2024 the best man peacock review

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(as of Oct 28, 2024 12:15:20 UTC - Details)

★ "Brilliant.... The masterful writing takes readers inside Leonard's tormented mind, enabling a compassionate response to him and to others dealing with trauma." —School Library Journal, starred review

From New York Times bestselling author Matthew Quick comes an intensely compassionate and important book about a boy who brings a gun to school, and the people and experiences that force him to look beyond his pain. 

In addition to the P-38, there are four gifts, one for each of my friends. I want to say good-bye to them properly. I want to give them each something to remember me by. To let them know I really cared about them and I’m sorry I couldn’t be more than I was—that I couldn’t stick around—and that what’s going to happen today isn’t their fault.

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.

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More moving stories from Matthew Quick!
The fresh, funny, and ultimately heartwarming novel behind the Netflix movie ALL TOGETHER NOW, starring Amber, the rock star of hope. Finley and Russ both know basketball. And both know struggle. But a unique friendship may turn out to be the answer they both need. A riveting look at a day in the life of a depressed teenager, examining the impossible choices that must be made—and the light in us all that never goes out. When Nanette O'Hare goes from straight-A student to rebel, she quickly learns that rebellion often comes at a high price.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (July 1, 2014)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 031622135X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0316221351
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 15 years and up
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 980L
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 10 and up
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1 x 8.25 inches
Reviewer: Kindle Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: "Kids are like blind passengers-they just don't see what's coming down the road.."
Review: Leonard Peacock immediately strips the reader of whatever grown up or not so grown up securities that are brought to this seductive novel. He is that lonely kid who is mocked at school. His own mother has forgotten his birthday. Despite his extraordinary gift of insight and wording, he is convinced that nothing he does positively will ever leave a mark on the world. More to the point, he is convinced that he will never even find that handful of friends who might make his loneliness more bearable. Most of us know this kid, the one who just misses dressing correctly. He is too involved in the Holocaust class to be cool. As he describes his three big attempts to connect with peers, he is overwhelmed by the failure of the attempts. The most painful memory is of Asher Beal who has turned so evil, he must be destroyed.Leonard has his father's collectible Nazi handgun, and he will take himself and Asher out of the world this day. The tension and the movement of the prose hits a fine perfect pitch. We never reach the point of pulling away with too much sadness or too much self pity. Leonard does not really pity himself, he just sees no way out for himself. His thoughts on this dark day are precocious but not to the point of disbelief. His story is specific to himself, but bears great capacity to engage the reader in one's own lonely journey past or present. The few adults who engage him are wonderful characters and the reader readily is taken with Herr Silverman who reaches out to Leonard and the old guy who watches Bogart movies with him.The secrets that come to be known about Asher are unfortunately not that extreme in the world, but they are at the high end of the spectrum of challenge to a young boy. In my opinion, the possible only quibble I might have with this book is just the awfulness of the secret. I think that Leonard would have reached his despair without the events being so terrible. That is the point in fact. People reach the point where they can no longer see the light of the future, and this lovely book tells us a way back from the darkness. Even with the drama of the secret, Leonard reaches any person's heart who struggles with that darkest night.

Reviewer: Samantha Faye King
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: The perfect unresolved resolution
Review: Usually reviews start with some generic summary bug if you look at any surrounding review you'll get one of those so I am just going to cut to the chase. This book very masterfully captures the mind of a suicidal adolescent. That fact alone makes it a read for both young adults and the older crowd. It poses the expected questions and themes of happiness, religion, growing up, family, identity, the very being of existence and does it quite well. The 'letters from the future' are also a unique approach and addition to this tale. The more that is learned about Leonard as well as what Leonard has learned the more of him we see through these few chapters scattered throughout the novel. Most of all though, Leonard is a very real and strangely relatable character. 80% of this book is basically just his psyche and interpersonal struggle ( though what else would one expect from such a topic.) This works though because it reveals to ourselves our own little twisted side that can find ourselves, if not agreeing at least understanding Leonard and his unique imagination and worldview. Not to mention the writing style is almost too perfect, the mind of Leo is fascinating if nothing else.The book is a lot to take in and obviously very based around thought. It's not some metaphorical mystery that takes hardcore decoding skills but it definitely takes thought, so it is in no way a light read. Simple but intricate. So with that said let your taste judge weather you'd like it or not.Also, about the ending, without trying to spoil TOO much, I thought it worked to perfection with what if was trying to say. Though it certainly slows does towards the end, it in no way starts loosing impact. It is plainly honest with life and how things go down. Things don't resolve instantly in life, nor do some things even ever resolve and this is a hard truth that Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock tackles well. It sucks you in, you start hating the world but end finding a sense of trudging onward and a light of hope. I have seen this topic attempted many times but never has it been done this well. Obviously,just topically not everyone will be pleased, nor evil everyone understand(much like classmates discussed in the novel!) And there may be a plot let down here or there depending on how attached you vet to your expectations. My main flaw was some dialogue towards the end turning a hint too preachy,but nothing too extreme. Overall though, superb work.Lastly,the footnotes are interesting and add a lot more depth but are a pain to go back and forth between. However they are not required to experience the novel so all is well.All in all, good book for the right kinds of people. Blunt,honest, simple, unique and with a touch of inspiration.

Reviewer: James R. Gilligan
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Powerful and poignant
Review: In this powerful and poignant novel—which also manages to be quite funny at times—astute readers will detect echoes of one of the seminal works of Young Adult literature. Leonard Peacock is a Holden Caulfield for the millennial generation; Leonard, however, harbors an anguish borne of something far more damaging than the generalized disillusionment with “phonies” that plagued Holden. Like Holden, Leonard’s has irretrievably lost his childhood innocence. But Leonard’s pain is far more personal, and as we follow Leonard through what he repeatedly claims will be the last day of his life, we increasingly empathize with him as the source of his depression and desperation becomes apparent.As with many YA novels, the adults in *Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock* are ineffectual when they’re not being downright mean and dismissive (Leonard’s mother is probably one of the most detestable adults ever to appear in a YA novel). Herr Silverman, Leonard’s Holocaust studies teacher, is the one exception. Like Leonard, Herr Silverman harbors a secret that makes him feel different from most of his peers. And he is the one adult in the novel who makes a genuine effort to connect with Leonard and understand him.This is by no means an easy novel to read, but I suspect most will want to plow through it (as I did) because Quick’s writing resonates so honestly, and for all his quirks and hard-earned adolescent angst, Leonard is a likeable character. The book’s title remains a mystery (intentionally, I believe). Is it a plea for forgiveness signed by Leonard, as in a note or a letter? Or is it a plea for forgiveness that is being addressed to Leonard? The story provides justification for either interpretation, and the title’s opacity is but one of a number of ambiguities central to the novel.

Reviewer: Rutvika
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Your heart goes out to the boy, wonderful writing. And a small fast paced read.Don’t miss out on the notes all throughout the book.

Reviewer: 3chatsdansunmanteau
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Dès les premières pages, le ton est donné par le narrateur. Léonard est en détresse absolue. Le roman aborde le thème du suicide de manière très crue et le narrateur a une bonne dose d'humour noir.+ Le thème du suicide sans filtre, de "l'intérieur". Excellente représentation du fait que les gens optent souvent pour le suicide comment solution finale et non comme finalité: ils veulent arrêter de souffrir, mais ne veulent pas mourir. Le roman donne lieu à plusieurs moment d'espoir (Est-ce que tel personnage va réaliser ce que Léonard prépare? Est-ce que Léonard va prendre la main qui lui est tendue?) qui sont méthodiquement brisés, ce qui renforce bien l'impression de détresse aveugle de Léonard (et du lecteur).- Le roman a un extrait d'un autre livre à la fin, alors la fin de l'histoire arrive plusieurs pages avant la fin du livre... On en voudrait plus.

Reviewer: emilie boucard
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I love this book and I love Leonard peacock. He's a great character and I can't wait to watch the movie. I've read Boy 21 from the same author and is actually pretty good too 🙂

Reviewer: Lisa Dallari
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Libro in perfetto stato. Un'intesa storia drammatica che rivela un inatteso finale di speranza senza usare alcun mezzo pietistico, moralista o sentimentale. Ottimo libro consigliatissimo.

Reviewer: Vanessa Ziegler
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Es war wirklich mitreissend und leicht verständlich, auch wenn man sich erst an die vielen Fußnoten gewöhnen muss.Das Buch war in einem super Zustand kam aber etwas spät. Trotzdem war für den Preis alles tutti 🙂