The Smaller Evil by Stephanie Kuehn (review)

Self-loathing has so consumed seventeen-year-old Arman that he believes suicide would be a relief he doesn’t deserve. When Beau, a charismatic older man, invites Arman to his self-help retreat, Armon can only muster up a hesitant hope that this man can cure him of his “diseases.” The remote, isolated retreat and the program’s bizarre rituals unnerve Arma, but the place becomes downright menacing when Beau disappears, Arman wakes up with a head wound and the memory of a wounded and critically bleeding Beau, and the retreat leaders tell Armon that things are fine and/or that he’s probably crazy. The third-person narration regrettably diminishes the effect of Arman’s unreliability as a character; the memory gaps he experiences and his lack of observation become such obvious authorial devices that the plot twists are more banal than intriguing. More interesting are Arman’s battles with his demons; his ceaseless, needling thoughts of self hate and self harm make him genuinely sympathetic, and his instant leap to take on responsibility for Beau’s disappearance is heartbreakingly realistic for a kid who’s convinced he’s to blame for the world’s ills. Secondary characters lack depth but present further commentary on the concepts of morality and mental health. Those themes, if not the plot, could certainly provide fodder for some thoughtful book club discussions.