Smooth

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.