Mock Printz 2026 discussion

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock has two starred reviews and tied for first in our September reading poll. What qualities make this stand out as a Printz contender?

The quick and dirty synopsis of Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock - a teenage boy takes a gun to school determined to shoot a classmate and then kill himself - sounds a little too familiar and perhaps easy to dismiss. But Leonard Peacock is a compelling character who quickly earns the reader's attention.

Leonard (yet another exceptionally intelligent teenage male protagonist) is suffering such extreme emotional distress that he feels his only recourse is to kill his former best friend and then commit suicide. The reader spends a very tense day with Leonard as he recounts his attempts to connect with a number of intriguing people, in the hope that they will provide him with a reason for living. (His home life, featuring an absent father and an incredibly irresponsible mother, is bleak indeed.) The source of his murderous feelings toward his former friend and his morbid depression is gradually revealed.

Leonard is a kid with a fair amount of cultural sophistication, so the guided tour through his psyche is pretty interesting. A series of supposed letters from the future penned by Leonard are a poignant counterpoint to his present-day turmoil.

A Printz candidate? Based on the book's strong narrative, robust development of idiosyncratic characters, and realistic conclusion - maybe. (The meandering but provocative cultural commentary located throughout the book slows down the action and may not be to every reader's and critic's taste, but it does help to define Leonard.)

Just finished this one. I felt quite disconnected from Leonard. He felt like a character that was written with the input of psychologists saying, "this is what suicidal kids feel like" but not ACTUAL suicidal kids. Does that make sense?

I'm just to sure what I think about this book. First off, I couldn't stop reading it, I had to find out how it ended. The tension the author builds throughout the story is amazing. I think my biggest problem with the book is that I didn't feel that Leonard's voice was very authentic. There were times where I felt like Leonard was just a mouthpiece for the author.

I liked the literary device that the letters from the future played, with the final letter giving glimmers of hope for Leonard's future. I loved Leonard's relationship with Walt, and the use of Bogart/Bacall references sprinkled throughout the book, but that may be the old movie bluff in me speaking.

While it would not be my first choice, I would not be surprised or unhappy to see this title among the award winners.