Please Ignore Vera Dietz, by A.S. King

Vera and Charlie rode the bus, roamed the woods, ate lunch, and shared secrets together. They even (secretly) loved each other. Due to "difficult" parents and a run-in with the wrong crowd they came to (publicly) hate each other. King begins with the end: Charlie has died and is being accused of a horrible crime posthumously. Vera knows who truly committed the crime and through a series of recounts, that bounce from one perspective and time to the next, we learn why she has waited so long to reveal the truth and what she has to work through emotionally to arrive at the point where it's possible for her to reveal all.

Charlie's spirit is ever-present; nagging her to clear his name and begging her to forgive him for his betrayal. He speaks through the washed up pizza delivery guy, thousands of Charlies squeeze into Vera's car, and he becomes the pickle on her Big Mac. Vera isn't sure if it's the alcohol or reality. She has loads of issues to work through: her mother leaving at the age of 11, knowing Charlie's deepest secrets, and dating an older guy. Her Dad is by her side as he unloads much of his own emotional baggage and the two finally arrive at a place where happiness is not a given, but is at least a possibility.

This book can be confusing and uncomfortable at times due to the skipping around in time, presence of spirits, and sexually related events that would be difficult for anyone to process, much less a teenager. Yet, this spastic approach finds a flow and mirrors the uncertainty that is Vera's life. 

Modern Mythology

Kids have been asking about Rick Riordan's fifth book in the Heroes of Olympus series, The Blood of Olympus, since LAST SPRING. I'm not even kidding. Many of them keep up with series and authors like it's their job...making my job a lot easier.

Today was the big release day and I went to B&N to pick up an armful of books around 9:30 (over an hour after a student had already asked for the book). I wasn't all that excited until I came upon the Riordan table, with a book spread like a Thanksgiving feast! Everything from graphic novels to mythology books were piled deliciously high. The store had only been opened thirty minutes and they were already having to replenish the supply.

Suddenly, I realized this is a big deal. Sure, it's just the most recent release of a teen author, but the fact that people, kids at that, are still buying and checking out books, not only in e-format, but in print, is noteworthy.

Though, I'm a proponent of reading in any format, I think the idea that print should be done away with entirely is short-sighted. The electronic format is not preferred or economically viable for all and that includes the younger generation.

Pew backed up this idea with research findings discussed in"Younger American's Library Habits and Expectations" in which they noted that Americans under 30, "are now significantly  more likely than older adults to have read a book in print in the past year (75% of all Americans ages 16-29 say this, compared with 64% of those ages 30 and older). And more than eight in ten (85%) older teen ages 16-17 read a print book in the past year, making them significantly more likely to have done so than any other age group."

This could be explained away by saying they are required to read for school, but I know plenty of kids (and adults) that don't complete required reading. One could also say that they simply have more financial constraints and must checkout print rather than purchasing eBooks. Yet, both formats are made available by libraries, so that doesn't quite work. Why not, instead, accept the facts at face value: young adults read a lot in a variety of formats.

Pew also noted that the younger crowd has, "a broad understanding of what a library is and can be-a place for accessing printed books as well as digital resources, that remains at its core a physical space." Maybe, we should all take a queue from Riordan, who makes modernizes mythology in his books, and realize that we too,young or old, can have the best of both worlds: print and electronic/ physical library and virtual library.

Works Cited

Zickuhr, Kathryn, Lee Rainie, and Kristin Purcell. "Younger Americans' Library Habits and Expectations." Pew Internet and American Life Project. Pew Research Center, 25 June 2013. Web. 7 Oct. 2014. <http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2013/06/25/younger-americans-library-services/>.