Book Review: Smile

My daughter is a prolific reader.  She seems to gobble up books as though they might be gone tomorrow.  This is both awesome and troubling at the same time.  It is awesome to have a child that I don't have to ask to read.  She gets to read about experiences that she'll never have and learn some good lessons.  Hopefully this will help her to not have to experience some of these lessons in real life.  The troubling part is beginning to be finding books that have challenging vocabulary but the content is appropriate.  I don't have time to read as much as she does, so I can't pre-read everything that she does.  I have to rely on librarians, teachers, and reviews to know what is good for her to read.  We made it to the public library today and she checked out 20 books.  I have set aside 3 of them to read myself to ensure the content is appropriate.  To help others that are facing a similar "problem" I have asked her to begin writing reviews of the books she's reading.  Hopefully this will help you know whether a book will work for your child!

Title: Smile

Author: Raina Telgemier

Pages: 214

Chapters: 8

Age Read: Late 8, 3rd grade

Short Summary: Raina is a loving girl who injures herself and wonders could this ruin her life? After she is treated for it she realizes that injuries can be fixed. Raina starts out as a sixth grader and ends up in high school.

Review: Smile is a wonderful book, both serious and funny. Smile is written as a graphic novel. It has great content and is a quick read. Raina is a caring and loving character, but when her friends turn on her and she's on her own, it starts to get ugly. Raina learns 2 very important lessons: 1. It doesn't matter what others think, it only matters what you think of yourself.  2. It doesn't matter how you look, it only matters how you feel. Others don't get to choose how you feel, you do. I rate Smile as a 5 star book. I hope you read and enjoy the book Smile!