Please Ignore Vera Deitz by A.S. King

"Is it okay to hate the dead kid? Even if I loved him once? Even if he was my best friend? Is it okay to hate him for being dead? 

Vera's spent her whole life secretly in love with her best friend, Charlie Kahn. And over the years, she's kept a lot of his secrets. Even after he betrayed her. Even after he ruined everything.

So when Charlie dies in dark circumstances, Vera knows a lot more than anyone, the kids at school, his family, even the police. But will she emerge to clear his name? Does she even want to?" (King)

Please Ignore Vera Deitz is not a book I would have picked up on my own. I like my books dark, twisted, and all around messed up. This book seemed like the main character would be annoying, prissy, and spoiled but she was actually so relatable it was scary. Both Charlie and Vera were relatable, sometimes Charlie more than Vera, sometimes Vera more than Charlie. When I started reading it was kind of annoying, but mostly because I was forcing myself to think that.

As I got into the novel and read deeper into the text, I realized that this novel was more than it seemed. It made me think about everything. Charlie's intentions made me question my own. He did bad things, he was a bad guy, but it was like he couldn't help it! It was like it was in his genes, he could control his intentions like he could control how he looked! It took work, serious, expensive work! I felt like I was him sometimes, like the bad things I have done were justified by me just being me. Often while reading, I felt so ashamed I related to Charlie so much, since he was the generic bad guy, you know with abusing his friendship with Vera and all. And I will probably continue to feel ashamed, as I should, but it was nice having those moments when I didn't. His relationship with John hit a button inside of me I didn't even know I had.

This story was twisted in a way that's normal to me. The characters did bad things for no reason just like people in real life sometimes do bad things just because they feel like it and they can. I know this sounds cheesy, but it's true, Charlie taught me that where and who you come from has a very big influence on you but it does not define you or who you should be.

I am a big believer that the stories belong to their readers and they can interpret it into any way they want to. (Thanks, John Green). This story may mean something different to me than to you, but overall I suggest this book to anyone who wants to read it! This book does touch on dark subjects that may be triggering to some people but if you think you can handle it go on ahead and read it! I give this book four out of five stars because it was well written, entertaining, and it did a great job of making me feel empathetic towards the characters.

Disclaimer: None of the pictures used in this post are mine, all rights reserved to their creators.