Rosie Roberts

Links

http://ub-counseling.buffalo.edu/coping.shtml - An informational website on the stages of grief and how to get help. Vera struggles with Charlie's death throughout the novel. Her pain ranges from guilt, to anger, to sadness.

http://www.avhotline.org/ - A website hotline for victims of abuse. Charlie's mother suffers serious abuse at the hands of his father, and no one has the courage to speak up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycle_of_abuse - A wikipedia page on the cycle of abuse. Charlie fears that he will become like his father and fall into a similar pattern. At one point in the book, he hits Vera.


http://www.aa.org/?Media=PlayFlash - The official website for Alcohlics Anoynmous. Vera's father was an alcohlic and Vera fears she may also become one, as she has turned to drinking at a young age already to cope with the loss of Charlie.

http://www.wikihow.com/Speak-Up - A how to page on speaking up. Vera can't bring herself to clear Charlie's name of the terrible things he's assumed to have done and is consumed by guilt. She even sees his ghost and she knows that if she speaks up, he won't be around anymore.

http://www.empoweringparents.com/Is-Your-Child-or-Teen-Hanging-Out-With-the-Wrong-Crowd.php - An article on how to stop your kids from hanging with the wrong crowd. When Charlie ditches Vera for a group of people who have a bad influence on him, she is unsure of how to handle the situation.

Silence and the Cycle of Abuse

Vera's father and mother both take the stance that silence is the best option when it comes to the abuse Charlie's mother is facing at the hands of her husband. Despite the fact that they're well aware of what's going on, they refuse to talk about it or make any effort to help. They suggest Vera just stay out of it.

Vera's parents both know that what's happening is wrong, but they won't do anything about it. They think that Charlie's mother doesn't want help, and if she did, she would seek it. But the truth of the matter is that victims of abuse rarely speak out against their attackers. Sometimes it takes someone else to stand up and say something. Her parents' silence just adds to the cycle of abuse.

The sad thing is that Vera's parents' choices (while fictional) are very real choices made by people everyday. Sometimes abuse goes unnoticed, but many times it doesn't. Even if it does, people rarely speak up.

Destiny (or Genetics)

Vera's father is desperate to instill the meaning of money into Vera. He wants her to realize how precious it is and how it can make things happen for her, such as college. As he tries to force this knowledge onto Vera, he also works hard to keep her away from her 'destiny' of being a drunk, as he was, or falling into the less than desirable job of stripping that her mother had. He, and Vera, believe that these unfortunate situations run in their family, and could very likely be passed onto Vera.

While I agree that the decisions that parents make affect the children, it is ultimately up to the child where their own life will end up. A history of bad decisions is not at all something you can blame on genetics. It is very much Nature vs. Nuture. Nature comes into play with certain traits, in this case possibly being impulsive. But nuture has an even larger effect. What you see every day and what you are raised with heavily influences who you are.

This is similar to Charlie's situation. His father is abusive, and Charlie believes he too will become abusive. By accepting this, he is almost guaranteeing that the cycle will repeat itself.

Just because you're in a bad situation, or you have been in the past doesn't mean you can't prevent it from happening again.

Juggling a Job and High School

To cope with her pain, Vera's father strongly suggests picking up more hours at work. She works at Pizza Pagoda, where she often finds herself making deliveries into the shady side of town. Vera openly admits that the job isn't exactly safe, but her father doesn't seem to mind. She also is fully aware that she might be overworking herself between school and her job.

Personally, I don't want a job right now. I'd have little free time between school and work and I would probably get overwhelmed fairly quickly. I don't know how people manage to deal with school work, work and free time. I'll admit to being lazy and I love my free time, but I don't see how anyone could keep up with it all. I suppose it's worth having the job experience and money, but I wouldn't want to sacrifice my time. Not to mention that most of the kids who are looking for a job right now are already striving for optimum success in high school, which means lots of AP work. Do you have a job? If you do, how do you keep your stress level under control?

The Right Thing to Do and the Wrong Thing to Do: High School Edition

In my fourth quarter book, Vera struggles with the recent death of her best friend, Charlie. She sees him everywhere in the form of many translucent ghostly Charlies. Her guilt eats away at her but she still denies having any knowledge of what happened. He's trying to get her to clear his name. But of what he wants to be cleared of hasn't been revealed yet.

Vera's reluctance to talk about Charlie and clear his name stems from her pain over his death, but it made me think about how kids are so reluctant to do the right thing. Whether it be speaking up about bullying or ignoring the struggles of a friend, kids are so worried about being labeled a snitch that they rarely speak up about anything. In the realm of high school, it's a general rule that you don't give up any information about anyone. Acting ignorant is considered better than facing the consequences of ratting someone out.

Vera's situation made me wonder exactly how many people have suffered from no one speaking up or being wrongfully blamed. If we could find a way to lighten the pressures of being a 'snitch', maybe more people would speak up when they see something going downhill. By the world's typical standards of right and wrong, high school is an entirely different ball game.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz

For this quarter, I'm going to read Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King. My friends have said great things about it, so I'm going to give it a try.

Vera Dietz is in love with her best friend, Charlie Kahn, or at least she was. Vera kept a lot of his secrets, despite the fact that he betrayed her. But Charlie dies under mysterious circumstances and Vera knows more about it than anyone else. It's up to Vera to clear Charlie's name, but will she?

I have to admit, this book isn't something I would normally read. The concept of being in love with your best friend is a little cliche, but it has an element of mystery. I'm intrigued and hopefully I'll be impressed!