** spoiler alert ** 
 Matthew Quick certainly has a way with words. He took the difficult subject of school shootings and wove a story in such a wonderful way that I found myself unable to put the book down. 
 I know that quite a few people dislike Leonard's character. There were times that I found him slightly narcissistic, however, I wanted to find out what was wrong. Being a teacher, I could relate to the fact that there was something clearly bothering this kid if he felt the need to kill not only a classmate (ex-friend you find out relatively early in the story), but also himself. I felt myself relating to Leonard not having anyone who understood him; I felt like I had some rough times during my high school years (definitely not anything as extreme as Leonard). And let's be real - all high school students feel misunderstood/alone at some point in their high school career. I thought Leonard's thought process, thoughts, and actions were linked together beautifully and now being a teacher and having taken a few psychology and sociology classes, I completely understood and have thought some of the same thoughts that Leonard has about his classmates in his Holocaust class. 
 Others may not have liked Leonard in this book because of his negative thoughts, but when things haven't been going well for you for a while with little to no support at home, it is no wonder that a kid would then feel the need to take drastic measures. A person struggling like this will very rarely open up to anyone because they do not feel like they have anyone to open up to. I know some people thought we should have known right off the bat what Leonard had gone through, but he is telling his own story and would not likely open up right away even with Herr Silverman. Several people close to me have battled or continuously battle depression and it's not easy to do, nor easy to talk about even without having experienced the things Leonard did. I thought Leonard's thoughts and actions were very real and made him quite a dynamic character. I'm not quite sure I believe in the conviction towards the ending of the book though. It felt just a little convenient. A person struggling with these kinds of problems (depression) probably wouldn't be able to quickly decide "yes I want to live" and then having made that decision would move on with their normal routine. In that moment at the end of the book, Leonard probably does feel a lot more optimistic, but it is going to take a lot more than that decision to not be homicidal and suicidal. Because of this, the end felt a little too neatly tied up for me. I know Matthew Quick can't necessarily drag out what will happen to Leonard for us, but I wish he could have at least left us with Leonard telling more than just Herr Silverman and perhaps could have achieved the next step in getting help. 
 I felt the reasoning behind Leonard's feelings were very just. I couldn't believe the kind of mother he has. She made me so ANGRY! How could a parent be that oblivious and self-centered. Once again, it's no wonder he was having some of the feelings he was having. At first I thought he was being a melodramatic teenager who didn't like their parent for one little reason or another. It wasn't until we actually meet her towards the ending of the book that I completely understood why Leonard was saying the things that he was and why he was on his own so much. Wow! 
 I really respect Herr Silverman in this book and hope that the connections I have with my students are anywhere near as meaningful as what Leonard thinks of Herr Silverman. One thing that alarmed me was Silverman bringing Leonard to his house in the middle of the night after Leonard's episode. Being a teacher, I'm not sure I would have done this in the moment, no matter what was going on. There are way too many stories going around about sexual encounters between students and teachers and no matter the age or gender of the student, I wouldn't feel comfortable having that kid at my house. Taking him to a hospital or anywhere else would have been a better idea. I know Leonard was 18 and he thought quite highly of Silverman, but that part left a bad taste in my mouth. 
 Overall, even though there were some parts that either felt too convenient or that I didn't agree with, I thought this difficult subject was beautifully depicted and the character of Leonard was shown well. I had so many spots in the book that I marked because of their thought provoking nature or because I thought they were just so funny! I also have The Silver Linings Playbook and look forward to reading more books by Matthew Quick in the future.