Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

Please Ignore Vera Dietz was recommended to me by someone at Chapters and it has been sitting on my self since the summer. It is an interesting read- for more mature students- I would be hesitant to leave it in a Grade 7 or 8 class. I think I will give it to a high school friend and see what she thinks. The main character in this book is Vera- she is 18 and has spent her whole life trying to stay invisible, just the way here parents have taught her. She wants to experience things, but she is also very aware of her father's expectations of her. She appears to be a mature, responsible, hard working young lady, but she has many secrets. The story opens with the funeral of Vera's best friend Charlie and the rest of the book deals with flashbacks of what led to his death and Vera's role in it. I did enjoy the story, it was an easy read, although it was hard knowing some of the things that Vera was involved in. She is a very mixed up young lady. There were also some hints at what a dark life Charlie led, and while nothing was every explicitly stated, the hints were enough to make you so sad for this young man. Like I said, this book has some very mature themes, so I would be very careful with who I gave this book to.