Inside the Mind of Gideon Rayburn

Sixteen-year-old Gideon Rayburn has no idea there's a girl visiting his mind. But the female intruder shares with the listener her view of every impression and struggle in Gideon's adolescent psyche. Cassandra Campbell's youthful voice suits her narration. Campell walks the fine line between Gideon's thoughts and the intruder's impressions of Gideon's thoughts, never blurring the two. We know instantly when the narrator's interjections voice Gid's surprise or her own, and we empathize with her reluctance to share certain moments with him, or with us. Campbell gives the story the light touch it deserves, while interpreting the characters exactly as a teen boy might see them. It's a performance even adults will appreciate. R.L.L. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

Starred review from May 29, 2006
This amusing novel, with a kind of Being John Malkovich
premise, introduces a guy who "isn't stereotypically crushworthy" as he starts at an exclusive prep school. But the book has a unique twist: Gideon's thoughts and actions are related by a girl at the school who is somehow able to get inside his head. She knows what he's doing and "what he wishes he were doing, what he thinks he should be doing, and what he would wish he were doing if he were just a slightly better person." Through her narration, readers observe Gid as he meets his two popular roommates, who make him the center of a bet: Can he have sex by the end of October with a nice, pretty classmate named Molly? Along with some outrageous antics, readers gain insight into Gid's kind, often insecure character. They will also find plenty to ponder in terms of guy friendships and dating dynamics (Gid's womanizing roommate Cullen advises him that the way to make a girl like him is to pay attention to the way she wants to be seen; he even draws Gid a chart so he can record facts about Molly). Though the narrator remains a mystery for most of the book, readers will not be too surprised when her identity is finally revealed; still, the conclusion is wholly satisfying. Readers will have a good time living inside Gid's head as he slowly becomes more confident—and goes a little wild along the way. Ages 12-up.