YA. 4 stars.

So yeah. That. Wow.

Occasionally a book dances around mental illness. Or suicide. And truly when I opened this that’s what I expected. Silly me. This is an in-your-face tete a tete with with depression and angst and suicidal ideation – the likes of which I’ve not experienced.

I’ve read much bleaker books. Sadder books. But rarely read a book this honest. Frequently sadness or darkness is a plot device. It gives a book “edge.” I’m supposed to take an author seriously bc they put terrible things in a story. In PFMLP the darkness was the story. Never overdone. And with moments of sweetness that made everything around me stop.

Quick synopsis – it’s Leonard’s 18th birthday, and he plans on killing himself. There are a few things he wants to do first – so we’re along with Leonard for a very very bad day. I was 100% into the story from page 1. By page 4 I was overwhelmed. But it evened out, and the pages flew by.

The honesty and reality of the book extends to the end of the book. I don’t want to spoil anything bc part of the page-turning addiction was wondering what Leonard would do next. But I will say this book was a difficult read from beginning to end.

I can safely say I’m a fan of Mr Quick. His stories are simple and huge. I look forward to reading more of him.