Take a story's temperature by studying its tone. Is it hopeful? Cynical? Snarky? Playful?
Painfully Honest
In Please Ignore Vera Dietz, Vera's dad, Ken Dietz, believes strongly in always telling the truth, even if it means making the people around him uncomfortable. For example, he tells Vera about the fact that her mother used to be a stripper even though it's hard for Vera to hear it. Is that really what a thirteen-year-old girl wants to know about her mom? Probably not, but her dad is just determined to tell the truth, even if it makes his pubescent daughter feel super awkward. Vera says:
I had too much on my mind to digest this. I was still digesting the whole mother-was-a-stripper thing on top of the mother-never-coming-back thing. (1.19.3)
The rest of the book follows the same principle. All of the narrators approach the story with painful honesty, including Vera, Charlie, and Ken. Vera, for instance, doesn't hide her complicated feelings about Charlie's death and the disintegration of their relationship:
Is it okay to hate a dead kid? Even if I loved him once? Even if he was my best friend? Is it okay to hate him for being dead? (1.1.3)
Even though it may be hard to hear—and to recount—the difficult truths in this story, the book makes sure that the reader sees the events as they happen, in all their glory.