Light Reading: Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick

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I read Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock so long ago, well more than 3 months ago, that I don't remember everything I wanted to tell you about this book. I did however like it a lot, didn't love it, and thought it was a fabulous read for anyone. This book got on my radar thanks to NetGalley. I doubt I may have read the book otherwise, though I probably would have TBR'd it.

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock is set in a day of a boy's life and is written from his perspective. At the beginning of the book, Leonard Peacock lets us know that he is planning to kill a classmate by nightfall and then end his life. He doesn't reveal his reasons for such a macabre plan yet but proceeds on to insist that he needs to give farewell presents to four people before he carries out his plan. Of course, the recipients shouldn't get too suspicious about why they are getting gifts. The four recipients turn out to be the only people who have had a positive impact on Leonard. A teacher, a neighbor, a girl he met at a station and a boy at his school he barely talks to. It is very clear from the beginning that Leonard's life is far from cozy.

I enjoyed the format of the book. As Leonard goes from one person to the next to give his gifts, he talks about why that person is getting one, how he met that person, and oftentimes, what he will miss about that person. He very much wants someone to suspect something and stop him from carrying out his plan, but while almost everyone responds suspiciously, nobody manages to stop him, although one of them comes close. The person who is the subject of Leonard's wrath also gets a good background and you can see that Leonard is more hurt than angry about his situation.

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock shows how easy it is to misread signals, and how much difference a parent's love and intervention can change things. Leonard doesn't even stay with his mother, who is some kind of a fashion designer in New York. I was a little disappointed that more was not said about his home life even though it was obvious that it sucked. I guess I was just shocked that his mother turned up in his life only to yell at him when he did something wrong. You could almost see that he would do wrong things just to get her attention. Barring the tiny issues, I thought this book dealt with teen issues really well, especially when it comes to what friends and parents do and don't do and what that can change in a person.



I received this ebook for free for review from the publisher via NetGalley.