Librarian Jennifer Wardrip posted a great review of Inside the Mind of Gideon Rayburn by Sarah Miller on Goodreads, written by Amanda Dissinger, for TeensReadToo.com. I’ve copied and pasted it below, to summarize the plot.
Ever wondered what exactly is going on in the mind of a teenage boy? Then INSIDE THE MIND OF GIDEON RAYBURN by Sarah Miller is the perfect book for you.
This is a captivating story about a girl at a prep school in Massachusetts who suddenly finds herself experiencing all of the thoughts, feelings, and sights of Gideon Rayburn, a new student at the school. She faces all of the problems Gid faces, from the embarrassing to the sweet to the sexual to the anxious.
Then Gid’s roommates, the popular and handsome Cullen and Nicholas, make a bet to see if Gideon can actually achieve his manhood by sleeping with a girl by Halloween. The girl is Molly McGarry, who’s cute and funny, but not who Gid really wants. His ultimate desire is in the form of Pilar Benitez-Jones: very beautiful and very confident. As Gid tries to decide which girl is right for him, the reader gets to take a trip through his mind, and see how a real, live, hormone-charged 15-year-old boy really thinks.
Inside the Mind of Gideon Rayburn has an intriguing premise. Recently, I reviewed E. Lockhart’s book, Fly on the Wall: How One Girl Saw Everything. Fly on the Wall, strangely enough, is also told by a female narrator, stuck inside the head of a teenage boy.
While Lockhart’s book was fun and light-hearted, Miller’s book about prep school drama reminded me of Bret Easton Ellis’s novel, The Rules of Attraction. Ellis’s sardonic stories about life at Camden were much like Gideon’s. And like any Bret Easton Ellis book, Inside the Mind of Gideon Rayburn was filled with casual sex, and drug references. Unlike Fly on the Wall, I couldn’t see Zac Efron starring in the movie version of this book … maybe Ryan Phillipe. Overall, it was it believable and worthwhile.
I enjoyed guessing who and what was inside the mind of Gideon Rayburn, if only for the duration of the book. I also liked how the female narrator (you don’t find who she is until the end) comments throughout the story. It reminded me of the mysterious narrator from Gossip Girl. I think female readers will be able to relate to what she’s thinking during the story.
Click to buy this book: Inside the Mind of Gideon Rayburn
Question: Has anyone else read this book? What did you think?
Currently reading: Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn
I’ve never read it but agree that the premise is intriguing. I always loved the Outsiders which was basically being inside the head of a teen boy too.
Cool review.