Book review: "Guts" by Raina Telgemeier
I can’t believe it’s been months since BEA (Book Expo America) and BookCon. I feel as if it was just yesterday when I was running through aisles of Javits Center (or more like limping, tbh) trying to be among the first people in yet another line for yet another autograph session.
One of those sessions was for Raina Telgemeier’s new middle-grade graphic novel “Guts”. I will be frank: I had not heard of or read Raina’s books before I met her. However, later on, I did recall seeing her book “Smile” on the shelves. However, as I read the synopsis of “Guts”, I felt immediately connected to the story.
Synopsis
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?
Review
“Guts” is a lovely story that is based on Raina’s own experiences. Told in a graphic novel format, the topics of mental health and chronic illness would be easily accessible for younger readers. I feel like this book hooked me up from the very first page. I suffer from the anxious gut as well and a lot of situations that Raina describes felt very relatable to me and my own experiences too.
It is so easy to sympathize with Raina and everything that she is going through (school, friends, diets, etc) that I am sure that this book would be much enjoyed and loved by readers of all ages.
I am so happy that I got an opportunity to read “Guts” early and meet Raina. Now I need to read other graphic novels in this series. Highly recommend for schools and library to acquire this book.