I may have misspoke earlier in this book project when I declared my dislike of memoirs. Generally - I still am not a big fan, but I find that if the memoir is in the form of a graphic novel, I can be engaged and really like what is being said. SMILE is just the kind of memoir that I can get into!
Set in 1989 in San Francisco, author and illustrator Raina Telegmeier tells the tale of the awkward time in a tween's life when they have to get braces. She wants so badly to be a normal teenager, but after an unfortunate fall she has to get braces! Thus starts the tale of Raina. This lovingly illustrated gem is just as rich in story-telling as it is visually. My daughter raved about the book and devoured it in one sitting (it took me 2)!
Whether you had braces in your youth or not - Raina is very relatable. We all had some awkward moments growing up. The angst and excitement is deftly managed by the author. I am sure the fact that it is her life that we were reading about lent itself to the close editing. Nice touches about the past popped up throughout the book (Nintendo, San Francisco earthquake and even a reference from the 80s show Silver Spoons). They were nice reference points, but did not distract from the overall storytelling.
This is a great book to share with a tween in your life, or even read alone. I got a great chuckle from the story and would gladly read it again!
This week's book presented an interesting challenge for me. At first blush, it is a graphic novel tackling the Superman story - very appealing even though I am not a Superman fan. After getting into the story a bit, I find that it is a memoir...UGH! Memoirs are tough for me. I have friends that say I am just too self-centered to care and others that say I am not the least bit empathetic, making it difficult to relate. Whatever the case - reading a memoir is a less than ideal way for me me to spend my reading time. IT'S A BIRD had a lot of work to do in order to keep me engaged.
Generally I do some pretty good vetting of the books that I read for this project so that I don't run into this problem, but this book was given to me by a friend that knew that I enjoyed graphic novels, but had no knowledge of my dislike of memoirs. So, I cautiously tucked into the book and by the time I reached page four of the gorgeously illustrated (TEDDY KRISTIANSEN) novel I was sucked in and the realization that it was a memoir loomed only slightly in my peripheral vision.
IT'S A BIRD is Steve's story. Told in a mixture of flashbacks and present day, Steve is conflicted about being offered the Superman story. He has never liked the Superman story and feels as if he cannot bring anything to the story. He tries to process all of the things that Superman is supposed to represent - but all he gets is an oppressive super hero that is hiding in plain sight. Not a man to be put up on a pedestal.
Steve is also going through some very personal issues while trying to make this decision. He has a family history of Huntington's Disease and the family does not speak about it. He is obsessed with the thought that he may have the disease, but he keeps it from his friends and his live-in girlfriend. He lives in his head, creating silly scenarios and running away from his issues.
This book has many layers and there is an actual Superman story in here as well. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book and I would highly recommend it to anyone that loves either memoirs or graphic novels.
I know that this may be a surprising choice for my book this week, but when I was a child I was a huge fan of comic books (now often known as graphic novels). So - my daughter and I were out and about a couple of weeks ago and I took her to Atomic Comics where we picked up a copy of the comic version of "The Wizard of Oz". She tore through it in one sitting. I was so excited that she had taken to the format as I had at her age. When I was her age - I read the "Archie" comics as well as the ones produced by Marvel. "Spiderman" was a huge favorite of mine and the young man at the bookstore suggested that this "Spidergirl" book and others in the series might be a good fit for my daughter. What he neglected to tell me was that I would also enjoy the story.
This is not going to be a book that many of you would choose, so I am not going to describe the story, the design, etc. What I will say is this - I love when a book can bring a family together and that is just what this book did for my daughter and I. If you have a child, find something fun that you can both read together, especially if they are older! It is a great bonding experience.
