Book Club: Week One

     "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?"

Intro

     This week we read Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King. Put into the most simplest of terms, this book is about a girl dealing with the loss of her best friend. The story dissolves out to involve the lives of many different people though. The story addresses topics of abuse, bullying, teen pregnancy, addiction, love, and loss. Essentially, each main character has a piece of them missing that they are trying to fix (whether they know it or not). 

     I think my favorite part of this book is how original it is. The writing is very clever, and the book follows a very interesting story path that I've never seen before. The story itself is also very unique. While the novel could have turned into another fluffy teenage romance/tragedy, it deals with so many more emotions than just lust. There are moments where I wanted to cry and moments where I "AWHHH"ed. 

***SPOILER ALERT***

     Now to those of you who have read the book, what did you like and dislike about this book? As I already wrote, I really enjoyed the writing style. I thought the way King described the thousands of two-dimensional Charlies was very interesting, but I couldn't quite picture what was going on. I felt this way more than once with the book though. Some scenes were confusing and I had to reread them multiple times. Ultimately, this book just left me feeling empty. Or maybe the more appropriate word would be depressed. Just as Charlie tries to rekindle things, he dies. And you're totally lying if you weren't disappointed by the Valentine's Day scenario. UGH. This book is just heartbreaking. I mean I think I should have expected this though. The book does focus around a dead boy. What did you think about the ending? I was rather disappointed. I felt like the road trip was excessive, as if it was only there to try and keep you (the reader) from wanting to jump off a bridge. It was like a cushioning from the emotions you just experienced. While I think the goal was to resolve Vera and her father's lives, it really didn't resolve any of my questions. I don't mean to bash this book though, because it is a pretty good read. The writing makes the story so tangible, and I did grow attached to the story of Vera and Charlie. What did you think of this book??

Summary

     Overall, I rate this book 3 out of 5 pomeranians. It was a good read, but I was unhappy with how it ended. Lots of aspects of the story weren't resolved to the extent I wanted them to be. The book was confusing is certain parts, and I wasn't glued to the pages. However, the story felt so real. I felt like I was sitting in the back seat of Vera's car watching the story unfold, and I swooned over the girly, glitzy moments. I just wish it had ended differently. 

How would you rate this book? What did you like and dislike? 

Don't forget about next week's book!

Week Two: An Abundance of Katherines by John Green