Main Character: Payton Gritas
Love Interest: Sean Griswold
Series: n/a
Author: Website|Facebook|Twitter|Good Reads
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.
When I first read the blurb for this book, I thought it sounded super cute and after having read it, I can say that it was cute, but it was also deeper than I thought it would be.
First, Payton is the youngest child out of 3. She has two older brothers. Payton is existing in her everyday life, hanging out with her best friend Jac, when everything is turned upside down. She finds out that her father has MS and everyone in the family knew but her. They didn’t want to freak her out and here’s the thing – she does freak out. She’s upset about her father but the thing that makes her the most mad is the fact that everyone hid it from her. Thus the need for a focus object. The school counselor thinks it would be a good idea. And it is, it starts to help. And then Payton starts to get to know her focus object, Sean Griswold and his head. LOL
Every time I see his big old head bobbing across the quad, I feel like a phoenix – bursting into flames only to cool off before rising up and doing it all over again.
Even though Payton annoyed me a little bit, I really enjoyed her character. I understand why she freaks out, hello health issues with a parent are not easy to deal with, and I felt that her reaction was true to how a teenager would react. Teenagers can be selfish (don’t hate, we’ve all been there) and Payton is a teenager. It just annoyed me a little bit because hey, I’m an adult. Payton took her anger out on the one who was hurting the most, her father. She stopped talking to him.
But her focus object and her growing friendship with Sean, help her deal with her issues. And Sean? He’s definitely a character you want to get to know. I loved the friendship that these two develop.
Also, I have to give big kudos to the author for dealing with the focus object thing in a good way, not making it into a whole big misunderstanding once Sean finds out. He listens to Payton’s explanation – he doesn’t turn all drama queen.
Another thing, the writing. It was awesome. Very engaging. See below, how is that not good stuff? LOL
Have you ever lost a pair of jeans and thought they were gone forever and you bought other jeans that look good in their own way and made you happy but nothing fit you like THOSE jeans, but then you find those jeans and you realize your butt looks even better in them than you remembered, as if your butt was made for the jeans and the jeans were made for your butt?
Jac and I are back. I don’t know who is the butt and who is the jeans.
Metaphors definitely aren’t my thing.
I’d definitely recommend this to anyone in the mood for a cute story with a really good message. B+
