal,and that Vera knows something about the circumstances surrounding Charlie's death that she is refusing to come forward with. Immediately, the reader is drawn into the mystery. Finding out exactly what happened between Vera and Charlie, however, is quite a journey.

The narration is handled primarily by Vera, but occasionally the exposition duties shift around to Vera's father Ken, Charlie, and (oddly) a town landmark for short passages. In addition to narrator hopping, time hops around as well. Vera narrates her present day experiences, as well as her past together with Charlie. Eventually, her flashback chapters and present day chapters converge to show a semi-complete version of how the pair were driven apart and what led to Charlie's death. One of the novel's strongest points is how the reader is burdened with this knowledge that everything is going to end very badly for Charlie, and that's sad to see happen, but at the same time, the reader feels anxious to learn the details of his death. This little internal tug of war makes for a very engaging and emotional reading experience.

Another highlight of the novel are the well-developed characters. A.S. King presents Vera and Charlie as vividly real people with strengths and flaws. Vera is responsible, holds down a full time job, earns excellent grades at school, and has a deeply rooted sense of right and wrong. She knows not to "give the best of [herself] to the worst of people." However, she struggles with a family history of alcohol addiction and is unable to process the grief she feels from her mother abandoning her and her father a few years ago. Charlie is a free spirit with irresistible charm, but he is hobbled by an abusive home life and disconnected parents. He is described as "[living] hard because inside he was dying." King tells their stories with such emotional honesty that one can't help but feel invested in them.

One of the major themes in the novel is the idea of destiny, and how much control one can exercise over it. Both Vera and Charlie have elements in their past that threaten to consume them. Vera is desperate to avoid both following in her mother's careless footsteps and falling into the family history of alcoholism on her father's side. Charlie is afraid of becoming like his father, and perpetuating a cycle of domestic violence in his own future family. Eventually Charlie succumbs to his background, while Vera does not. Their diverging paths are beautiful and tragic to watch side by side. Ultimately, the novel encourages readers to speak up, care for others, and make their own pathways through life. Life can be endlessly difficult, but as Vera reminds us:

"I'm sorry, but I don't get it. If we're supposed to ignore everything that's wrong with our lives, then I can't see how we'll ever make things right."

Please Ignore Vera Dietz is exactly the type of young adult fiction that I love - character-driven, emotionally complex work. Fans of Rainbow Rowell, Jandy Nelson, or John Green would do well to pick up this novel. Everything doesn't end nicely in this story. It's not that kind of book. However, it does end on hope, and encourages the reader to take control of their own fate. This is a well-crafted read that is definitely worth the time.