My kid is a big fan of Raina Telgemeier, so I figured I should do my due dilligence, and I’m happy to report that this is just as good as people say — a memoir about getting A LOT of dental work that is also about feeling self-conscious and figuring out the social world of junior high and beyond. I especially appreciated the sub-plot about a group of friends who were increasingly mean but would gaslight Raina and tell her she was being overly sensitive or uptight when she protested, until she finally stood up to them and found other, kinder friends.
I thought it was amusing to follow it up with another dental-themed book that I randomly picked up from the library, a graphic novel for adults called Everything is Teeth, which also turned out to be a memoir, this one about a girl obsessed with sharks who was also navigating rising levels of anxiety and complicated family dynamics. Being a book for adults, it was far more subtle than Smile, and more pervasively melancholy. I wonder if this is a more faithful evocation of the anxiety and sadness kids experience that Telgemeier’s more affable version — a question that’s been on my mind as my sweet baby heads into tween territory and various complex big feelings…
Kasia Reads 