This book was heartbreaking but ultimately really enjoyable. My only issue was that I felt like the ending didn't give me enough satisfaction for a rounded out story. Video review maybe to come. Not sure yet.

I imagined all of my blood flowing out into the snow and watching it turn a beautiful crimson color as Philadelphians walked by in a great hurry, not even pasuing to admire the beauty of red snow, let alone register the fact that a high school kid was dying right in front of their eyes. I don't know how helpful this review will be because I read most of the book through a film of tears. Which is an embarrassingly melodramatic statement to make after this book managed to be so dark and sad wit

Recently, I've been reading really depressing books that have both horrified and fascinated me. But out of all of them, Charm and Strange and now Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock takes the cake for tackling tough, taboo issues. In this case, suicide. Now, the last suicide book I've read was Thirteen Reasons Why and this book can easily be compared to that. But instead of the story being told from tapes from the deceased and another MC, Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock is told play-by-play from Leonard him...

[Complicated Life, © Manolis Stratakis, saatchiart.com]||f-o-r-g-i-v-e • m-e||This is the story of Leonard Peacock. An 18-year-old boy who is upset with the world, his parents, his friends and more than anything himself and his life. Leonard wants to grow up quickly so that he can experience everything as an adult. But today on his birthday, which everyone including his mum forgot about, Leonard decided to give himself a birthday gift – a different kind of gift and he sure understands that… "b...

Books, to me, should not be about moralizing. They should be explorations of controversial ideas and of the horrible things that people can do. And that is exactly what this book is: Forgive Me Leonard Peacock avoids moralizing, but also doesn't shy away from the harsh reality of what Leonard plans to do. And all this is to say that I have seen so many people say that they hate everyone who enjoyed this book. Notwithstanding the fact that I kind of despise that statement, inherently, I completel...

Either this book failed to do what it set out to do, or I went in with the wrong expectations. Whatever the case, Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock did not have any appreciable impact on me.You see, I read this book hoping to gain some insight into the mind of a school shooter. Someone like Kevin Khatchadourian, just not so inherently evil. I wanted this book to scare me, stun me, make me question, make me think, maybe break my heart a little. What I did not want this book to do (and what it essential...

I had this idea that I would love this book a lot, but I just didn't. I love these kinds of books because they touch on real things in life, sad things. I just didn't feel it with this book. Leonard is going to kill his ex-best friend and himself. We don't find out until near the end why he wants to kill Asher and then himself. I feel like it would have been better if we got some more insight into the bad things that happened with these two boys. I would have felt more connected to Leonard that

Admittedly, I picked up Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock with a great deal of skepticism. I like my issues books hard-hitting, dark, and gritty, but I've not had much success finding many authors who can deliver the kind of bleak realism that for me is the holy grail of the genre. I want to say Leonard Peacock impressed me with its authenticity, but for a book billed as an unflinching examination, Matthew Quick flinched - multiple times.What disappoints me most about Leonard Peacock is that it's writ...

2.5. Review to come Read this review and others over on my blogBetween the sheets & covers blog Between the sheets & covers blog Between the sheets & covers blog

I remember the day when Columbine happened. Of course, there have been school shootings before, and school shooting since, but as a young teen at the time, Columbine was the event that hit home...why? Because the people involved could easily have been me, or my friends. It was so covered by the media, we watched the footage in school, there were counselors, there were added security on my campus, there were a lot of hushed conversations, a lot of adults not knowing how to react, wanting to discu...

a very good quick read

Forgive me Mathew Quick, because I didn't find your story compelling for most of the part. Synopsis? Leonard Peacock has a shitty life. He is a fictional embodiment of all things that could go wrong with an average 21st-century teenager, bar the drugs. Leonard has no father, no friends of his age, and no girlfriend. What he does have is money, a Mother who doesn't care about him, a Holden Caulfield attitude and a P 38 gun.And today is his birthday. And the plan? He is going to kill his ex-bes...

Wow what a sad story this was! Told in the voice of a morose, yet incredibly intelligent teenage boy, we're given a raw look into the road to suicide, and how depression affects your thoughts. What I noticed immediately was the writing style which stood out to me as something very… honest. Not only is it told in first person - which I consider a requirement for a story such as this - but we get a format that emphasizes his unhealthy state of mind even more so. This includes foot notes on his int...

I find this a very difficult book to review because on one hand, it's subject matter is very important, on the other, I really didn't enjoy it very much.There were times when I sympathized with the main character, Leonard Peacock. But an overwhelming amount of the time I found him pretty unlikable. And maybe that is how he's supposed to come off, I really don't know. It just made it difficult for me to understand him sometimes. I felt similarly when I read Thirteen Reasons Why, ultimately sad bu...

tw: antisemitism/nazis, suicidal thoughts and actions, depression, rape/sexual assaultIt's strange how this book made me feel simultaneously uncomfortable yet touched. Leonard Peacock is purposefully an unlikable character, yet as his mental illness and traumatic past is slowly unveiled, you can't help but root for him and his recovery. This book nearly tore my heart in half just because of how conflicted I was, but I think that was the point. I adored the side characters in this book, and I lov...

When the low, heavy sky weighs like a lid On the groaning spirit, victim of long ennui, And from the all-encircling horizon Spreads over us a day gloomier than the night;When the earth is changed into a humid dungeon, In which Hope like a bat Goes beating the walls with her timid wings And knocking her head against the rotten ceiling; - Charles Baudelaire, Spleen Damn you, Leonard Peacock : you made me remember of who used to be one of my favorite poet when I was a teenager. Ha, Baudelaire with

I can definitely see why Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock is such a beloved book. I believe many readers will find this novel beautiful and heart-breaking; and I did too, to a certain extent. Though I appreciated many things within this book and even found myself emotionally attached to the main character, there were also quite a few elements that really bothered and hindered me at truly loving this story.The story centres around Leonard Peacock who has decided that he is going to kill himself on his...

3.5 stars This is the one book that perfectly qualifies the funny and heartbreaking description. It’s sad but the depressed really do have a great sense of humor. Until I’ve read the very first page of the book, I honestly thought Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock is mainly a humorous contemporary fiction and I picked it up because I was looking forward to reading something light and funny. It was funny but I was in a complete surprise to find out that it’s a book mainly about depression and suicide a...

I hardly know where to begin with Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock. Suffice to say that this novel is brilliant, beautiful, and heart-breaking. It follows a teenage boy - Leonard Peacock - on his birthday as he chooses to kill another boy in his school and then commit suicide himself, all after giving the few special people in his life gifts to remember him by. As a foray into Quick's works, I can't say this was the happiest of reads, but it made my throat close up in grief and my knuckles fist into

For those unfamiliar with Matthew (Silver Linings Playbook/All Together Now), he's a master of unusual plots with dysfunctional/quirky characters. In this story we meet Leonard Peacock, a 17 year old boy who's dark side can be attributed to affluent, self absorbed parents clueless about child rearing. An only child, he finds a hero in a compassionate high school teacher and Walt, an elderly neighbor who's fixated on Bogart films. When his best friend Asher turns on him, he decides life isn't wor...