Guts (Smile #3)

by Raina Telgemeier (Author) Raina Telgemeier (Illustrator)

Guts (Smile #3)
Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade
Series: Smile

A true story from Raina Telgemeier, the #1 New York Times bestselling, multiple Eisner Award-winning author of Smile, Sisters, Drama, and Ghosts!

Raina wakes up one night with a terrible upset stomach. Her mom has one, too, so it's probably just a bug. Raina eventually returns to school, where she's dealing with the usual highs and lows: friends, not-friends, and classmates who think the school year is just one long gross-out session. It soon becomes clear that Raina's tummy trouble isn't going away... and it coincides with her worries about food, school, and changing friendships. What's going on?

Raina Telgemeier once again brings us a thoughtful, charming, and funny true story about growing up and gathering the courage to face -- and conquer -- her fears.

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Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

With disarming candor and in her now instantly recognizable panel artwork, Eisner Award-winner Telgemeier weaves a tangle of personal preadolescent traumas into another compelling graphic memoir. A bout of stomach flu and some unpleasant encounters with food create in young Raina's mind a swirling miasma of fear that she'll throw up. This anxiety blights her school days (she freezes during a class presentation with her best friend and lashes out at a bullying schoolmate) and extends into fears about sickness and schoolwork, and frustrations with her raucous household. Telgemeier frames the girl's panic attacks accessibly as sickly circles of green crowded with big, blocky words ("pain drowning choking death bad at math"). Raina's parents take her to see therapist Lauren, who helps her to ground her fears and gain enough emotional strength to reconcile herself to changing friend dynamics, and an IBS diagnosis clarifies the way that mind and body can intertwine. Moments of middle school drama are portrayed with credibility, and the story both normalizes therapy and shows a child developing useful coping mechanisms for anxiety in a way that will reassure, even inspire, readers. Ages 8-12. (Sept.)

Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

Starred Review

Gr 3-6--Telgemeier presents a new story from her childhood, which takes place when she was in the fourth and fifth grades. After her little sister brought home a case of stomach flu, young Raina woke up one night with an upset stomach and had to vomit. Then a boy in her class was made fun of for throwing up at school, and Raina worried about getting sick again. Her anxiety only led to more stomach troubles, and she also dealt with a school bully and a friend moving away. Raina's parents stayed supportive throughout, and they got her into therapy; eventually, she was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome. The subject matter is conveyed realistically but with humor--anxiety can be taken seriously, and farts can still be funny. Telgemeier's art is incredibly expressive, and the green circles that surround Raina will have readers feeling nauseous along with her as her panic intensifies. Especially important is a scene in which Raina's therapist talks her through a grounding technique and deep breathing exercise, giving readers a coping technique that they can use. VERDICT A must. Fans of Smile and Sisters will adore this new story starring Raina and her family, but newcomers to Telgemeier's work will also love Guts.-Kacy Helwick, New Orleans Public Library

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes



omg this book is so amazing

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this book is soso good

you should read this book

Raina Telgemeier
Raina Telgemeier is the #1 New York Times bestselling, multiple Eisner Award-winning creator of Smile, Sisters, and Guts, which are all graphic memoirs based on her childhood. She is also the creator of Drama and Ghosts, and is the adapter and illustrator of the first four Baby-sitters Club graphic novels. Raina lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. To learn more, visit her online at goraina.com.
Classification
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9780545852500
Lexile Measure
480
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Graphix
Publication date
September 17, 2019
Series
Smile
BISAC categories
JNF050000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | School & Education
JNF053050 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Social Topics | Emotions & Feelings
JNF053060 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Social Topics | Friendship
JNF053010 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Social Topics | Adolescence
JNF062040 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Comics & Graphic Novels | Social Topics
Library of Congress categories
Childhood and youth
Children
Diseases
Fear
Cartoons and comics
Comics (Graphic works)
Nonfiction comics
Fear in children
Anxiety
Telgemeier, Raina
Physiology
Stress in children
Anxiety in children
Stomach
Stress

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