Forgive+Me,+Leonard+Peacock

//[|Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock]// by Matthew Quick

Disclaimer: I reviewed this book on GoodReads in November of 2013 and wasn't thinking of Flume nominations at the time.

This book hinges on how much empathy you have for Leonard, if you have none, then you probably won't love this book. SO, I didn't 'love' this book as I didn't 'get' Leonard enough, and I thought it ended a little too neatly. I admit, however, this book may go places with teens--it's angsty enough and it's a little of 13 Reasons Why and Perks of Being a Wallflower and numerous other identity crisis, suicidal, bullying, etc books rolled into one that plenty of teens and myself included want to read. ~Kathy Watson, Kimball Library (Atkinson)

-Kelly Budd, Keene High ||
 * Loved this book. Love Leonard, love his friendship with his octogenarian neighbor and their passion for Old Bogart movies, love his passion/obsession for Hamlet, love his Holocaust teacher, and love the stories he writes to his future self. His parents are caricatures (his mom especially), but I did not allow this to detract from the story. It came close a few times, but there were too many other wonderful characters and subplots about this story to allow that flaw to destroy my love of this novel. Leonard is brilliant, introspective, sarcastically funny, self loathing, and an outcast mess. The build up to the mystery concerning what happened between Asher and Leonard is perfectly paced, The author captured teen angst spot on. Fans of Thirteen Reasons Why should like this book (which is superior to Asher's novel).

This is a good read. The premise is set up well, so that you want to keep the pages turning to find out why Leonard is on a murderous suicidal journey. The stories behind the people and the gifts they receive are interesting. Unlike Kathy, I think there's a lot that ISN'T neatly wrapped up (sometimes frustratingly so) - most of his relationships don't end on an up note. I did find myself empathizing with Leonard, but I was even more intrigued by him so that was another way the book stayed readable. The role Leonard plays as a victim is a rarity in a plot like this, so I think that's important. I'd recommend it for the final list - it's nice to have a drama that doesn't skew "girly." - Liz, Merrimack PL (PS - Great audio, I think Noah Galvin is my favorite narrator for teen boy books, it is so helpful when they actually sound 17, ha!)

I enjoyed this book as much as you can when watching someone plot a murder and outline their own trauma. The author gets the reader inside Leonard's head and makes the story captivating and painful at the same time. I think this is a solid contender for the final Flume list because it is well written and deals with issues in provoking and poignant way. --Sophie Smith, Nashua Public Library