Graphic Novel: Smile by Raina Telgemeier

To start this blog off, I am not a graphic novel fan, but thought I would give it a try. I bought a book at the book fair last week and it was one I have seen kids read. The graphic novel is Smile by Raina Telgemeier. The book has been sitting on my couch for the last three days. I finally broke down and read it. I am so glad I gave it a chance. I loved it. Telgemeier tells the story about herself. She is the main character. I am assuming this is a story from her life as a middle school student. The story starts off with Raina knocking her two front teeth out. The story centers around the different things that happen with these teeth. Her friends, if you want to call them that are very "mean girl." They are far from nice and Raina continues to allow them to be apart of her life. However as she goes through her teeth dilemma she starts to realize things aren't really that great for her, but she starts to see things through her experiences. I loved this story because it reminds me of what some students go through. It just makes you realize that kids really do have it rough in their mind because they don't have the skills to cope with it. Also some kids want to grow up faster than others. It is nice to see a character to find themselves and to have a voice. I would recommend this to every teacher to read. Graphic novels remind me of comic books. Comic books remind me of the Archie books I read when I was younger. This book has a purpose and a theme. Students will love this book because it is a quick read, but they could read the pictures too so they can see how the main character reacts to the different things in the story. Love it love it love it.