Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick

I loved this book. Simply could not put it down from the first page to the last. Every once in a while you come across a book that you just want to sit and finish from front to back. This was that book for me. I had to apologize to my colleagues at the lunch table because I rudely read during lunch instead of engaging in conversations. I highly recommend this book for all. I want to read everything by Matthew Quick now.



Amazon Summary

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 book, acclaimed author Matthew Quick unflinchingly examines the impossible choices that must be made--and the light in us all that never goes out.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

I loved this book. From the first page I was engrossed and fell in love with both Eleanor and Park. For the romantics in all of us who want to see young love flourish.

Publisher Summary
Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love—and just how hard it pulled you under.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo ( Abe Book)

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Best Books of the Month, June 2012: Alina Starkov has never been anything more than yet another orphan of her country’s on-going wars...until she channels magic not seen in centuries to protect her best friend, Mal. Her new-found powers attract the attention of the Darkling, the most powerful of the country’s magic-wielders. He tells Alina that her magic could heal the Shadow Fold, if she can only learn to control it--and if she agrees to trust the Darkling despite the mystery that surrounds his very existence. Leigh Bardugo brings a cast of well-defined characters and a unique magic system to her lavishly imagined world, where light doesn’t always conquer dark and deception runs so deep that it becomes truth. And yet, against all expectations, the bonds of sacrifice and friendship remain too strong to be severed in this thrilling debut. --Malissa Kent

Ms. Mangurtens Review
I had a hard time getting into this book. It wasn't until 100 pages that I LOVED this book and couldn't put it down. As a fantasy book it took me a few pages to get the language down of this fictional country. I recommend this one for everyone, especially if you were a fan of Graceling.