Sean Griswold's Head

Publishers Weekly

A chronic worrier, high school freshman Payton Gritas has just had a massive wrench thrown into her hyperorganized life: for six months her family has kept her father's multiple sclerosis diagnosis a secret from her. The school guidance counselor asks Payton to keep a journal about a "Focus Object" of her choosing, and she picks Sean Griswold's head, since he has sat in front of her in class for years. The drama begins when her boy-crazy best friend, Jac, decides that they should research Sean—and then starts playing matchmaker. Payton soon falls for sensitive Sean and begins to share his passion for cycling, but between her father's illness, her declining grades, and her faltering friendship with Jac, she isn't sure that she can let someone new into her life. Leavitt (the Princess for Hire series) delicately handles topics of illness, evolving relationships, and what it means to grow up. Payton's alternately sarcastic, snappy, and reflective narration ("The truth, I know, is that it's not my dad I'm really mad at. I'm mad at his disease") carries this insightful story. Ages 12–up. (Mar.)

From the Publisher

“In a rather impressive feat, Leavitt manages to take a painful family crisis and make one girl’s reaction to it genuinely guffaw-worthy, even adding a bit of romance for kicks. With her self-deprecating wit and nearly OCD organizational skills, Payton is positively endearing. Leavitt capably handles the issues of chronic illness with sensitivity, making this an insightful, humorous, and ultimately uplifting family drama.” —BCCB

“Payton is likable and the writing brisk and amusing…Complex, significant issues are raised.” —Kirkus Reviews

“A balanced proportion of comedy and gravity... refreshing and realistic without being overwrought with angst.” —School Library Journal “Leavitt tucks in lines like 'I don’t do spandex. The devil wears spandex. And I doubt the devil’s butt is as big as mine' while bringing her protagonist around to acceptance and repaired relationships... the formula is tried-and-true.” —Booklist

VOYA - Debbie Wenk

Payton is dealt two devastating blows at once—her father has multiple sclerosis (MS), and the rest of the family has known for six months. A sophomore in high school, she is a star basketball player and an academic success. She quits the team and lets her grades slide in response to these revelations. Her counselor tells her to find a focus object and write about it in a journal as a means to open up about something—anything—until Payton is ready to talk about her dad. She eventually chooses the head of the boy who sits in front of her, hence the title. Sean Griswold and Payton Gritas have been linked alphabetically since fourth grade, but she discovers that she knows little about him. With the help of her overzealous best friend, Payton begins to learn more about him and likes what she is learning. Meanwhile, she continues to struggle with the news of her father's MS and the family's exclusion of her. Reviewer: Debbie Wenk

School Library Journal

Gr 6–9—When 15-year-old Payton Gritas gives her family the silent treatment for withholding her father's MS diagnosis for six months, her parents request the aid of their daughter's guidance counselor, who assigns a focus object exercise. Payton chooses Sean Griswold's head because she and Sean have been linked by last name proximity since the third grade. Soon, with the help of her boy-crazy friend Jac, Payton gets to know Sean Griswold the person and the head. Interpersonal conflicts abound as the teen chooses to focus on avoidance rather than confronting the fear she is experiencing. In a balanced proportion of comedy and gravity, she comes to terms with her father's illness, deals with conflicts she has created with Jac, and eventually opens up her heart to a little romance. While the path that Leavitt paves for her protagonist is somewhat predictable, the likable characters will have girls gravitating toward the novel. Though the book takes a light look at a teenager coming to grips with a parent's serious illness, it is refreshing and realistic without being overwrought with angst.—Adrienne L. Strock, Maricopa County Library District, AZ

Kirkus Reviews - Kikus Reviews

Payton Gritas' world is turned upside down when she discovers her father has multiple sclerosis and that her parents and older brothers have kept the news from her for six months. Devastated, Payton is referred to the school counselor, who, within seconds of meeting her, instructs Payton to select a subject to focus on, other than her father's illness, and record her observations in a journal. Neither the therapeutic relationship nor the assignment makes much sense, but they get the plot rolling. Payton's random choice of "focus object" is the head of Sean Griswold, the boy seated ahead of her in biology. Egged on by her best friend, Jac, Payton researches Sean, and her attention evolves into a mutual attraction. Payton is likable and the writing brisk and amusing, but this offering from the author of Princess for Hire (2010), encumbered by too-visible plot contrivances, fails to convince. Complex, significant issues are raised but then accorded frustratingly superficial treatment. Payton's life and affluent lifestyle are barely affected by her father's illness; the biggest impact is cancellation of a family spring-break getaway to Florida. While she learns a few lessons about denial and selfishness in the abstract, she's protected from having to put them in practice. (Fiction. 12 & up)

Kirkus Reviews

Payton Gritas' world is turned upside down when she discovers her father has multiple sclerosis and that her parents and older brothers have kept the news from her for six months. Devastated, Payton is referred to the school counselor, who, within seconds of meeting her, instructs Payton to select a subject to focus on, other than her father's illness, and record her observations in a journal. Neither the therapeutic relationship nor the assignment makes much sense, but they get the plot rolling. Payton's random choice of "focus object" is the head of Sean Griswold, the boy seated ahead of her in biology. Egged on by her best friend, Jac, Payton researches Sean, and her attention evolves into a mutual attraction. Payton is likable and the writing brisk and amusing, but this offering from the author of Princess for Hire (2010), encumbered by too-visible plot contrivances, fails to convince. Complex, significant issues are raised but then accorded frustratingly superficial treatment. Payton's life and affluent lifestyle are barely affected by her father's illness; the biggest impact is cancellation of a family spring-break getaway to Florida. While she learns a few lessons about denial and selfishness in the abstract, she's protected from having to put them in practice. (Fiction. 12 & up)