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!