Sean Griswold's Head by Lindsey Leavitt

 Sean Griswold's Head by Lindsey Leavitt

"What if your first love was literally sitting right in front of you?
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.

The focus object is intended to help Payton deal with her father's newly diagnosed multiple sclerosis. And it's working. With the help of her boy-crazy best friend Jac, Payton starts stalking-er, focusing on-Sean Griswold . . . all of him! He's cute, he shares her Seinfeld obsession (nobody else gets it!) and he may have a secret or two of his own." (summary from publisher website) 

 

At first I was a little worried to read Sean Griswold’s Head by Lindsey Leavitt. I had read the first book in her princess series and really enjoyed it, but it was more along the lines of fantastical fiction. Sean Griswold’s Head sound serious and heavy. A father gets diagnosed with MS. Then the summary gave me some strange vibes. Focus object? Therapy? I felt hesitation.



Then I read a positive review of it by Janssen at Everyday Reading and decided to take the plunge. I am very glad that I gave the book a chance. I ended up enjoying it. I really liked Payton’s voice. She has a very funny way of describing her feelings mostly with odd and self-conscious metaphors that are charming. The author does an excellent job of showing how Payton’s life was impacted by her father’s MS. The author manages to convey the depth of Payton’s distress without the book feeling like a pity party. In fact I really sympathized with Payton and was willing to watch her as she tried to figure out how to cope with her distress.


In the middle of all her stress and grief Payton’s focus object—Sean Griswold—brings a bit of light heartedness to the book. Payton does a bit of gentle mocking of Sean’s big head, but finds herself inspired to get to know him better as a result. What results is a genuine and honest teenage romance story. I also loved the fact that the author had a light touch with the romance plot line. Not too sappy and just the right amount of sweet.


So, next time I see a contemporary novel by this author I will not hesitate, but leap to give it a chance.

Lindsey Leavitt's Blog

Princess for Hire by Lindsey Leavitt

Princess for Hire by Lindsey Leavitt

Desi Bascomb knows that she had the lamest job ever—standing in front of a pet store dressed as a groundhog—but at least she has her anonymity. That is until her ex-best friend reveals her identity in front of Hayden, the boy she likes, in the most humiliating way possible. It has been a bad day, but her boss assures her that the fish is in the backroom is magical and if she makes a wish everything will get better. Yeah right.

Several days later Desi is contacted by Meredith, a princess agent, and discovers the sweet life. Apparently, Desi has enough MP (magical power) that when she applies special Egyptian Makeup “royal rouge” she takes on the appearance of any princess who needs her services. Desi thinks that living life as a princess substitute (hey even princesses need vacations!) will be great, but the job is full of unexpected difficulties. She hadn’t expected rude older sisters, preforming African tribal rituals, and trying to deal with old love interests. Doing all this without betraying that she really isn’t the princess is one hard deal, but Desi knows she can be good at this business and make a difference to the girls that she is helping. That is if the agency will give her a chance to prove that the choices she has made are right.

I don’t think I would have picked this book up if I hadn’t read Susan’s review at Bloggin' 'bout Books. She said she really enjoyed it, but I was thinking that cover is really pink and girly. So when I saw this book at the library I decided to pick it up and give it a try. I was really surprised because I was immediately drawn in by Desi’s charming and funny voice. Perhaps, the magic is a little bit unbelievable, a critical reader will probably have to suspend their belief a bit, but the idea is fun, magical, and enjoyable to read about. My favorite scene is when Desi takes her first practice assignment and substitutes for an actress who is a princess on a sci-fi show in which the main characters are bugs. So Desi is signing photos dressed as an inelegant caterpillar and gets proposed to by a crazy guy dressed as a wood louse. It was so hilarious! Each substitute job has its own fiasco to deal with as Desi learns the ropes. I think this really does have the potential to be a charming and popular series among young teen girls. So, if you are looking for a bit of magic and a laugh this would be a good one to pick up.

Visit Author Lindsey Leavitt's website

Also, Check out this awesome post at Cynsations. There is video of Lindsey Leavitt reading from Princess for Hire and an author interview.