It Started with a Smile

I recently read two new graphic novels: Awkward and Brave. Both of these stories feature the same group of characters in a middle school setting, and I started thinking about all the graphic novels that have come out in the past few years that focus on the middle school experience. Although these two stories are not true in the way that a memoir is, they were so authentically written that I am sure the author Svetlana Chmakova, must have tapped into her own memories at least a little bit.

Since Raina Telgemeier's book Smile was published seven years ago, there has been a wave of read-alikes flooding the publisher magazines and bookshelves. I do not mean "read alike" in a negative sense, I mean that in a good way because these books were obviously needed! Not just by current middle schoolers, but by readers my own age who are still reflecting back on our own school experiences.

Let's take a quick look at some of these books:

 

Smile was released in 2010, and Telgemeier penned a companion to it which was published in 2014. Both books depict Raina's childhood and adolescence, although Smile deals with dental drama and social challenges whereas the companion is more about her family.

Like Smile, Cece Bell's El Deafo (2014) follows the main character as she navigates childhood and adolescence with a physical challenge; in this case, her hearing loss. Her hearing loss affects her school work and development, and wearing cumbersome hearing aids impedes her social life.

In 2015, readers got a look into the underground sport of roller derby through Victoria Jamieson's Roller Girl. Jamieson herself maintains a not-so-secret identity as Winnie the Pow in her local roller derby league.

  

Sunny Side Up is Jennifer Holm's 2015 story based on true events in her childhood involving her older brother's struggle with drugs. The conflict of loving someone, yet also hating them sometimes because of the hurt they cause, is presented realistically, yet sensitively and in an age appropriate way. This year's sequel, Swing It Sunny, picks up where the story left off.

This year also introduced me to the graphic novel Real Friends by Shannon Hale (illustrated by LeYuen Pham). Like Sunny and Raina, young Shannon also suffered with difficult family issues, and endured more than her fair share of bullying and social alienation. I blogged about this book last June, when I first read it.

Next on my reading list are: