Guts By Raina Telgemeier

 



Graphic Novel

Guts written and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier. Published by Graphix (2019)

This is the third graphic memoir Raina has written. This installation deals with Raina's increasing anxiety and stomach aches during her fourth and fifth grade years of school. Raina finds ways to cope with the anxiety, but as she notes in her author's note, both the anxiety and stomach issues are an ever-present part of her life.

Raina Telgemeier is a bit of a trailblazer in the children's comics/graphic novel scene. Within the format, she has become an expert in expressing emotions on character's faces, and in this novel it is hard not to at least sympathize with Raina when her character is surrounded by a sickly green aura that seems to crush her and make her grit her teeth (23). This is her latest book, and even 4 years later it is still a book that is unlikely to sit on the shelf. I really like Guts because it may give some kids the means to communicate what they may be feeling in their bodies, offers some coping techniques, and de-stigmatizes talking about issues we may have with out bodies. 

I run a graphic novel club, and this could certainly be a pick for the future. I think for the foreseeable future, most kids are already reading Raina's amazing work, and it would be hard enough to find enough copies available to read with a larger group, but I really like the book and would love to revisit it and really talk with kids about what they got out of the book. Another idea would be a graphic medicine display with other graphic novels that deal with medical/healthcare issues; I could include El Deafo, Real Friends, Stargazing, The Baby-Sitters Club: The Truth About Stacey, etc.


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