When we went to the National Book Festival this year, my
sister and I wandered into a tent where Telgemeier was speaking. I knew that she did comics, but that was
about it. Her talk ended up being the
highlight of the festival for us. She
was funny and affable, and I resolved to read her book as soon as I could.
Smile is the story
of Telgemeier’s dental trauma that occurs after she falls on her face in the
sixth grade. She endures five years of
painful surgeries, implants, and braces to try and correct the damage done to
her teeth. Of course she also has the
normal teenage awkwardness to reckon with on top of her embarrassment over her
odd teeth.
This was a fun read; I can see why it has hit a chord with a
lot of young women. I actually related
to this story a lot because I had a very similar experience with my teeth when
I was in third grade and had to spend almost as much time with dentists,
orthodontists, and oral surgeons as Telgemeier did. This is a great book for preteens, or anyone
else really—it’s very cute and funny.
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