Title: Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock
Author: Matthew Quick
Type of Media: Audio File
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Copyright Date: August 13, 2013
ASIN: B00E3TH2EG
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Reading Level: Lexile 980
Interest Age: 14+
Plot Summary
Leonard Peacock has come to the conclusion that life is no longer worth living and plans out the murder of his ex-best friend (Asher) and his own suicide. As Leonard internally works through all of this he discusses the four people who did mean something to him and the gifts he wants to leave behind for them. Through this dialogue we come to realize that Leonard's father is MIA and his mother hardly ever remembers she has a son. We also learn about the relationship he shared with Asher and where it went wrong six years ago which led to the isolation that Leonard now finds himself in. Quick drags us through the inner thoughts of a 16-year old boy struggling with many inner demons.
Critical Evaluation
The inner dialogue really makes this book, without it we would not get all of the details and understanding of Leonard's deep emotional hurt. Quick also does a great job with the use of Flashbacks to slowly let us in on all of the occurrences that have led Leonard to the place of planning murder and suicide. This book deals with a lot of difficult topics that are important to be covered within the YA realm. Mental illness is something that is running rampant in our teens today and books like this can help readers find people to help.
Reader's Annotation
Quick does a great job portraying a deeply disturbed young man who is screaming for help in a realistic way that will bring readers to their knees.
Author Biography
Matthew Quick is the New York Times bestselling author of The Silver Linings Playbook, which was made into an Oscar-winning film; The Good Luck of Right Now; Lover May Fail; and three young adult novels: Sorta Like a Rock Star; Boy21; and Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock. His work has been translated into more than thirty languages, received a PEN/Hemingway Award Honorable Mention, was an LA Times Book Prize finalist, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, a #1 bestseller in Brazil, and selected by Nancy Pearl as one of Summer’s Best Books for NPR. EVERY EXQUISITE THING will be published in 2016. All of his books have been optioned for film.
Matthew spent the first few years of his life in Philadelphia before being raised just across the Delaware River in Oaklyn, New Jersey. He graduated from Collingswood High School (class of 1992) and La Salle University (class of 1996), where he double-majored in English and secondary education. He taught high school literature and film in southern New Jersey for several years, during which he coached soccer and basketball, chaperoned trips to Peru and Ecuador, initiated a pen-pal exchange with students in Namibia, and counseled troubled teens.
In 2004 Matthew made the difficult decision to leave teaching and write full time. He received his Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Goddard College in 2007 and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from La Salle University in 2013. He lives with his wife, novelist/pianist Alicia Bessette, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.\
Bio. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://matthewquickwriter.com/bio/
Book Talk IdeasMatthew spent the first few years of his life in Philadelphia before being raised just across the Delaware River in Oaklyn, New Jersey. He graduated from Collingswood High School (class of 1992) and La Salle University (class of 1996), where he double-majored in English and secondary education. He taught high school literature and film in southern New Jersey for several years, during which he coached soccer and basketball, chaperoned trips to Peru and Ecuador, initiated a pen-pal exchange with students in Namibia, and counseled troubled teens.
In 2004 Matthew made the difficult decision to leave teaching and write full time. He received his Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Goddard College in 2007 and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from La Salle University in 2013. He lives with his wife, novelist/pianist Alicia Bessette, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.\
Bio. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://matthewquickwriter.com/bio/
- Suicide Prevention
- Abuse
- Adults you can trust
- Abuse
- Gun Violence
- Mental Illness
Defense File
Reason for Inclusion
No comments:
Post a Comment