Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock

Written by Matthew Quick

Narrated by Noah Galvin

A powerful and important book for fans of Mark Haddon, THE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK and Jay Asher.

How would you spend your birthday if you knew it would be your last?

Eighteen-year-old Leonard Peacock knows exactly what he'll do. He'll say goodbye.

Not to his mum - who he calls Linda because it annoys her - who's moved out and left him to fend for himself. Nor to his former best friend, whose torments have driven him to consider committing the unthinkable. But to his four friends: a Humphrey-Bogart-obsessed neighbour, a teenage violin virtuoso, a pastor's daughter and a teacher.

Most of the time, Leonard believes he's weird and sad but these friends have made him think that maybe he's not. He wants to thank them, and say goodbye.

In this riveting and heart-breaking book, acclaimed author Matthew Quick introduces Leonard Peacock, a hero as warm and endearing as he is troubled. And he shows how just a glimmer of hope can make the world of difference.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hachette UK Audio
• Release date: Aug 15, 2013
• ISBN: 9781472210876

Matthew Quick

Matthew Quick is the New York Times bestselling author of The Silver Linings Playbook—which was made into an Oscar-winning film—and eight other novels, including We Are the Light, a #1 Indie Next Pick and a Book of the Month selection. His work has been translated into more than thirty languages, received a PEN/Hemingway Award Honorable Mention, was an LA Times Book Prize finalist, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, a #1 bestseller in Brazil, a Deutscher Jugendliteratur Preis 2016 (German Youth Literature Prize) nominee, and selected by Nancy Pearl as one of Summer’s Best Books for NPR. The Hollywood Reporter has named him one of Hollywood’s 25 Most Powerful Authors. Matthew lives with his wife, the novelist Alicia Bessette, on North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

Reviews for Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock

[scatlett-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Uberpredictable.

[leslie398 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was heading towards a 4* rating but I hated the ending. After bringing the reader to the brink of a difficult issue, the author sidesteps to avoid dealing with it in any meaningful way.Noah Galvin does a good job narrating this young adult novel.

[banoczi_henrietta · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

i read almost 50% of it, but i gave up. it was so boring i was suffering

[sszkutak_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book has been in my Netgalley que for a long time, and it was one of those books that I really wanted to read but every time I tried to I couldn't get into it. I finally finished it after getting the audiobook version from my local library and so here, finally, is my review.Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock is a book about a teen who is about to commit suicide. It is his birthday and no one remembers or knows and that is really the least of his troubles. Leonard Peacock is an outcast who decides that he is going to do it right - say goodbye to the important people in his life, kill a kid that made him miserable, and then take his own life. So this is his day, the lead up.Overall this was an emotional book, there were a lot of triggers in it and the main character, Leonard, is not ok. I think that the reason that I had so much trouble getting into a groove with this book was because I knew the ending going into it - I read a review that didn't have a spoiler notice and sadly I knew the outcome as I was reading it... I just needed the pieces while reading and I felt like I could predict them the whole time so I found it hard to get invested in the book.The book is very well done, it was an emotional rollercoaster of laughing and crying and surprise. I think that it is a great contemporary read, if not for the tale at the very least so younger audiences learn the signs of someone in this situation. I found it to be a good book and I liked it, but since it was spoiled I was missing some of the elements first readers got. If you are looking for an emotional book, or one about psychology, this book fits that bill.

[ecataldi-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

LOVED this book, after reading the amazing "Silver Lining's Playbook" I knew I would have to read everything else Matthew Quick published and damn I'm glad I did. Quick makes his debut in the young adult genre with one hell of a bang. Literally, this book is fantastic!Leonard Peacock's birthday should be a special, instead today is the day that he will kill himself and his former best friend. Tired of being an outsider for too long and dealing with internal turmoil, Leonard sees this as the only way out. In this witty, saddening, heartbreaking, and darkly humorous novel, the reader gets amazing insight to how complicated the human psyche is and just how much it can withstand before it snaps. Filled with unforgettable, wildly unique characters and a witty narrator, this book will have you racing to the end. Impossible to put down. A DEFINITE must read!

[countingscripts · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really really enjoyed this. Another mindf*** of a book, definite page-turner and a bit of a surprising way of ending. Full review to come.

[kmartin802_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

FORGIVE ME, LEONARD PEACOCK was a compelling story that made me ache for its main character. Leonard Peacock has decided to celebrate his eighteenth birthday by killing a former friend and taking his own life too. Before he does that, he needs to give presents to four people in his life who have meant a lot to him.As his day progresses, we see him visiting his elderly next door neighbor. He and Walt have spent hours and hours watching old black-and-white Humphrey Bogart movies. Leonard longs for the black-and-white life that looks so much better than the life he is living. He also has a present for Baback. They aren't friends but Leonard has spent countless hours listening to Baback play his violin in the school auditorium. The music has moved Leonard as has Baback's story of his life in Iran. Leonard also has to give a present to Lauren who is a home-schooled Christian girl that Leonard has a crush on. Lauren has tried to convert him to Christianity but Leonard doesn't have that sort of faith.The final person that Leonard wants to give a present to is his Holocaust Studies teacher Herr Silverman. Leonard feels that Herr Silverman is the only one at school who understands him and connects with him.As the day unfolds we learn more and more about the events that have led to his decision to kill a former friend and take his own life. Leonard is an articulate narrator of his own story. Some random thoughts occurred to me as I was reading this book. First of all, parents should be required to get and maintain licenses before having children. It seems like Leonard got a particularly bad set of selfish, irresponsible ones. Both parents have abandoned him. His one-hit-wonder rock star dad who fell in love with drugs and alcohol before running away to Brazil isn't really much worse than his fashion-obsessed mother who is so busy with her career in New York City and her French lover that Leonard isn't even on her radar. Even when told how unhappy Leonard is, she won't get him help for fear of how it would reflect on her. Second, there are people at his school who care besides Herr Silverman. His AP English teacher and the Guidance Counselor at the school are trying to help. Leonard is able to fool them with his "Hollywood face" though and they didn't push.This story of a young man abused, neglected and pushed to his limits will linger in my mind for a long time.

[edgoldberg · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I will admit that I didn't immediately like Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick. However, I will also admit that it grew on me. It is Leonard's 18th birthday and no one remembered. His father is theoretically in jail in South America. His mother, a fashion designer shacked up with some Frenchman, lives in New York while Matthew lives on his own in New Jersey. His only true friend is Walt, the old man next door, with whom he watches old black and white Humphrey Bogart movies.So, Leonard decides to make this birthday worth remembering. First he'll kill his former best friend, Asher Beal, and then he'll off himself using a P-38 WW II Nazi handgun his grandfather took off of a German soldier. But first he has to hand out four presents to people he likes, leaving one for his mother in the refrigerator.It takes more than half the book before Quick finally tells you why Leonard wants to kill Asher. Before that point, you, to some extent, thinks he's an asshole (excuse my French), a spoiled kid who got his way all the time and, while ignored by his mother, still doesn't have much to complain about. However, there is a valid reason Leonard is the way he is.Quick is a good writer and Leonard's story could have turned out less compelling in another's hands. Leonard has serious issues and while all the 'warning signs' are there, no one seems to take them seriously, except his Holocaust studies teacher, Herr Silverman. There are reasons for abrupt changes in personality, be it Asher's or Leonard's, and they must be taken seriously. Quick points out the amazing good that comes from just one person caring about another, going out of his way to help someone. He also shows what a boy floundering around looks like, one who feels that life has no purpose.Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock is certainly not an uplifting book, but it's well worth the investment.

[brnoze_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I find YA books often great reads. This is one of those books. Matthew Quick has a way of letting you in on the deep feelings and thoughts of his characters and then whacks you on the side of the head with the twists and turns. I am not his target audience being way beyond the teenage years but I love his honesty and insights into the mind of warped characters. Leonard is one hurt puppy with the teen mind that isn't developed enough to cope alone with all the troubles that come his way. You are told on the first page of the book what is to happen and with clues you follow the path that leads him to his decision. I cried, I cursed the author for leading me and my feelings to places I didn't want to go and cringed at scenes that I didn't want to visit. This author is a genius in his manipulating his audience into not wanting to know and not being able to stop yourself from turning the next page to find out what happens next. That is what a good book should do. Now here is my personal wish that adult authors cranking out generic books take a look at current YA and the direction some of the writers are moving. The books hit hard without the predictability. There seems to be a move towards less fluff in YA and more substance.

[brainannex · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A riveting mix of horror and humor- horror in the "what humans are capable of" way, not in the blood and guts way. Leonard starts his day with oatmeal and a gun. His plan is to kill his fellow student and then kill himself. I found this book quite powerful and yet I was laughing in addition to being ripped apart to the core.

[elizabethbevins · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved Leonard Peacock and his story. This is a touching story of teen anguish. Of coming to grips with the brutality and unfairness of life. Of the people who influence us. And of hope...

[porch_reader · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I've loved the previous two books that I've read by Matthew Quick. Both The Silver Linings Playbook and Boy21 deal with difficult subjects, but do so in a way that shows the hope that exists even in the midst of challenging situations. So, I was looking forward to Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock. But I was a bit apprehensive as well. I knew that the book was about a high school student who was planning to kill himself, and this is a topic that hits close to home for me. Yet from the beginning, Quick not only describes the hopelessness that Leonard feels, but also provides glimpses of humanity and hope. Leonard's next-door neighbor who watches Humphrey Bogart movies with him, his teacher who uses the lens of the Holocaust to encourage students to think for themselves, his friend who plays the violin so beautifully - all of these people care for Leonard, even when he cannot see it. Yet Quick is realistic about the despair that Leonard feels as well. He writes authentically, creating a voice for Leonard that I won't soon forget and shedding light on the deep despair that so often comes with growing up.

[evanroskos_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

(disclaimer: Matthew Quick and I are good friends. But that's not why I love this book.)

Put simply, this is an intense, gripping portrayal of a teenage boy who decides to kill his former best friend. Fans of Quick's previous work will sense, immediately, that this is something of a tonal shift, though all of Quick's narrators find themselves in emotionally challenging, often dark, places. In this case, though, we're introduced to Leonard Peacock -- a boy who's in a darker place than we've ever seen in prior books by the author. Amber, of SORTA LIKE A ROCK STAR, certainly has her depression midway through her novel. But Leonard is an all encompassing, authentically sad and angry character.

He has reason to be.

I can't review the bulk of this book without spoiling plot elements. If the setup doesn't grip you, then know that the other hallmark's of Quick's work -- a unique, engaging voice; earned emotional moments; visual descriptions that linger long after the story's done -- are present. This is not a departure, a change, a reinvention of Quick's path as an author. This is the best exploration of a teenager's angry despair that you may ever read.

[unreachableshelf · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I don't read much young adult literature except for the occasional reread of a book I loved as a teen, but the blurb made me pick up an advance copy of this at ALA Midwinter. This was easily one of the top three books that I brought back. The narrator's anger and bitterness is intense and genuine, but so is his imagination and his curiousity. In spite of the fact that he'd surely be at least a difficult and at most a dangerous person to know, he also comes across as somebody you would like to have as a friend (or for a somewhat older reader, perhaps a psuedo-little brother). To me this read like the book I thought The Catcher in the Rye was supposed to be before I read it, and which I wished I was reading instead when I did.

[lostinalibrary · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Leonard Peacock's life is a sad one. His washed-up rock star dad has fled to South America to avoid prosecution for tax evasion and his self-absorbed fashion designer mom is more interested in spending time with her French lover than with her son. Leonard's one and only friend is his elderly neighbour with whom he watches old Bogart films. It's now Leonard's eighteenth birthday and he has big plans. He intends to kill his one-time best friend and then himself. As he spends his last day handing out presents to the four people who matter to him, he never gives up hope that someone will know it's his birthday because maybe if they do, he won't have to go through with his plan. And one person, Herr Silverman, his Holocaust teacher realizes there's something wrong and he gives Leonard a lifeline if only he will take it.Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock is a fascinating journey in the mind of a suicidal teen. The story is told in the first person with internal monologues, flashbacks with clues to what led him to this day, and even asides in footnotes at the end. This is a tale full of compassion, insight, and even a little humour about a real and growing problem among teenagers. It is not an easy read but it is an important one.

[melaniehope · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was a bit surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. This YA novel focuses on Leonard. Leonard is a high school senior depressed with his life, the future holds and his isolation from his parents. We quickly discover that Leonard is planning to kill a fellow classmate and then kill himself.As they story progresses, we find out that the classmate he wants to kill was actually his best friend at one time. It really kept me eager to read in order to find out what horrible event happened in their past to cause such anger. Along the way, we meet some colorful characters, such as Leonard's elderly neighbor and his Holocaust teacher in high school. Both these men are very important figures in Leonard's life.I really liked the character of Leonard. The story is told from his point of view and we get a really good glimpse into how he feels and the affects of that on his life. It was a short read, I finished it in 2 days, but it left me wanting a bit more to the ending.Overall, very good book and highly recommended.

[melissarochelle_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Read on September 15, 2013It's hard being a teenager. I remember my own angsty years and times when I thought I was all alone. I like novels that accurately reflect the angst with a bit of a hopeful thread throughout. I went into this one expecting total sadness, but I was pleasantly surprised that there was that hope there.[SPOILER I'm very glad that Leonard realized he does have people that care in his neighbor and teacher, but it would have been nice if his mom had some kind of clue. The lack of resolution on his home front was a little frustrating). ]

[louisvillains · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is incredibly important! Leonard Peacock is a teen who has been abused and bullied and feels completely isolated. His mother has checked out of her life of being a mother and has thrown herself into her career of high fashion. Leonard just wants this to be all over and is looking at murder/suicide as his way out of this life.

[tahleen · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I don't think I can actually say I liked this book, but I think it deserves more than 2 stars. The writing was very good, and I liked most of the formatting decisions (not sure how I feel about the extensive footnotes, though). I just never really connected with Leonard. Then again, I didn't really like The Catcher in the Rye much, either.

[bnbookgirl · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this story about Leonard. It is his birthday and he is planning to kill his former friend and himself. Leonard has been betrayed by this former friend (horribly betrayed) and he also feels as though all adults hate their lives. He occasionally skips school and dresses as an adult just to watch what he thinks his future holds. Leonard wraps gifts for a few people he really cares about as a way to say goodbye. Leonard then goes on his mission. However, Leonard is unable to complete his mission because his grandfather's gun will not fire. Leonard has awful parents so in his moment of crisis he calls his teacher. This teacher show Leonard that life is worth living, but he will need help to get through this. I found that I liked Leonard even though he had these terrible thoughts. He is a teen struggling with a really pathetic life. I don't condone his thoughts, but I understand his feelings.

[laneliterati · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Likes: This is an amazing book. It's powerful, raw, engaging, and emotional. It features a well-written teenage voice: Leonard is strong and vulnerable, intelligent and messed up, and overall believable, empathetic, and observant. It's a quick read that will keep your eyes glued to the pages, anxious to find out how Leonard's story ends. Does he carry out his plans for murder/suicide? A definite tearjerker.Bonus points: complex characters (even those in the background), Humphrey Bogart, and a totally awesome teacher who goes above and beyond to help our hero.Warnings: the entire story line revolves around a teen's plans to murder another teen and then commit suicide. It features adult language, violence, rape, bullying, and really terrible parents.Readalikes:It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned VizziniEverybody Sees the Ants by A.S. KingAnything by Laurie Halse Anderson

[nbmars · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book begins on the morning of Leonard Peacock’s 18th birthday, which even his own mother doesn’t remember. In fact, his mother doesn’t even live with him most of the time, since he is attending high school in South Jersey and she is off in New York City working on her fashion design career.Leonard is planning a murder/suicide. In letters he writes to himself from the future (at the urging of his only caring teacher), we learn how he is feeling:"I know that you really just want everything to end - that you can’t see anything good in your future, that the world looks dark and terrible, and maybe you’re right - the world can definitely be a dreadful place.”He tells us that once he went to the park and watched the pigeons and “I felt so so lonely that I hoped someone would come along and stick a knife into my ribs just so they could have my empty wallet.”Yes, if you are thinking this is a depressing book, you would be correct!Leonard reveals his feelings and plans in first person narrative interspersed with the aforementioned letters and also a series of footnotes he adds, in a reflection of both his sense of humor and his love of learning and truth, in spite of his cruddy life. At one point, after saying “I’m beginning to see why people go mad and do awful things - like the Nazis and Hitler and Ted Kaczynski and Timothy McVeigh and Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold and Cho Seung-Hui...” he adds this important footnote:"You should read about all those killers. They all have a lot in common. I bet they felt lonely in many ways, helpless, FORGOTTEN, ignored, alienated, irrelevant, cynical, and sad. Read about them. You really should. You can learn a lot. More than I can explain here.”Leonard, however, perhaps unlike those others, doesn’t really want to use his gun; he wants to be saved. But he doesn’t want to have to beg for it. He just wants people to listen to him, to notice him, and to be kind. Fortunately, he experiences little bits of that, but is it enough, and is it too late?Evaluation: This is a good story and an important one, especially if you have teens in your life. Matthew Quick is so adept at tackling difficult subjects, like mental health, anger, hurt, and psychological damage. But he also adds enough humor and an obvious love for his characters to allow you to undertake difficult narrative journeys you might otherwise be apt to avoid.

[heycaye · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Says a review at the back of my copy: “This is an important book.”

It really is. Read it.

I've read a lot of books about depressed, suicidal protagonists, because at first I was intrigued. Then it became some sort of initiative so I could better understand them. What would I do if I had a depressed, suicidal friend? I don't know for sure. I might say the wrong things. "It's going to be okay" and all that is never going to be enough.

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock is another insight. I actually like Leo, because he has this sick sense of humor and sarcasm that I get. And the Letters from the Future were something. I might give it a try for fun.

The ending was kind of dry, though. I don't know if Leo's ever going to be okay, but at least he's okay for that day. Though now that I think about it, I guess that's how everyone else deals with life, don't they? One day at a time? So maybe he's going to be all right, after all.

I hope he will be.
And everyone else who is going through what Leo went through on his birthday.

If FMLP taught me anything, it's this: talk, and be sincere about it. If you know or meet some person who has this sad look in his/her eyes, prefers people watching and one day gives out gifts and asks dangerous yet seemingly rhetorical questions but hints some truth in them, talk to them. Get them out of their shells. Try to know their stories. Because maybe, just maybe, that's what they need to go on. Someone who listens and understands will be their savior.

(You can see that I'm really emotionally invested in this book. It just got me.)

Happy holidays! :-)

[stephxsu · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

FORGIVE ME, LEONARD PEACOCK is arguably one of the most explosive and important books of this year, but if you knew nothing about Matthew Quick, most famously the author of Silver Linings Playbook, you probably wouldn't expect it. Which would be a shame on your part.It was almost that way for me. In the beginning, I was rather unimpressed by Leonard as narrator. He seemed to come off as just another socially awkward teenager trying to hard to be nonchalant. But, like a hypnotist, his reasoning for why he was going to kill himself--his cool-headed explanations for why it was absurd to keep on living just to be just another blank-faced automaton adult in the rat race--snake-charmed its way into my head, until I found myself nodding along and thinking, "Oh man. This guy is absolutely right. What is the big deal about living when most adults are so unhappy? Why haven't *I* killed myself yet?"You see, that is the power of this book. Its main character has a goal that we'd never condone, and yet it's not at all difficult for us to understand where he's coming from. Leonard Peacock is a totally convincing potential murder-suicide. That's why I feel like this book is so important: it's one of the most convincing looks inside the mindset of the ones behind the recent troubling trend of teenage killings.

[blogbrarian · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A suicidal teenager writes letters from his future self and reaches out to his neighbor and teacher for help. Don't read this when you're feeling down.

[cj82487 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This one came out of left field and hit me right in the gut. Great library book sale find.

I found this book at the library's used book sale. Honestly, I had put it on the shelf and forgot about it, but when it was time to pick out another book to read, it grabbed my attention. Funny how books will do that. I recognized the author, Matthew Quick, and remembered that was mainly why I picked it up at the book sale.

So, it became my next read.

I binged this book (as much as I can with a toddler constantly needing my attention). I had trouble putting it down and there were some really interesting aspects to it.

One thing I loved was the letters from the future. There are 4 letters from Leonard's future placed throughout the main story of Leonard and his life as a high school student. These added a completely different feeling to it and I was a little confused at first where it was going, but in the end it all fell into place.

I also became invested in Leonard. I wanted to know what happened to him, where he was going to go, and would he be okay. It was hard not to wonder about Leonard seeing as the entire novel is through his perspective (aside from te letters from the future).

This hit me in the gut a little more than I expected it to. It made me cry, had me flipping pages to find out what happens next, and then breathing a sigh of relief at the just right amount of closure.

Now, I've read (like I usually do) other reviews of this one. There are a lot of people who think the ending wasn't good enough or that it wasn't realistic. I agree. Leonard, in real life, would need more help. He would need counseling, at the bare minimum, and constant supervision. One does not simply go from suicidal to perfectly fine overnight. BUT, I don't think this was meant to be realistic like that. I took the ending as being a sign of hope. I sign that while Leonard went through some tough times, has a difficult life at home, and has experienced trauma, with help from those around him that care for his well-being and future, like his teacher and neighbor, he can make it through it all.

If Quick wanted it to be realistic in the sense of what would happen to a young adult today in Leonard's situation, I think he would have taken it a different route. I also don't think it would have worked out as well, but I'm only speculating.

I appreciated the ending. It was a sigh of relief and a moment of exhalation, so to speak. I know Leonard is far from okay, but I feel like the story had enough closure to lead me to belief he was heading in the right direction. It couldn't have ended better the more I think about it and it's really why I ended up giving it the coveted 5 stars, because I would read this again and I would probably get more out of it the second time around.

Another pro of the book, some great quotes to take away! Here are some of my faves:
You're different. And I'm different too. Different is good. But different is hard. Believe me, I know.

Not letting the world destroy you. That's a daily battle.

DO ANYTHING! SOMETHINE! Because you start a revolution one decision at a time, with every breath you take.
I had more, but I forgot to write them down. :(

[tiffanyak_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The book is dark, and I didn't care so much for the ending and the way it left everything so unsatisfied, but still, this is one I couldn't stop listening to. The way Leonard Peacock's story slowly unfolds, as he gradually drops hints to both the reader and the people around him, is inescapably compelling. There are certain elements that began to feel a little tired, such as lines that repeated themselves many times, but still, I couldn't help but relate to the character as more and more info was revealed about why he was so angry and so ready to die. The only real downside is that I was hoping for some real closure to the story, and there really wasn't any to be found here.

[pennylane78 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Matthew Quick knows how to hit me in the feels!

[catherinehsu · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved the themes in this story and felt like the author portrayed the issues of depression and suicide very well.The writing style completely pulled me in and embodied the anger and wild emotions that all the characters felt.I am kind of iffy about the ending though, which is why I gave this four stars.

[shetreadssoftly · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick, it is Leonard Peacock's 18th birthday, although no one is acknowledging or celebrating this fact with him. Leonard is an unique young man, intelligent but a complete misfit who doesn't seem to fit in anywhere. Feeling completely disenfranchised and no longer able to cope with a destructive event he is keeping secret, he's planning to kill Asher Beal, a former friend, and then himself. Before he can do this, however, he has gifts he wants to give to four people in his life. The first thing he does is cut his long hair all off and wrap it up as a gift for his mother to find. Then he wraps the four other gifts he is planning to give, as well as his gun, and heads out.

Some of Leonard's thought processes are as scrambled and fragmented as you would expect in a suicidal young man who is suffering from depression and so full of hopelessness that he has decided upon this course of action - murder and suicide. But, his keen insight into others and their actions around him almost belie the seriousness of his intent. All his actions are a cry for help that very few people are realizing. Quick does an amazing job following Leonard's thoughts, as doubts slip in, as his mind seeks an escape hatch if only someone would do or say... something.

At time heart wrenching, Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock also highlights the emotional pain many teens who are outsiders and different feel and experience at the hands of their peers. Leonard is in some ways strong enough to stand up to a bully. He's articulate and can voice his opinions and thoughts. He's actually a brilliant young man who could have a promising future, but the hopelessness he feels threatens to overwhelm him
There are footnotes throughout the story. Oddly, since they were at the end of the book in my review copy for the Kindle, I didn't read then until after I had read the book. They told parts of the story that I didn't know until later because I didn't read them right away. I'm not sure if reading them ahead of time would have influenced my reaction to Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock. I found this to be an incredibly novel with a huge emotional impact.

Leonard is a well-developed character and you will understand why he is giving gifts to these specific four people in his life. Generally I'm not a reader of YA fiction, but I found Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock to be quite a compelling novel with a huge emotional impact. Certainly it would be for older teens.

Very Highly Recommended

Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Little, Brown Books via Netgalley for review purposes.