Smile A Graphic Novel Raina Telgemeier

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SmileA Graphic NovelRaina Telgemeier

Think back to middle school: the mounds of homework, the excitement of crushes, and the changes of puberty. Imagine that on top of all of this, a face-first tumble onto the pavement has lodged your two front teeth higher into your mouth and you’ll need years of dental work to correct it. This is what happened to comic artist Raina Telgemeier, who recounts her middle school years in her autobiographical graphic novel, Smile. Through her exploration of adolescence, self-consciousness, and the horrors of dental work, Telgemeier sends an uplifting message: that you can achieve confidence by focusing less on your appearance and more on your interests.

In this guide, we’ll take you through Telgemeier’s middle school years and dental struggles. In our commentary, we’ll connect the book’s themes to research on adolescence. Furthermore, we’ll offer strategies for applying the book’s themes to your everyday life, whether you’re a parent of an adolescent, someone who works with adolescents, or an adult seeking to reflect on your own relationship with your appearance.

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