Inside the Mind of Gideon Rayburn
by Sarah Miller
Bloomsbury, HK$115
The cover is spot on in hinting at the lubricious nature of Sarah Miller's first novel, Inside the Mind of Gideon Rayburn. What we have is American high-school sex, The OC-style (think blondes who preen and jocks who live up to their name). Fifteen-year-old protagonist Gid, terrified of not fitting in, finds himself sharing a room with two of the coolest guys, Nicholas and Cullen, the second of whom dresses only in old attire 'ripped in such a way so as to casually display his incredible physique'. When the lads discover their new roommate is a virgin (although he protests that he isn't, technically), they come up with that old chestnut, the Bet. Gid must get laid before October to be in. Miller's novel is categorised as a teenage read, which may make readers feel juvenile (if they enjoy it) or grown-up (if they find little they can relate to). It should probably have been marketed simply as lad lit, with a twist: Miller's book redeems itself with a female narrator who inhabits the mind of Gideon. Who she is will keep readers turning the pages, whatever their age, although mature booklovers will probably claim they were more interested in the narrator's observations on gender.