Please Ignore Vera Dietz By A. S. King

Developing a better understanding of ourselves and those around us is a critical turning point during the transition from child to adult. In the novel Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King, the protagonist Vera is a struggling teen with a mother who abandoned her, a best friend who died in a tragic accident, and a serious alcohol addiction. Vera comes of age when the influences of adults and love cause her to gain an understanding of herself and those around her, which she lacked before.

Adult influences give Vera a greater understanding of her mother’s actions and her own. To begin, Vera’s therapist helps her understand the reason her mother left. Before coming of age, Vera holds onto her mother’s old belongings because she believes it is

However, during family therapy, her therapist Dr. B makes Vera and her dad do a role-playing exercise revealing that they still are not over her mom: “We are realizing, simultaneously, that we have never dealt with Mom leaving” (King 217). Vera’s therapist helps her and her dad to recognize that they have never confronted the issue of her mother leaving them and encourages them to talk more about it. During discussions, Vera understands that she is not to blame and reminds her father that her mom left “[b]ecause she never got over her own baggage, not because of you or me” (King 232). This realization leads her to begin moving on, and so she clears her mother out of the house: “That night, we rearrange the living room and Dad throws Mom’s clothing into a few black garbage bags for Goodwill” (King 243). By letting go of her mother’s belongings she lets go of the hope that her mother would return and the idea that her mom left because of her. Her therapist helps her realize that she is not to blame for her mother’s actions. Additionally, Vera’s dad helps her understand the damaging effects of her alcohol addiction. In the beginning, Vera often drinks

When she confesses the truth about the night Charlie died, she realizes that the reason she could not come clean earlier is because she hated him for dying and leaving her. His love for her beyond the grave follows her through ghosts which helps her to understand her feelings towards him. Furthermore, Charlie’s ghosts bring her to find the letters he left for her before he died, which makes her understand his actions leading up to his death. His letters detail the abuse he faced from his ex-girlfriend Jenny, who had been blackmailing him and threatening his life: “SHE SAID SHE’D GET CORSO TO KILL ME. THEN SHE SAID SHE WAS GOING TO BURN DOWN THE STORE BECAUSE SHE HATES HER STEPDAD FOR MAKING HER WORK THERE. SHE SAID SHE WAS GOING TO TELL PEOPLE THAT I DID IT” (King 301-302). After reading the letters, Vera understands that Jenny was the reason for Charlie cutting her off, and for the fire he was involved in afterward. This explanation gives her closure, allowing her to forgive him and properly mourn his death. Her sorrow is shown when she says, “I feel sad for the first time since Charlie died. Not angry or pitiful. Not hard-done-by or abandoned. Not sarcastic. Not protective. Just sad” (King 287). The newfound understanding of what happened to Charlie prompts her to go to the police with the evidence to publicly clear his name: “We’re going to clear Charlie’s name this morning. He didn’t burn down Zimmerman’s. He