Most people who read this blog will know that I mostly read superhero comics, published by the “big two”. But there are certainly exceptions to that. I’ve also read a lot of non-superhero books, published by Image and Vertigo. And on this very blog I have dedicated posts to books like Lumberjanes (https://comicgeek76.com/2018/07/24/why-you-should-read-lumberjanes-too/) and Jeff Smith’s Bone (https://comicgeek76.com/2018/05/24/why-jeff-smiths-bone-is-awesome/), because I really love those books. They are more light hearted and also suitable for younger readers, which makes for a whole different reading experience. And that’s why I’d like to talk about a couple of Raina Telgemeier’s books today.
These last few weeks have been pretty intense for us geeks. With Avengers Endgame in theaters, the final season of Game of Thrones on TV and Marvel’s War of the Realms event running through their comics, there was a lot of excitement going on. So this past weekend I decided to take it easy and spend some time reading something less thrilling and violent. Someone suggested Raina Telgemeier’s Smile graphic novel to me a while ago, so I finally sat down and read it.
Smile is a autobiographical story about Raina’s early teens, where she knocked her two front teeth out, when she fell down while she was running. The story takes you through all the dental surgery, braces and prostheses, while Raina is dealing with all the regular stuff that a girl her age has to deal with. School, boys, siblings, insecurities etc. And constantly having work done on your teeth and wearing braces all the time sure doesn’t make it easier. Even though I’m a guy and never had to wear braces as a kid, I could still relate to a lot of the things that were going on in the book.
The second book I read was Sisters. It’s once again an autobiographical book, but this one focusses on Raina’s relationship with her little sister, Amara. The book constantly switches between flashbacks, from when Raina and Amara were younger, to a road trip with their mom and little brother in an old van. I grew up with a sister who is 5 years older myself, so there definitely were some moments I could relate to. There is a bunch of really funny stuff in there that actually had me laughing out loud and the ending is just beautiful.
So while I was at it, I started reading Drama as well the next day. Drama is a fictional story about Callie, who is involved with a theater production at her school. Because she’s not a very good singer herself, she becomes part of the stage crew and hangs out with the other kids that are working on the production. Like in Smile, you see Callie go through all the usual stuff that a girl in her early teens go through, but there’s also a lot of nice character development with the supporting cast. About halfway through the story, I kind of got the impression that the story wasn’t really going anywhere, but then the ending made it all worthwhile again.
And finally I read Ghosts as well. Ghosts is the story of Cat (Catrina), who moves to the coastal town of Bahía de la Luna with her family, because her little sister, Maya, has cystic fibrosis and the air, that blows in from the sea, will be good for her. Not only is Cat having trouble getting used to her new home town and the people living there, but the town also appears to be visited by ghosts on a regular basis. This makes for some very funny, but also very touching situations and I had a great time reading this book.
So there you have it. I read all four books in one weekend and I have to admit that I’ve become a fan of Miss Telgemeier’s work. The stories are fun and touching and I really like her artwork. The books are published by Scholastic and are definitely suited for young readers, but you can certainly enjoy them as an adult as well. I did anyway and I can’t wait for her new book, Guts, to come out in september.
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