Matthew Quick Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Matthew Quick is one of the most prominent names in the world of Young-Adult fiction. Born on October 23rd, 1973 in Philadelphia, Matthew had a love for literature ever since his school days. He completed his high school education at Collingswood High School, in Oaklyn, New Jersey and then went to La Salle University for further education. He got his Masters degree in Fine Arts from Goddard College after which he started working as a High School teacher at Haddonfield Memorial High School in the Southern area of New Jersey. He was also a part-time Soccer and Basketball coach at this school. Owing to his rich knowledge, Quick would also provide troubled teens with counselling. It was after several years of teaching that Quick decided to give up his career and started working on his very first novel. He lived with his wife Alicia Bessette, who is a pianist by profession in Massachusets for quite many years.

His first novel, ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ came out in the year 2008, and it was a big hit. The book was later made into an Oscar Winning Movie starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper. The book was also New York Times Bestseller in the same year. Like all other books of Matthew Quick, even The ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ had a character that suffered from mental issues. The reason behind this is the effect that certain childhood circumstances had on him. He had spent the early few years of his childhood in Philadelphia, where the neighborhood wasn’t very urbane. Men were supposed to have to feelings or suppress them even if they did feel things deeply. Living in such an environment turned him into a similar person who would fight his depression rather than addressing it. It was when he wrote ‘Silver Lining Playbook’ that he finally let these emotions out in the form of a mentally sick character Pat, the protagonist of his first book.

Matthew’s work has won various accolades over the years, and he has seven published YA Fiction Novels to his credit. He was the finalist for the Hemingway Awards in the year 2009 for the book ‘Silver Linings Playbook.’ His second book ‘Sorta Like a Rockstar’ was another famous work of YA Fiction, and the readers loved it. In the year 2012, his novel ‘Boy 21’ came out and its success was phenomenal. New York Times published a favorable review of the book. Owing to his contribution in the field of spreading awareness about mental illness, Matthew Quick was also voted as one of the finalists for the TIME 100 Most Influential People list in the year 2013. In the same year, Quick was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Human Letters from his college La Salle. Another novel of Matthew ‘Every Exquisite Thing’ was launched in the year 2016.

Silver Linings Playbook

Silver Lining Playbook was the first novel by Matthew Quick, and it was made into a movie by David O’ Russell, which later won the Academy Award. It is the story about a middle-aged man, Pat, who has been in an institution for mental illness for quite a while and after having come back, he needs to learn to go about his life without his wife, who has now left him. Pat had bipolar disorder and was a teacher at school but things changed and due to his unstable mental health, he is made to stay with his parents. He loves his wife Nicki a lot and does not accept the fact that they have separated. He believes that she will come back because they are soul mates and to get her back, he decides to exercise daily and become a better version of himself. Pat thinks it has only been a few months since he has been in the mental hospital when in reality it has been quite a few years. Due to this time lapse, it is extremely tough for him to adapt to this changed life.

One evening while running on the road in an attempt to be the better version of himself, he meets a lady- Tiffany. Tiffany is a mentally disoriented woman herself who has moved back to her family after her husband’s death. The two become friends and Pat decides to help Tiffany with an upcoming dance competition if she helps him win back Nicki. The two practise together and Tiffany falls for Pat. She forges some letters and tells Pat that they are from Nicki in an attempt to keep him away from his wife. Gradually, the secret is revealed and Pat leaves Tiffany. In a fit of depression, he gets mugged and injured. A friend of his from the Mental Asylum helps him and reunites him with his family. Despite Tiffany’s efforts to get back together, Pat doesn’t forgive her. Suddenly, one day as he is watching the wedding video of his and Nicki’s wedding, his memories come flooding back to him, and he realises that he had left Nicki because she was cheating on him with a teacher from his school. He sees why Tiffany kept forging the letters and the two become friends again, accepting the fact that they need each other.

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock

‘Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock’ is a book that deals with the emotional traumas of a young man Leonard Peacock. Leonard is a High School student who has emotional issues and driven by his urge to get rid of these problems, he plans to kill his former best friend and a big time bully, Asher Beal and then himself. The book has a raw and powerful imagery of the world of a teenage student. The book starts with the day being Leonard’s birthday and he is sad that nobody cares enough to remember it. However, he has the plan to make his birthday a memorable one by shooting Asher after the school. He has plans to end his life as well, and he decides to give a gift to the four people who have made his miserable life a little tolerable for him. The four individuals are – a violin prodigy classmate of his, a neighbor who loves noir films, his favorite teacher and a hot teen evangelist he is acquainted with. Since the story is narrated by Leonard, we get to hear plenty of self-loathing, sarcastic reproaches and the numerous contradictions that he has formed in his head. Despite being heartbroken about his life, Leonard does not forget about the people he likes and makes it a point to visit them and give each one a gift despite his strict schedule to shoot Asher from his grandfather’s gun that he managed to sneak out with.

The reason behind this hatred in Leonard’s heart is unknown to the readers until almost half the story. It is later exposed that a few years back, Asher had sexually abused Leonard. The boy has since then tried to share it with a few elders in his family, but nobody paid attention to what the boy feels. As a result, we see a character whom is disappointed with the elders and does not fit in with the sheep herd mentality classmates. As the story moves further, we see how Leonard evolves as a character and learns to look beyond the pain and suffering of the present to what the future has in store for him.