Sean Griswold’s Head by Lindsey Leavitt
Reviewed by AimeeRatings
Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where
0 = no objectionable content and
5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content
LANGUAGE
VIOLENCE
SEXUAL CONTENT
ADULT THEMES
Ratings Explanation
Language: There were some references to swearing like, ” he lets out a full string of swear words.” Someone says something is “total BS” and “literally puts the as(s) in nasty”.
Violence: Some girls get in a fight. There is kicking and scratching.
Sexual Content: A girl ends up behind the swings with a boy trying to avoid having his tongue down her throat. A boy and girl “spoon”. There is some hand holding and a kiss. A girl calls her teacher a slut.
Adult Themes: A girl walks in and sees her dad’s naked bottom. A girl remembers her friend bringing Vodka to a sleepover in seventh grade. A girl throws out some Heineken that her friend stole. Peyton finds out her dad has MS. Her parents kept it from her and she feels lied to. Peyton is in counseling to help her deal with her father’s illness. Peyton’s friend has a less than ideal family life which is described in some detail.
Synopsis
After finding out that her dad has Multiple Sclerosis and her parents have been lying to her about it, Peyton feels betrayed and scared. In an attempt to help her deal with her father’s illness, Peyton’s parents decide to send her to counseling. Peyton’s first assignment is to find an object to focus on and keep a journal about it. The object she decides on is the back of Sean Griswold’s head. After all, she’s been staring at it for years because she always sits behind him in her school classes. Peyton realizes that after all these years, she doesn’t really know very much about Sean Griswold at all. Her focus becomes more like an obsession as she learns more about him and her feelings for him change.
In this book we watch Peyton struggle to deal with her father’s debilitating illness. Peyton tends to be a bit dramatic but may well represent a good majority of early teens. It was good to see her thoughts and actions go from self centered to looking outward. I enjoyed Peyton’s journal entries which kept things light and entertaining. The budding relationship between Peyton and Sean was sweet. Overall, I enjoyed this book. I thought it had some good life lessons and it held my interest. I would recommend 8th grade and up.