25) Please Ignore Vera Dietz-A.S. King

“I'm sorry, but I don't get it. If we're supposed to ignore everything that's wrong with our lives, then I can't see how we'll ever make things right.” 

Charlie Kahn is dead. He's dead and there's nothing his former best friend can do nothing about it. Maybe if things didn't go sour between the two of them the spring before, maybe she could have saved him, maybe he'd still be here. Maybe he wouldn't have gotten messed up with the wrong believe and believed all of the lies that the queen of deadbeats, Jenny Flick, had to say.
Vera Dietz can't seem to let Charlie go. She also can't bring herself to tell everyone that she knows the truth. But what's keeping her from letting him go and telling the truth? Is it that she can't deal with the fact that he's gone? Is it guilt? Or is she afraid that once she tells, the string of paper doll Charlies that surround her at work, the Charlie that tells her what radio station to listen to, the thousands of Charlies that fog the bathroom mirror begging her to tell the truth will leave her forever? Because no matter what, she loved Charlie Kahn.

Is she going to tell the truth? Is she going to finally deal with the pain and grief that riddles her? Will she finally help solve other problems she's been told and chosen to ignore almost all of her life? Can she finally move beyond the vicious rumors at school and put Jenny Flick where she belongs? And most of all, can she say goodbye to Charlie?

I absolutely loved this book. I thought it was incredibly well written and just so funny. I liked that there wasn't necessarily a linear storyline; it just sort of bounced around in her history. There were also chapters like "A Brief Word from the Dead Kid" or a chapter from the famed Pagoda's perspective as well as Vera's dad. I enjoyed that you got the story from other perspectives, but it was still Vera's story. It was such an insightful look at how some people deal with the death of a loved one (especially at such a young and fragile age). It really kept you hooked because you wanted to find out if she ever tells. I really don't think I could recommend this book enough.