Hey everyone! Stephanie here for this week’s Recommendation Friday! And I’d love to recommend one of my absolute favorite books Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick.
For those of you who don’t know Matthew Quick is also the author of Silver Linings Playbook. I have yet to read that book, but after reading Leonard Peacock, I’d have to say anything by Matthew Quick is probably an amazing read.

Summary:Today is Leonard Peacock’s birthday. It is also the day he hides a gun in his backpack. Because today is the day he will kill his former best friend, and then himself, with his grandfather’s P-38 pistol.

But first he must say good-bye to the four people who matter most to him: his Humphrey Bogart-obsessed next-door neighbor, Walt; his classmate, Baback, a violin virtuoso; Lauren, the Christian homeschooler he has a crush on; and Herr Silverman, who teaches the high school’s class on the Holocaust. Speaking to each in turn, Leonard slowly reveals his secrets as the hours tick by and the moment of truth approaches.

In this riveting look at a day in the life of a disturbed teenage boy, acclaimed author Matthew Quick unflinchingly examines the impossible choices that must be made—and the light in us all that never goes out.

I began reading this for the National Book Day Read-a-Thon. I picked up this book not knowing much about it, but I think that was for the best. This book pulled on my heart strings a bit with not only the topic of teen suicide but it kind of gave me a perspective on life. It was such a quick read which also just kind of upset me because I wanted more of Leonard. I wanted to see more of how he moved forward with his life.  Reading this book, I had a small pool of tears in my eyes constantly, but the thing I loved most about this book was that Quick wrote about a pretty dark and serious topic but didn’t make it feel awful or terrible or heavy. And I suppose I love this book because I’ve never really read a book where someone was so alone, someone was so…isolated. Leonard had absolutely no one, and I could relate because for the longest time I felt so alone as an adolescent and clearly growing up going through life experiences I made friends and such, but anyway…

READ THIS BOOK (: