Summer Reading Assignment: Entry Four

Please Ignore Vera Diezt

 

Reflection:

I chose this novel because it was on my to-read list. I personally didn't really have any personal connections with the characters in this book but I still found it enjoyable. When I read the summary it also sparked an interest. It had me questioning about Charlie's death and what he did to ruin Vera.

Summary:
Is it okay to hate a dead kid? Even if I loved him once? Even if he was my best friend? Is it okay to hate him for being dead?

Vera's spent her whole life secretly in love with her best friend, Charlie Khan. And over the years she's kept a lot of his secrets. Even after he betrayed her. Even after he ruined everything.

So when Charlie dies in dark circumstances, Vera knows a lot more than anyone- the kids at school, his family, even the police. But will she emerge to clear his name? Does she even want to?


Recommendation:
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes suspense. This is because Charlie's death isn't explained until the last few pages of this book. The author keeps you hanging only giving you really small details that don't give away the rest of the book and this will keep you hanging at the edge of your seat dying to know what happened to Charlie. The author also waits towards the end of the book to reveal how Charlie screwed Vera over.

Summer Reading Assignment: Entry Three

Please Ignore Vera Dietz

 

 

The section I've chosen is the part where Vera and her dad are with the counselor role playing what it would be like in the other person's shoes. This is when they realize that they both haven't completely gotten over Vera's mom. The reason I chose this section of the book is because it shows the theme of the book really well.

 

Excerpt:

 

DAD: Really, Dad, you totally SUCK for giving a -- about me.

 

I laugh

 

DR. B: Perfect. Try some more.

 

DAD: Like, now I have to sit around doing nothing all the time, and my twenty-three-year-old boyfriend can't see me or bring me alcohol.

 

DR. B: Vera? Do you want to play?

 

ME: (Sits up straight, clears all emotion from face.) You will thank me, Vera, in a few years when you realize how stupid you're being.

 

DAD: I never called you stupid!

 

DR. B: Mr. Dietz. ( Holds hand out.)

 

ME: Like I was saying, one day you will see how stupid and silly this is. It's simple

 

DAD: What's simple about my having to work a full-time job while I'm a senior?

 

ME: You'll thank me for that job when you're older. (Eyebrows in serious knot, doing best Ken impersonation)

 

DAD: ( In annoyingly girly voice.) The only reason I even like my job is because of James! I love him!

 

ME: (Rolls eyes.) You don't know anything about love yet, Vera. If you did, you'd see



 that I grounded you this month out of real. I'm concerned that you're throwing your life away.

 

DAD: It's all your fault, Dad. I would never be doing this if you really gave a --.

 

ME: You have to learn how to give a --shit about yourself, Vera. You're eighteen. You're soon going to go out on your own. I'm only teaching you responsibility.

 

DAD: I already know responsibility, Dad! Remember? The kid who keeps straight A's and a full-time job? The one who has always helped around the house? The one who helped you get over Mom?

 

ME:(Noticing twitch in  Dad's eyes when he says"Mom.")

You never helped me get over Mom, Vera. I'm still not over Mom.

 

The room goes silent and Dr. B can see that Dad and I are realizing something. We are realizing, simultaneously, that we have never dealt with Mom leaving. We pretend- like role-playing - but we never really did anything about it.

Summer Reading Assignment: Entry Two

Please Ignore Vera Dietz

  

 

Character's Desires:

 

Vera Dietz:

1.She wants Charlie to still be alive.

2. She doesn't want to make the same mistakes her mom made.

3. She wants to live her life like a normal teenager and not have to worry about her destiny.

 

 

Ken Dietz:

1. He wants to prevent Vera from making the same mistakes he and Vera's mom made.

2. He wants to help Vera get through and try to move on after the death of Charlie.

3. He wants to prevent Vera from becoming an alcoholic because alcoholism runs in the family.

4. He wants to help make up for Vera's absent mom.

 

 

Charlie:

 

1. He wants Vera to clear his name.

2. He wishes he hadn't made all those poor decisions.

3. He wants Vera to find out the truth about what happened to him.

 

 

The Detentionheads/Jenny Flick:

1. Wants to turn Charlie against Vera.
2. Wants to hurt Vera because Charlie likes her and he doesn't like Jenny Flick(Ring leader of the Detentionheads).
3. Jenny Flick wants to tear apart Vera and Charlie's friendship.

Themes:
1. Try putting yourself in the other person's shoes.
This is shown when Vera and her dad go and visit a counselor. They are told to role play what it would be like being in the other person's shoes and it helped them realize that Vera's absent mom was causing a problem between the two of them because they both needed to accept the fact that she left them.

2. Don't let one setback bring you down.
After Vera's mom left her she didn't let that stop her from going on with life normally.

Structure:
My book is structured so that it's told in first person from Vera's point of view. Occasionally there is a short chapter told from Ken's point of view as well as Charlie's point of view.

Summer Reading Assignment: Entry One

The book I've chosen for this year's summer reading assignment is:

 Please Ignore Vera Dietz

Characters:

Vera Dietz an eighteen year old girl whose mother left her and her dad when she was twelve. Her best friend Charlie has recently screwed her over and has wound up dead.

Ken Dietz, Vera's dad who is a recovering alcoholic and is trying to keep Vera from making the same mistakes him and Vera's mom made.

Charlie Kahn whose been Vera's best friend since they were four and has now come back to haunt Vera until she clears his name.

The Detentionheads, the kids that get a detention regularly and are also responsible for turning Charlie against Vera.

Jenny Flick is the ring leader of the Detentionheads and the one to tear Vera and Charlie's friendship apart. She really likes Charlie but he doesn't like her back. This leads to her wanting to hurt Vera because she knows Charlie likes her.

Setting:
This book takes place in a suburban community in Pennsylvania.

Conflict:
The main conflict in this book is that after Charlie's death Vera can't decide if she wants to clear Charlie's name after what he's done to her.

Predictions:
1. I predict that Vera is going to clear Charlie's name even after all the mean things he's done to her.
2. I think Charlie never liked what the Detentionheads made him do.
3. I think Charlie is going to explain the reason why he screwed Vera over.

Questions:
1.Why did Charlie get himself mixed up with the Detentionheads in the first place?
2. Why did Vera end up delivering pizzas when she's always wanted to work at the animal shelter?
3. Why did Vera choose to make some poor decisions herself?

Connection:
This book reminds me of Perks of Being a Wallflower because in both books the main character is mourning over their best friend's death. In Please Ignore Vera Dietz Vera is mourning over Charlie's death and in Perks of Being a Wallflower Charlie is mourning over Michael's death.

Ripper

So, I'm still reading Ripper. Carver has finally figured out the name of his father. Jay Cusack, but there are so many Jay Cusacks in New York. Not knowing where to start Carver decides to start looking for the many Jay Cusacks in hopes of finding his father. When Carver meets Katie Miller who owned the apartment that one of the many Jay Cusacks lived in Carver finally thinks he might be getting somewhere.

Katie Miller tells him that the Jay Cusack that lived in the apartment she used to own was really violent and he looked like Carver. Katie also tells him that Jay Cusack took a package from her that was supposed to be for a person that went by the name of Raphael Trone. Frightened by his new discovery Carver heads back to the Octagon where the mental are kept also where Detective Hawking lives. With the help of Hawking Carver figures out that "Jay Cusack's" actual name was actually Raphael Trone which is a really unique and distinct name.

 Now with a new lead Carver sets out to go find Raphael Trone, but before he gets to his final destination Carver gets the feeling that he's being tailed, and a blizzard hits New York. As Carver runs from his stalker he's out of luck because with the thick snow the blizzard left behind his stalker continues to follow the footprints Carver left so trying to lose the stalker is out of the question.

Carver hits a dead end when his stalker starts advancing on him, but the stalker is the least of Carver's worries now because he finds himself face to face with Finn the bully from the orphanage who was adopted by the wealthy Mr. and Mrs. Echols. Pinned to the ground by Finn's gang Carver sees no way out, but is saved by Mrs. Echols who enters right before Finn's about to slug Carver.

After, his close encounter with Finn, Carver starts to head back to the agency but on his way he finds an over turned wagon and in the wagon he finds Detective Hawking who was on his way to a crime scene involving the murder of another woman. 

With the murderer still on the lose who knows what will happen next.

Ripper

So I just finished reading The Girl is Murder and now I'm reading Ripper. The book takes place in New York City in the year of 1895. The main character,Carver Young is a fourteen year old orphan who dreams of becoming a detective. He's always wondered about his father and wants to figure out what happened to him. When he is adopted by Detective Albert Hawking of the world-famous Pinkerton Agency Carver finally gets a chance to try to solve the mystery of his father's absence. Not only does he get to find his father but he finds himself in the middle of a real-life investigation: tracking down a vicious serial killer.

So far Carver seems like he is really enjoying his experience with the agency. He finally has a lead to where he can try to find more information about his father. But according to the summary in the book it says that something goes wrong and his trust with the agency is questioned.

I predict that the reason his trust with the agency is questioned has something to do with his father. I predict that Carver's father is the serial killer. I also think the reason why Detective Hawking adopted him was because he knew Carver would be curious about his father so by adopting him Hawking could get Carver to hunt down his father for him.

Blogging Assessment #1

The blog post that demonstrated my writer’s voice best was my book review on Doomed.  Some words or phrases that show my voice as a writer are, “I enjoyed this book because it's really suspenseful and the characters are really well developed.”  This shows that I like to explain why I liked the book. One example that shows my personality as a writer is how I like to leave the reader questioning about the book so they’ll want to read it. “Within the blog are twelve pictures of her past in which Pandora downloads, unknowingly she unleashes the worm as well. Now it's up to her to play the game and save the world. Could her past really be the key to saving the world?” This shows that I like to leave the reader hanging.

One example of diction used in this post is abstract diction. “Pandora's Box was a game created by Pandora's long lost father in hopes of creating a better world. On Pandora's seventeenth birthday she gets an email from her father with a link to a blog that her dad created talking about how they'd used to be so close.” This shows the emotion Pandora felt when she got the email from her long lost father on her seventeenth birthday. An example of syntax being used is when I left the reader hanging with a question. “Within the blog are twelve pictures of her past in which Pandora downloads, unknowingly she unleashes the worm as well. Now it's up to her to play the game and save the world. Could her past really be the key to saving the world?” This shows punctuation being used to create suspense for the reader.