It's Leonard's birthday and he wants to kill his ex-best friend and then himself. When he wakes up, he takes the Nazi gun his grandfather left for him, eats breakfast by himself because his dad hasn't been in his life for his while and his mom is too busy with her fashion career, and packs four presents he wants to deliver before he kills himself and Asher. Then Leonard sets out to deliver these presents.
As Leonard delivers these presents, we learn more about him and why he wants to kill himself. Leonard says good bye to his unlikely friend, an elderly man who lives beside him and the two share a Bogart movie affinity. He says good bye to the young man who plays violin every day at lunch while Leonard listens, his favourite teacher, and Lauren, a girl who tries to deliver Jesus' message at the subway station. We also learn about Leonard's ex-best friend and how those two were friends, and how their friendship dissolved.
This isn't just teenage angst and drama that makes you want to roll your eyes. It is full of raw emotion that really tugs at your heart. Thing is, deep down, Leonard doesn't really want to die. He has had a traumatic experience and there's been no responsible adults to help him work through it. He also doesn't really have any close friends his age because he's an outsider and seen as not normal. But, as his favourite teacher tries to describe to him, not being normal can be a beautiful thing.
I really loved this book. The interactions between Leonard and his teacher moved me to tears, which is very rare for me.
First Line: "The P-38 WWII Nazi handgun looks comical lying on the breakfast table next to a bowl of oatmeal."
Rating:
(4.5/5)
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