"Smile" by Raina Telgemeier

224 pages

When Raina is in sixth grade, everything starts to go wrong with her teeth. First, she learns that she needs to get braces to straighten her pearly whites and correct her overbite. Then she has an accident and knocks out her two front teeth, resulting in even more dental work. All of the ongoing issues with her teeth make her even more self conscious as she tries to get used to the growing-up thing. She doesn't feel like she fits in with her friends, she's got boy drama going on, and she's stressed about zits and frizzy hair. As time goes by, Raina starts to figure out how to be comfortable in her own skin.

This graphic novel is cute, but nothing about it really stands out. There's just not a lot going on in the story. If it hadn't been in comic format, it wouldn't have held my interest very long. One the other hand, Raina is definitely a character that many readers will relate to. A lot of young teens will connect to her and be comforted by her, while she will remind older readers of their own adolescence. The message conveyed by the story is good and one that many people--young and old--need to hear, but it doesn't hit you over the head with it.