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awesomeisme - We have this book in the library, I've read it 5 times and I'm still not bored of it! I'm going to ask for it on my birthday. Here is a review for those who haven't read it: Raina is getting braces and is not looking forward to it. So at girls scout camp she asks her friends that have braces what it's like. When Raina gets home with her friends (they're carpooling) they have a race to the front door. Raina almost catches up to one of them and grabs them by the back, but then her hand slips and she falls face down in the cement. She thinks shes okay until she sees a trail of blood and finds one of her front tooth in the blood. Raina's parents come out and help Raina into the house and try to search for the other tooth, but they can't find it. They go to the dentist and the dentist finds the other tooth pushed up in the gum. He pulls it down and puts the fallen tooth in place. Then he puts a thing over the two teeth to keep it in place and safe. The next week they take the thing down, but it pushed the 2 teeth up so she looked like a vampire. All her friends at school call her vampire girl. Soon Raina got braces on her two front teeth. After a few days Raina got to take those braces down and the dentist pulled out her two front teeth and got a retainer with 2 fake teeth attached to it. After the retainer Raina got two fake teeth and she got braces. In 7th grade she starts to like a boy that's a 6th grade in music class, but after the Valentine dance that Raina went to, but started to feel weird and went home. They haven't talked since then. Soon Raina started liking Sten. A good basket ball player and artist. So started wanting to try basket ball. She didn't make it, which is good cause she wouldn't want to break her teeth again. It's almost Raina's birthday and Raina wants earrings. When Raina goes to the dentist again to take out the fake tooth, he sees that Raina has a lot of gum damage so she has to go to another type of dentist that a forgot the name, but you can find it in the book. It hurt a lot! When Raina was done she looked it the mirror. There was a lot of bruses on her gums and faints. Raina's mom gets angery cause they did stuff she didn't want them to do. Soon Raina got braces again. On her birthday party everyone gave her earings. Durrying the sleep over part of the party Raina's friends trick Raina into thinking tehey asked Sten what he likes and they give Raina a makeover. Soon Raina finds out it was all a joke. A week later she got her ears pierced and it didn't even hurt! It makes her feel like a real teenager. Near the end of the year Raina's friends hand boyfriends that will invite other friends so they would eat with lots of boys. Soon Raina is invited to a party. When they lay spin the bottle, Raina passes. Then it's summer again. Raina went to vist her Grandma in china, play video games, last year of being camp leader, and braces geting tightened. Soon little hooks were attached on to 2 of the braces and a rubber band would go across which will slowly push the teeth together and cover the gap. when Raina gets to school she actedentlly spills her braces equitment and her friend start teasing her that shes trying to hid her dog breath. When Raina buys something from the vending machine her friends pull down her skirt infront of everyone. Raina runs to the bathroom and start crying. Her friends come to cheer her up, but she is still angry. When Raina walks out the 2 other friends who pulled down her skirt sre waiting for her to cry. Raina starts saying she is not a vampier or a dog. She breaks up with her friends and storm off. Durring PE she is happy she and run...

December 7, 2009
A charming addition to the body of young adult literature that focuses on the trials and tribulations of the slightly nerdy girl. Telgemeier's autobiographical tale follows her from sixth grade, when her two front teeth are knocked out during a fluke accident, through high school, when, her teeth repaired, she bids good-bye to her childhood dentist. Like heroines stretching from Madeleine L'Engle's Vicky Austin through Judy Blume's Margaret to Mariko and Jillian Tamaki's Skim, Raina must navigate the confusing world of adolescence while keeping her sense of self intact. Many of her experiences are familiar, from unrequited crushes to betrayals by friends to embarrassing fashion choices. The dramatic story of her teeth, however, adds a fresh twist, as does her family's experience during the San Francisco earthquake in 1989. Although the ending is slightly pedantic, Telgemeier thoughtfully depicts her simultaneous feelings of exasperation and love toward her parents, as well as her joy at developing her artistic talent—she's deft at illustrating her characters' emotions in a dynamic, playful style. This book should appeal to tweens looking for a story that reflects their fears and experiences and gives them hope that things get easier. Ages 9–13.

March 1, 2010
Gr 5 Up-When she was in sixth grade, Telgemeier tripped while running and lost her two front teeth. In the years that followed, she went through a torturous series of dental surgeries and repairs, the trauma of which was mirrored by the social struggles she experienced during her adolescence. A minor complaint is that there is no mention of when all of this took place, and readers may be puzzled by seeming anachronisms such as old-school Nintendo games. Telgemeier's full-color artwork is confident and light, and her storytelling is appropriately paced. This straightforward and entertaining autobiographical comic is sure to please."Douglas P. Davey, Halton Hills Public Library, Ontario, Canada"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2009
Grades 5-8 The dental case that Telgemeier documents in this graphic memoir was extreme: a random accident led to front tooth loss when she was 12, and over the next several years, she suffered through surgery, implants, headgear, false teeth, and a rearrangement of her remaining incisors. Accompanying the physical treatment came social rough spots with friends, while puberty delivered another set of curveballs with crushes, maturing bodies, and changing family expectations and judgments. Both adults and kidsincluding various dental professionals and younger siblingsare vividly and rapidly portrayed, giving quick access to the memoirists world. Telgemeiers storytelling and full-color cartoony images form a story that will cheer and inspire any middle-schooler dealing with orthodontia. At the same time, she shows how her early career choice as an animator took root during this difficult periodoffering yet another gentle reminder that things have turned out fine for the author and can for her reader as well.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)