SMOOTH

Told in a bitingly funny first-person narration, this debut novel crackles with wry and wistful insights about the absurdities of high school, longing and heartbreak, and a body out of control.

Fifteen-year-old Kevin has smeared every cream, every gel, every purported magic cure the drugstore carries on his face, desperate for something that will get rid of his severe acne so he can look and feel normal again. He begs his dermatologist to prescribe him the incredibly strong, incredibly high-risk Accutane. His last resort. (Side effects may include: bowel diseases, vision and hearing troubles, liver damage, severe depression. The list goes on). The doctor reluctantly agrees, but on one condition: Kevin must have his blood tested for abnormalities once a month. Kevin agrees, of course. Because Accutane is the answer. Accutane will change everything.

At his first blood test appointment, Kevin meets Alex. Though Kevin can barely mumble more than a few words--he's totally inept at talking to girls his age, especially gorgeous ones like Alex--she seems interested in talking to him. More than that, Alex looks at him. She really looks at him, right in the eyes. Not at his face, his scars.

And so blood test day quickly becomes his new favorite day of the month. Alex feels like Kevin's one safe haven away from everyone and everything. Because no one else knows her. Not even his two best friends, who made the strange, troubling decision to join the school football team, befriending the obnoxious jock types that Kevin can't stand. That's okay, though, because Kevin hates hanging out with anyone these days--he'd much prefer to hole away in his room, where no one has to see him.

But as Kevin's friendships slip further and further away, and he finds out exactly who Alex is outside the doctor's waiting room, he's not sure about anything anymore. Is loneliness and self-doubt the side effect of Accutane?

Or is it just the side effect of being fifteen?

Matt Burns lives in New York City, where he currently works in digital video distribution for Nickelodeon. He counts among his biggest achievements putting 90s classics Kenan & Kel and Legends of the Hidden Temple on DVD. Smooth is his debut novel.