Young Adult Literature; Family Drama; Tragedy
Young Adult Literature
Please Ignore Vera Dietz is a tale for the modern day teenager. In it, protagonist Vera is dealing with a lot of the same old teenage problems—unrequited crushes, lost love, and clashes with authority (particularly parents). But the stakes are certainly higher in this book when the opening chapter reveals that Vera's best friend has been found dead. Even with the morbidly dire circumstances, though, this is still ultimately a story that revolves around a teenage girl's struggles as she grows up.
Family Drama
No family is perfect, and Please Ignore Vera Dietz certainly supports that statement. The two main characters, Charlie and Vera, both come from imperfect families. Charlie has to deal with an abusive father who regularly screams and beats Charlie and his mother, and while Vera's parents don't abuse her, she still deals with her fair share of family issues. So much so, in fact, that without family, who knows if Charlie and Vera would have bonded the way they did as kids—and without their friendship, well, we wouldn't have a book to even discuss here.
Tragedy
When Please Ignore Vera Dietz opens up, it's clear that this isn't going to be a cheerful little tale about a girl and a boy. The story begins with Charlie Kahn's death, and slowly reveals all the tragic events that lead up to it. Charlie's story is particularly tragic because he wanted so badly to be different from his father and to escape his fate, but he ended up a violent, troubled youth who died in disgrace anyway. That's a pretty tragic story, even if Vera gets a happy ending.