“I’m trying to let him know what I’m about to do,” Leonard Peacock said. “I’m hoping he can save me, even though I realize he can’t.”

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock, by Matthew Quick, is a deeply moving story. It follows  high school student, Leonard Peacock, on his birthday, the same day he has decided to kill his ex-best friend and then himself. The book goes through his day, saying goodbye, giving presents, all with the end goal of not making it to the next morning.

The writing style of this book is superb. With a first person point of view, letters interspersed, and footnotes at the bottom of many pages, one truly can delve into the many facets of Leonard Peacock. One of the best parts is the footnotes. In the midst of a tragically sad story, the footnotes add some much needed levity; some of them even made me laugh loud, which I definitely needed as I read.

However, the book is not just laugh-out-loud funny; it is also very sad. It is sad in a “bawl during the middle of my newspaper class” kind of way. It is a beautiful, heartrending story and my heart went out to the main character. I just wanted to help him. The book is wonderful because there is nothing like getting attached to a book and its characters in a way that inspires deep emotions within oneself.

Besides the melancholy, one of my favorite parts of the book is one of the teachers, Herr Silverman. Herr Silverman cares deeply about each of his students, including Leonard. I was very inspired by all that Herr Silverman said and all that he did. He is a wonderfully constructed character and I found myself wishing to be one of his students, to enter the story and sit before him in his class.

While I love the story and think it is deeply moving, I did not like the ending. The story does not seem resolved. I was desperately hoping something would happen, and when it did not this wonderful, beautiful book let me down.  Despite the ending, I loved reading Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock. It really tugged at my heartstrings and I would definitely recommend it to others, especially fans of books like The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I give this book a 9.5 out of 10.

Kathleen Kenney

A&E Writer