Published by Bloomsbury Teens
Released On March 1st, 2011
Source- book from publisher to review
5 stars- I loved it!
Purchase from: Amazon| Barnes & Noble
According to her guidance counselor, fifteen-year-old Payton Gritas needs a focus object-an item to concentrate her emotions on. It's supposed to be something inanimate, but Payton decides to use the thing she stares at during class: Sean Griswold's head. They've been linked since third grade (Griswold-Gritas-it's an alphabetical order thing), but she's never really known him.
Do you have one of those books you've been so excited to read, but other things have gotten in the way so it just sits on your "to be read pile", patiently waiting for you to read it and when finally get to sit down and enjoy you wonder what took you so long? Sean Griswold's Head is that book for me. This book literally made me put all my vacation packing aside, because once I started reading this book, there was no stopping until I was done. It's fabulous, funny, touching, realistic, relatable, and charming. I love everything about Sean Griswold's Head. It has the sweetest romance that builds up perfectly as the story progresses, a fabulous BFF, some great family moments and a wonderful, highly relatable main character, Payton.
Lindsey Leavitt did an amazing with creating a story that deals with being a teen, first love, high school life and having your world turned upside down when a parent is diagnosed with MS. I don't know what it's like to have a parent who has dealt with that, but Lindsey wrote Payton in such a way that I was able to easily identify with her frustrations, her anger and her fears. I understood her hurt and her need to want to be told everything truthfully. This part of the story is both moving and beautifully told.
Mixed into the story are some lovable and well written characters, such as Payton's wonderful family, her loyal best friend Jac who has the best pet names for her, and the story's main love interest Sean. What I absolutely loved about Sean and Payton's relationship is the way it was realistically portrayed. There was no immediate connection. They've gone to school for a few years together and have known about each other, but it's not until Payton needs to focus on something different to help her cope with her anger and frustrations, she chooses what's in front of her, Sean Griswold's head. There's a little bit more to the story than that. I'm thinking a lot of moms will be rooting for their daughters to find a "Sean Griswold". He's respectful, real, humble, and he's got this adorable nerdy quality to him that is intriguing. He's someone who doesn't worry about things he can't change, he's a good listener, he sympathizes with Payton and he teaches her to ride. I loved their bike rides together and I'm not talking about the rides around the block. I'm talking the hard core bike rides that are like 20+ miles.
Sean Griswold's Head is a delightful read that teens and I'm sure plenty of adults will enjoy. It's a clean cut book with moments that moved me, scenes that made me laugh out loud and ones that took me along for an enjoyable ride. I highly recommend picking this up today. I'm looking forward to reading more of Lindsey's YA and MG reads.
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I really liked this book. I saw it the first time you guys posted about way back when and ordered it. It's a really cute read that I'll keep on my shelves for when my two, soon to be three, little ones are big enough to enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteJennifer Ray
I felt this way about Firelight - it was sitting on my shelf for so long, and when I finally got around to reading it, I was like, why did I push it off for so long! Anyway, awesome review!
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