Smile
One evening after a Girl Scouts meeting in sixth grade, Raina trips on the sidewalk in front of her house and seriously damages her two front teeth. What follows is four and a half years of root canals, braces, retainers, a headgear she has to wear to school, and finally full dentures, during which Raina also has to navigate the cycling betrayals and alliances of middle school, the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, and the ordinary project of figuring out which of her friends are actually her friends. Raina Telgemeier's 2010 graphic memoir, drawn from her childhood dental journals, became one of the foundational titles of modern middle-grade graphic storytelling, and is still handed to kids bracing for their own orthodontia.
Themes & atmosphere
What you might want to know about Smile
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
On the way home from Girl Scouts in sixth grade, Raina trips and knocks out her two front teeth. The graphic memoir follows her through years of braces, retainers, fake teeth, friendships, and middle school.
Yes. Smile is Raina Telgemeier's graphic memoir about her experience with a dental injury in middle school. It launched her career as one of the most popular middle-grade graphic novelists.
Raina Telgemeier has written several connected graphic memoirs and novels, including Smile, Sisters, Guts, and Drama. Each can be read on its own; together they form a coming-of-age arc.
Smile was written by Raina Telgemeier, published in 2000 by The artist.
Smile is a standalone novel by Raina Telgemeier, not part of a series.
Smile is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.