Vera Dietz is a senior in high school who works full time as a pizza delivery driver and is being haunted by her dead best friend Charlie.

Vera and Charlie grew up together.  Their friendship sustained them through the constant abuse in Charlie’s home and Vera’s abandonment by her mother.  Before his death Charlie betrays Vera and they stop speaking.  After his death Vera is the only one who can clear his name for a crime he didn’t commit.  But how do you forgive the boy you spent years loving when he responds by cutting you out of his life and breaking your heart?  Is it even possible?

Please Ignore Vera Dietz is an achingly real portrait of high school.  Vera is a likable protagonist struggling with issues of alcoholism, abandonment, love and betrayal.  Her relationships–with Charlie, with her dad, and with James–are all the more poignant because of their flaws.  The mystery surrounding the circumstances of Charlie’s death helps to push the pace forward and adds a complicated layer that prevents this book from being a simple “slice-of-life” story.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz has my highest recommendation.  It’s honest, unflinching and the writing is stellar–my favorite title of 2011.

~ Tricia is the teen services librarian at CPL.  She is anxiously awaiting spring and is keeping cabin fever at bay by learning American Sign Language.