Reviewed by rakesandrogues on
I admit it: I have Reader’s Guilt because I felt like I did not like PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ by A.S. King as much as everyone else out there. PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ has the elements of being a fantastic book, but when it came down to it, the book just did not excite me as much as I wanted it to.
PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ by A.S. King has the elements that I usually adore in contemporary books: a huge secret, multiple perspectives, and a funny main character. But unfortunately, the elements just couldn’t come together to blow me away. Maybe it’s the fact that I know the book won a Printz Honor and I had pretty high expectations coming in.
There wasn’t anything about Vera that made her really relatable. I like her as a character, but I don’t think that she made a lasting impression on me. I was able to empathize with her character, and I truly admire her loyalty to Charlie no matter how many things happened between them. Their friendship was the strongest aspect of the book.
Furthermore, PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ by A.S. King is a very gripping book. It’s the kind of book that you want to read straight through just to uncover the big secret. The problem with this however, that it led me toward a tendency of skimming. I just wanted instant gratification as a reader. I would constantly have to remind myself to slow down and appreciate King’s writing just to get to the good part.
Additionally, PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ by A.S. King is not the best book to read in digital format. The various flow charts that weave into the storyline were hard to read on a 6″ e-ink device. If I had read this on a print book, I probably would have enjoyed the flow charts a lot more.
Overall, PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ by A.S. King was a quick and enjoyable read. But because of the fact that I had high expectations, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I probably should have.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 27 August, 2012: Finished reading
- 27 August, 2012: Reviewed