The queen of graphic novels!

Raina Telgemeier is the most successful comic book artist/writer in the world, and after reading Smile, I can see why. Smile is a graphic biography of a small part of Raina’s life; the moment she fell and knocked out two teeth and ended up needing braces and dental reconstruction.

Smile perfectly describes the anxiety of adolescence, especially as a young girl with pressure to look a certain way. Raina is becoming more and more aware of how her life is changing, from outside appearance to friend groups to boys, and she illustrates these awkward moments of puberty fantastically. The art work is so cartoony and fun, but still realistic enough where I think a young adult could read it and it wouldn’t seem babyish. She’s an incredibly talented author and is able to combine the honesty of adolescence with a good story to entice kids of all ages. It’s funny, it’s cute, and it covers some of the hardest years, 7th grade to 10th, so there’s some relatable growth there. As someone who had braces for YEARS, man did she get the pain of it all down in a great way. Awesome book, I already put all her others on hold!

Title: Smile
Author: Raina Telgemeier
Format: Paperback
Pages: 214
ISBN:  9780545132060

Three Descriptors: Coming of Age, Angsty, Cartoony

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