Smooth

April 1, 2020
Kevin's terrible acne has survived every cream and facial scrub; next up is Accutane, a medication with a zillion side effects. At the mandatory monthly blood tests, 15-year-old Kevin befriends Alex, a cute girl from a different school. Kevin becomes obsessed, looking forward to their monthly waiting-room chats and detaching himself from his two best friends, who have joined both the football team and a different social circle. With the first-person narration, readers are, for better or worse, trapped within the lonely teen's mind as it circles round and round the carousel of depression. Kevin runs scenarios in his head, trying to figure out the best way to impress Alex and turn himself into the kind of person he thinks she will like (or even love). This portrait of teen angst is well drawn but a bit overlong. Kevin wallows in his "woe is me" depths, and while that may be the point (being a teen is uncomfortable; being a teen with severe acne and depressive episodes is hell), readers may have trouble staying on Kevin's side. Kevin's friends and family have just enough shading to hint at inner lives but not so much so that Kevin registers them as people instead of obstacles to his own happiness. It's a tricky balancing act, and the author pulls it off. All main characters are white. A rewarding depiction of a teen fighting isolation and depression. (Fiction. 13-17)

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July 13, 2020
Self-deprecating Georgia high school sophomore Kevin, an insecure, anxious teenager with severe facial acne, narrates this bildungsroman set in 2007. Daunted by the prospect of another year “with a face like a red-and-purple tie-dyed scab,” Kevin opts to try Accutane, a “last-resort” drug, despite its long list of side effects and required series of blood tests. Waiting for his monthly test, he develops a crush on Alex, another Accutane patient with milder acne. Though their first conversation is painfully awkward, Kevin remains hopeful they can romantically connect—until Alex transfers to his school, and he discovers his idealistic image of her doesn’t match who she really is. Feeling distanced from Alex and from his two childhood best friends, who joined the football team and now hang out with a popular “posse of kids,” Kevin wonders if his alienation and suicidal thoughts are a normal part of growing up or an effect of his medication. Though his rallying from depression and subsequent profound revelations about himself and others feel somewhat abrupt, Kevin’s conflicts and uncertainties will resonate; the plethora of penis jokes and pimple anecdotes belies a surprising amount of pathos in this voice-driven debut. Ages 14–up.

July 24, 2020

Gr 9 Up-Kevin, an anxious 10th grader, has severe acne, and decides to pursue Accutane treatments, despite potentially severe side effects. During his required regular blood work, he meets a girl in the waiting room, Alex. Alex seems far more sophisticated than his male best friends, who are obsessed with mindless comebacks and jokes rife with genitalia. Kevin focuses on his brief interactions with and observations of Alex: she reads Anna Karenina and listens to meaningful music. He becomes obsessive, with the mutual appointments becoming the highlights of his calendar. Over the course of the same year, his social interactions with his friends and other peers plummet: he feels that they hone in on his acne and awkwardness, while they are likely out partying and making out. Worlds collide when Alex transfers to his school, and Kevin has to reconcile with the idealized version of her with the reality while juggling depression, paranoia, and an incel-esque mindset. While there is a lot of The Hangover-type bro-comedy, which some teenagers may appreciate, most of Kevin's attitude is self-deprecatory and sexist. A redemptive arc comes far too late. Through 90% of the book, readers have to slog through the objectification of women, a dismissal and one-dimensionalizing of nearly all other characters, and numerous attempts to be more emotionally deep based on an admiration of emotionally complex media rather than actual character traits. Kevin and Alex are both white. VERDICT A cringeworthy, realistic novel that tries to be humorous, but features a lot of misogyny. Not recommended for purchase.-Susan Elofson, Airport H.S., West Columbia, SC

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