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CHRISTINE BARCELLONA, Associate Editor
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ANNA POON, Editorial Assistant
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PRAISE FOR
Absolute Brightness
A WILLIAM C. MORRIS DEBUT AWARD FINALIST
“This book will encourage you to be exactly who you are.”
—Eve Ensler, author of The Vagina Monologues
“A captivating story in which youthful prejudices are transformed into deep compassion and understanding. Beautifully pure.”
—Duncan Sheik, songwriter and composer of Spring Awakening
“James Lecesne has crafted an utterly engrossing tale that, like life itself, confounds expectations at every turn. His heroine is a sort of Scout Finch for the new millennium.”
—Armistead Maupin, author of Tales of the City
“Absolute Brightness is revelatory—funny, suspenseful, surprising, and full of the insight into human life that only the best books offer us. James Lecesne is a treasure.”
—Michael Cunningham, author of The Hours
“Lecesne is an artist with small details, using them liberally both to heighten his characters’ world and to plant material whose significance emerges only much later.”
—Publishers Weekly
“The marvelous details are engaging, adorable, and also gravely tragic.… The teens created by Jean Ferris and Sarah Dessen come to mind as readers applaud Phoebe and big-sister Deirdre’s growth.… An outstanding read for boys and girls alike.”
—VOYA
“The frank tone of Phoebe’s narration and the tragedy of Leonard’s abbreviated life will give readers plenty to ponder.”
—School Library Journal
“Not only is Absolute Brightness a compelling story filled with drama and mystery, it is also a tenderhearted telling of good vs. evil and of right and wrong, a celebration of the amazing differences in our world and a reminder to be true to oneself.”
—TeenReads.com
PRAISE FOR THE OFF-BROADWAY SHOW,
The Absolute Brightness
of Leonard Pelkey
“A show about the brutal murder of a 14-year-old boy should not, logically speaking, leave you beaming with joy. And yet that’s the paradoxical effect of The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey, a superlative solo show at Dixon Place written and performed by James Lecesne, himself a pretty darn dazzling beacon of theatrical talent.”
—The New York Times
“The story has the potency to break your heart and make you laugh at the same time.… He has a knack for taking ordinary people and revealing their intricacies.”
—The Huffington Post
“Although we never actually meet Leonard but come to know him from the fond memories of his neighbors, he seems very much alive.”
—Variety
“Makes a strong case for the life-changing power of entertainment.”
—Forbes
“Lecesne crafts an airtight 75-minute story about tolerance, evil and legacy.… Leonard Pelkey is streaked with darkness, but Lecesne shines bright.”
—New York Daily News
“Absolute Brightness is a must-see story of love and faith that will challenge you to embrace those around you for their differences. Go see it—and bring a box of tissues.”
—NBC New York
about the author
James Lecesne is an author, actor, and activist, whose film Trevor received an Academy Award for best short film. James cofounded the Trevor Project, a 24-hour suicide-prevention hotline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning teens. He is the author of Absolute Brightness, the book that inspired the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway play The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey. He lives in New York City. You can sign up for email updates here.
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contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Epigraph
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Praise
About the Author
Copyright
A FEIWEL AND FRIENDS BOOK
An Imprint of Macmillan
ABSOLUTE BRIGHTNESS. Copyright © 2008 by James Lecesne. All rights reserved. For information, address Feiwel and Friends, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
Our books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact your local bookseller or the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945 ext. 5442 or by e-mail at [email protected].
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016937320
ISBN 978-1-250-10611-7 (paperback) / ISBN 978-1-250-10610-0 (ebook)
Cover design by Bjorn Berqlund
Feiwel and Friends logo designed by Filomena Tuosto
The excerpt here is from “My Favorite Things.” Copyright © 1959 by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Copyright renewed. WILLIAMSON MUSIC (ASCAP), an Imagem Company, owner of publication and allied rights throughout the world. International Copyright Secured. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
The excerpt reprinted here is reprinted with the permission of Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group, from The Magic of Believing by Claude M. Bristol. Public domain.
Though the town of Neptune, New Jersey, is a place both real and true, I have taken some liberties in terms of its geography and its character in order to accommodate my story. All the characters, however, are fictional, and any similarity to the actual people of Neptune is purely coincidental.
THE ABSOLUTE BRIGHTNESS OF LEONARD PELKEY
by James Lecesne
Original Off-Broadway Production produced by Darren Bagert and Daryl Roth.
Originally developed and presented at Dixon Place in New York City;
THE ABSOLUTE BRIGHTNESS OF LEONARD PELKEY opened Off-Broadway at the Westside Theatre in New York City on July 27, 2015. It was directed by Tony Speciale and produced by Darren Bagert, Daryl Roth, Jane Dubin, Curtis Forsythe, Michael Mayer, Diane Procter, Seaview Productions, Minerva Productions, Joshua Goodman; general management by DR Theatrical Management; the set design was by Jo Winiarski; the lighting design was by Matt Richards; the sound design was by Christian Frederickson; the projection design was by Aaron Rhyne; original music was by Duncan Sheik; the original animation and photography was by Matthew Sandager; the costume design was by Paul Marlow; and the stage manager was Hannah Woodward. The cast was as follows:
PERFORMER.…. James Lecesne
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Absolute Brightness Page 27