BOOK REVIEW: FORGIVE ME, LEONARD PEACOCK BY MATTHEW QUICK

TITLE: Forgive Me, Leoard Peacock
AUTHOR: Matthew Quick
RELEASE DATE: August 13th 2013
RELEASED BY: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
PURCHASE: Amazon

SUMMARY:


Today is Leonard Peacock’s birthday. It is also the day he hides a gun in his backpack. Because today is the day he will kill his former best friend, and then himself, with his grandfather’s P-38 pistol.

But first he must say good-bye to the four people who matter most to him: his Humphrey Bogart-obsessed next-door neighbor, Walt; his classmate, Baback, a violin virtuoso; Lauren, the Christian homeschooler he has a crush on; and Herr Silverman, who teaches the high school’s class on the Holocaust. Speaking to each in turn, Leonard slowly reveals his secrets as the hours tick by and the moment of truth approaches.

In this riveting look at a day in the life of a disturbed teenage boy, acclaimed author Matthew Quick unflinchingly examines the impossible choices that must be made—and the light in us all that never goes out.

REVIEW:

Just reading the summary of this book already gives me the chills! And after reading? Even more chills!

But in all seriousness, I still can't wrap my feelings around this book. On one hand, I sympathized with Leonard a lot. I hoped that people would notice the hints he was giving them but when they didn't, I got sad. I even found myself blaming them for not being tolerant enough with Leonard's attitude. When Leonard was about to pull the trigger, I wished that Asher would die for real. But on the other hand, I realized that the people he encountered in the book - the majority of them - didn't know what Leonard was going through and from their perspective, Leonard was just being an asshole. If I were them, I probably would’ve been rude to Leonard or outright ignored him too.

I admire Herr Silverman for being such a patient and understanding guy, and just for being an overall good person. It truly is different when you’ve experience first-hand what another person is experiencing and I love that he’s very supportive of Leonard too. These characters are so easy to get attached to so I’m really happy for Leonard because thank goodness there’s one person who understands him, who talked to him when he needed it the most. Imagine how many Leonards there are in the world and imagine how many of them are lucky enough to have a Herr Silverman. Probably not much.

This made me think just how so little we truly know of the people we know. Here you are reading this review and you know what's going through your mind while reading it, but that person who has just walked past you, you'll never know what's going through their mind. Is he contemplating about world domination? Suicide? Or maybe he's just thinking about what he's going to cook for dinner. I think it's both scary and amazing at the same time.

I wish more people would read this book. Not just the suicidal ones, but everyone because this book has a beautiful message to impart to its readers. Be patient, and always try to put yourself in the shoes of the other person before judging them, and remember that you don’t know what kind of hardships they’re going through. It’s tough to try to be as understanding as Herr Silverman but it’s worth a try. And I probably sound very cheesy but really, I want to be someone’s Herr Silverman too. :(

Overall, this book just... totally messed up my mind, BUT in a good way and I wouldn't have it any other way.

RATING: 4 Fairy wings