Smile by Raina Telgemeier is a story about the author herself and growing up as a teen. This is an autobiography about moments of Telgemeier’s life that made her feel happy, embarrassed, sad, in love, angry, almost every emotion you can think of. This book was very entertaining and written well, and funny to read which made this book a comfort book for me.
Synopsis :
This autobiography is about Raina Telgemeier with her dental problems as a teenager, and balancing that out with her academic and social life. She went through many stages of dental work, such as braces, headgear, and surgery. The other side of her teenage life was friendships, crushes, school, family, and relationships. This book shows the true colors of Telgemeier and her experiences as a teenager.
Review:
Being familiar with Telgemeier’s writing, she usually writes in a first-person narrative. It is written from her point of view and memories from her past that made this book come to life. The writing was descriptive, yet minimal, and quite easy to follow. This same story could be written in other styles, but the first person narrative seemed right.
The characters were my favorite part of the story. They were drawn, colored, and written very nicely and most had a great personality! Raina Telgemeier herself was a great character, but her parents, friends, classmates, and side characters were fun to read about. They all were relatable, and it was fun to see Telgemeier grow up and start maturing throughout the story. It is also better to know that most of the characters are based off of real people!
The main themes in Smile were friendship and self-acceptance. Friendship was mentioned throughout the story. Friendships ended, friendships blossomed, and friendships started. For Raina Telgemeier, that was a lot for her to endure. But she managed to get through it. Self-acceptance was a tough one for her. Many times she felt she was to ugly, and her scenarios where she looked flawless and gorgeous were far from being true. Her friends at times would be supportive and that would make her feel even more bad about herself, but she was able to stand up for herself and that made her feel great. Braces did not help with self confidence, so Telgemeier had to learn to mature and get over it. That was noticeable growth.
Raina is a teenage girl who struggles with dental issues and social issues. Real friends are hard to make, bullying is difficult to handle, and being the oldest in the family isn’t fun. The dental trauma was the main thing in this book, and that shaped everything about Telgemeier. At times, the story could be quite predictable, but it is very original which is a primary reason I love this book.
What I liked most about this book was that it was an autobiography. I love autobiographies, especially written in graphic novel form which makes the book fun to read!
Something I didn’t like about the book was the pacing. It could have been faster and focused more on the bigger events than smaller, and it tended to be slow. Since the plot mostly follows everyday life events, it could seem repetitive or uninteresting at times.
My overall impression of this book was very nice. It is a fun read and entertaining! For people who like drama, autobiographies, and graphic novels, you will find this book to be enjoyable! If you like this book, similar books are Sisters by Raina Telgemeier, Guts by Raina Telgemeier, and Drama by Raina Telgemeier.
Rating
I would give this book:📚📚📚📚📚– a fun, enjoyable graphic novel! (5/5)
Love, Smaya
GFB Ambassador