#79 Smile by Raina Telgemeier
It's almost impossible to go through life these days without going though some major dental experience, whether that be braces, or getting 
your wisdom teeth pulled. Few people can measure up to Raina Telgemeier. On her way home from a girl scout troop meeting, Raina trips and falls. One of her front teeth is knocked out, the other is shoved up and trapped in her gums. Thus begins Raina's adventure though dental trauma, a life of oral surgery, false teeth, braces, headgear, and elastics. Throughout this time, Raina also experiences the transformation of adolescence and she grows from middle to high school.
Smile is an autobiographic graphic novel intended for a middle grade audience. One thing that really impressed me about Smile is how easy Raina is to relate to. As someone that went though adolescence with braces (including elastics, headgear, and those annoying springs they shove between your teeth), I could sympathize with Raina's plight, even if my experiences were a little more typical. The author also does a great job describing adolescence. Not all readers will have grown up playing Nintendo (a little before my time as well), but her experiences involving friends, boys, and body issues, should make Raina easy to relate to if you're a girl or woman who's been through middle school. Raina's struggles may also be comforting, to young girls who are either in middle school or are about to make the plunge.
Telgemeier is both the writer and the artist for this graphic novel. The artwork is simple, but really effective. I enjoyed the bright colors and the way that character's faces portrayed expressions. I also appreciated how the artist dealt with the subject of aging. The main character begins this journey in sixth grade and ends at the beginning of high school. This is a time when girls go through a lot of changes, and I'm glad that these changes were expressed subtly. Another thing worth mentioning is I appreciated that the author didn't appear to change the story of her life to make it a more typical tale of adolescence. There were a few instances where I thought she was going to do that, and I was happy that she didn't.
Smile is a great selection for people who appreciated middle-grade graphic novels, as well as people who have been through the traumatic experience of adolescence. I'm glad that I ended up picking it up.
Rating: four and a half stars
Length: 224 pages
Source: Readfield Community Library
Other books I've read by this author: this is my first
Next I'll be reviewing Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
xposted to temporaryworlds, bookish, and goodreads
your wisdom teeth pulled. Few people can measure up to Raina Telgemeier. On her way home from a girl scout troop meeting, Raina trips and falls. One of her front teeth is knocked out, the other is shoved up and trapped in her gums. Thus begins Raina's adventure though dental trauma, a life of oral surgery, false teeth, braces, headgear, and elastics. Throughout this time, Raina also experiences the transformation of adolescence and she grows from middle to high school.
Smile is an autobiographic graphic novel intended for a middle grade audience. One thing that really impressed me about Smile is how easy Raina is to relate to. As someone that went though adolescence with braces (including elastics, headgear, and those annoying springs they shove between your teeth), I could sympathize with Raina's plight, even if my experiences were a little more typical. The author also does a great job describing adolescence. Not all readers will have grown up playing Nintendo (a little before my time as well), but her experiences involving friends, boys, and body issues, should make Raina easy to relate to if you're a girl or woman who's been through middle school. Raina's struggles may also be comforting, to young girls who are either in middle school or are about to make the plunge.
Telgemeier is both the writer and the artist for this graphic novel. The artwork is simple, but really effective. I enjoyed the bright colors and the way that character's faces portrayed expressions. I also appreciated how the artist dealt with the subject of aging. The main character begins this journey in sixth grade and ends at the beginning of high school. This is a time when girls go through a lot of changes, and I'm glad that these changes were expressed subtly. Another thing worth mentioning is I appreciated that the author didn't appear to change the story of her life to make it a more typical tale of adolescence. There were a few instances where I thought she was going to do that, and I was happy that she didn't.
Smile is a great selection for people who appreciated middle-grade graphic novels, as well as people who have been through the traumatic experience of adolescence. I'm glad that I ended up picking it up.
Rating: four and a half stars
Length: 224 pages
Source: Readfield Community Library
Other books I've read by this author: this is my first
Next I'll be reviewing Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
xposted to temporaryworlds, bookish, and goodreads