Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock

author: Matthew Quick
name: Wayne
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2015/04/28
date added: 2015/04/28
shelves: young-adult
review:
'Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock' by Matthew Quick is my first novel by him. As a fan of the film adaptations of his work, I recognize some similarities.

Leonard Quick is having a bad day. Maybe even a bad life. His father is out of the picture, and his mother is too absorbed in her business to care. It's his birthday and he's got a plan. Leonard chops off his long hair, and wraps a bunch of gifts to hand out to the people in his life. the final plan involves using an antique Nazi pistol to kill his best friend, then himself. First we follow Leonard as he delivers his gifts to his neighbor Walt, that he watches Humphrey Bogart films with, and his friend Baback who plays violin. He gives a gift to Lauren, who is a Christian girl he likes, and to his favorite teacher, Herr Silverman. Along the way we learn that he likes to dress like a grown up and see if adults are really happy. We see him hoping someone will remember his birthday. We see him reaching out, and turning away attempts to reach him. How will it turn out?

It's a day in the life and it's quite the day. At first, I didn't seem to have much sympathy for Leonard. As the book moves along, I had more feeling for him. I really liked most of the supporting characters in the book. Lauren felt a little too one-dimensional to me, and I couldn't figure out why Leonard would be attracted to her. Still it's a powerful read, and probably not a bad one to put in the hands of a young person that you want to convince that things will get better. I liked Matthew Quick's writing style and I plan on reading more by this author.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this fine ebook.



via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://ift.tt/1GDHj9S