Saturday, December 7, 2013

diane recommends Smile by Raina Telgemeier

I love this book. It is a really melodramatic book that shows getting braces and growing up in a way that only a graphic novel could show.

Raina is an eleven year old girl who trips and knocks out her front teeth. She then goes from "dontist" to "donist" as they try to figure out how to fix it. The problem is, she is just a normal teenager, she is having friend problems, her body is changing, and she is having boy drama. Things keep going badly until her sophomore year when her braces come off, and she gets new friends.

This book is based on true account from Raina Telgemeier's teenage years, and it is funny especially if you have had, or currently have, braces. She puts the sounds, the pain, and the embarrassment of having braces in the book. One of my favorite parts is when she is getting her mold for her teeth, (You can see those pages here.) and when she gets her braces off. If you have ever been a teenager, you see it through her all over again as you experience heart break, friend loss, and braces with Raina.

And, you can see the first part of the book where she trips here.

Smile
by Raina Telgemeier
published by Graphix
February 2010
Recommended for ages 11-14

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