Smile

Telgemeier, Raina. (2010). Smile. Graphix. Raina is in junior high when she knocks out her two front teeth. It is 4 years of dental turmoil and orthodontia nightmares.  To make things worse her friends make fun of her. She realizes that they are not friends at all and confronts them after she has had enough. As she moves into high school she finds her groove and good friends who support her.  This is a memoir by Raina Telgemeier through the work of a graphic novel what she also illustrated as she is a cartoonist. While the character is in middle school into high school, it is so endearing that any age can read the novel and get something amazing from the story. This would be a great book club read. This story is a memoir of autobiographical nature in a graphic novel format which is amazing! It is also a great book to booktalk because there are so many themes that you can run with in this book from coming of age, fitting in, developing an appreciation of self and standing up to bullies.