Beware The Smart Kids

<p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(19 19 19 1)>Lost. Miserable. Lonely. Desperate for something more. That's life for teenager Nolan Sussman until an ex-convict who knows the 5 secrets to happiness returns to town.  </span></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(19 19 19 1)> </span></p><p><strong style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(19 19 19 1)></strong><strong style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(51 51 51 1)><em>Beware the Smart Kids</em> is a story for teenagers...those who feel invisible those who are hiding their pain those who think they'll never find the answers those who are yearning for something but don't know what. And it's a story for 'former teenagers' who are now trying to raise and love a teenager but who have likely forgotten the hard parts of being one. Kushin's debut novel is a poignant coming-of-age story with relatable characters and a powerful message on finding happiness.</strong><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(19 19 19 1)> </span></p><p><strong style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(19 19 19 1)><em>- Margaret Standafer best-selling author of I Know an Old Lady.</em></strong><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(19 19 19 1)> </span></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(51 51 51 1)> </span></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>Misfit troublemaker Nolan Sussman badly wants two things before high school ends: the attention of Gabi Meyers and the return of his runaway sister Sarah. But when his latest prank goes awry Nolan is nearly expelled. He's forced to spend his summer doing yardwork for Mr. Barno a reclusive former high school teacher who spent 25 years in prison.  </span></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>Nolan soon finds that despite the tragic mistake that landed Mr. Barno in prison the old man has something even more elusive than Gabi and Sarah-happiness. Now Nolan is determined to learn how to be happy too. It's his chance to matter. His shot at a future. But secrets in Mr. Barno's past are preventing the once-beloved educator from having the will to ever teach again. Secrets the two outcasts will have to face together.</span></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>   </span></p><p><strong style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>Reviews</strong><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(51 51 51 1)> </span></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>In his remarkable debut novel Matthew Kushin explores the delicate sometimes painful journey to understanding kindness and that most precious of attributes empathy. Saddled with self-doubt and a long simmering guilt Kushin's main character steps outside himself to understand through another's eyes what it truly means to be isolated and reviled yet remain true to who and what he might be. This is powerful writing immensely engaging and distinctive in both tone and theme. It merits a place on the bookshelf of any serious reader.</span></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(51 51 51 1)> </span></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>-Greg Fields </span><em style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>Through the Waters and the Wild</em><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(51 51 51 1)> 2022 Winner Independent Press Award for Literary Fiction </span