Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

Here's how Vera Dietz describes herself. I am motherless, and in the last year I lost my best friend twice, fell in love with a guy I shouldn't have (twice), got beat up by a skinhead Nazi, and had things thrown at me, including beer cans, money, and dog shit. (page 261) Her mother left her and her father several years previously. Her father is stoic, silent, rather strict, recovering alcoholic. Her best friend who first dumped her, then tried to win her back, then died is haunting her. There is something she needs to do, for him and herself, tell the truth about several events. It will clear his name and stop a couple of not so great goings on. And so Vera tells her story of her senior year, the struggle with grief and anger, the experience with alcohol, the bullying and also looks back on how it all came to be. Vera is a strong female who works her bumby way through everything and her father is ultimately supportive and caring even though he has a tough time showing it. I wish like crazy that Charlie could have lived, that the disaster hadn't happened, that Jenny Flick could have been punished for what she did. But then this story could not have been. Readers who like Alex Flinn will likely enjoy this story. I did.