Smiling about Smile by Raina Telgemeier

When Raina was in 6th grade, she tripped and fell while racing her friends and ended up knocking out two front teeth.

Raina's mom rushes her off to the dentist and she has to wear something like a cast on her teeth for weeks. Except her teeth don't heal properly and friends start calling her "vampire girl."

This graphic novel is the true account of Raina's ensuing dental drama throughout her junior and high school years--surgeries, braces, head gear and all! Even if you've never had braces (which I haven't), this story has universal appeal. It's about growing up, handling difficult friendships, going to high school, making new friends, and learning to accept and understand yourself. Who can't relate to that?

This is a quick, fun read. The artwork is colorful and full of action. All the panels and action sequences have a good flow and you feel like you've read a complete novel by the time you finish.

As a budding artist, Raina decides she wants to become an animator after seeing Disney's  The Little Mermaid on the big screen during high school. She's now the artist of the Babysitter's Club graphic novel series for Scholastic and X-Men: Misfits. Smile began as a web comic and grew into this book, which she drew and wrote herself. She has plenty to smile about now! Visit her website at http://www.goraina.com/.

Review of Witch & Wizard: Battle for Shadowland

Either you're a James Patterson fan or you're not; that seems to be the case with most people. Side A thinks his books are gripping and creative while Side B finds them predictable and unbearable.

Personally, I'm on Side B! Now, before you Patterson fans attack, let me say that I've given him a fair try. I read When the wind blows in high school (required summer reading) and I've made an honest attempt to read some of the Maximum Ride series. While I've found some of his work to be interesting, the writing itself has never captured my attention. Plus, with 85 gazillion books coming out every month, we know he really isn't writing them all...

I got mildly excited yesterday when I came across this graphic novel because I thought it would give me a chance to experience the, excuse my pun, magic that everyone seems to be enjoying. Sadly, my hopes were dropped the moment I opened to the first page and came across Victor Santos' illustrations. As one person put it in an Amazon.com review, "if you like cartoons, then this is your book." The artwork is cloyingly cartoonish, given the more realistic cover art. For a book aimed at a slightly older generation, childish cartoons just don't fit.

Then there's the names of the main characters: Whit and Wisty Allgood. Is it just me or can you not take someone seriously with silly kiddie names? Maybe Patterson (or whomever is writing for him this week) wanted to distract the reader from the horrible dialogue and dragging panels? Perhaps I am just being too judgemental for not having read the actual novel, Witch & Wizard, so this graphic novel that bridges into the second installment, The Gift, just doesn't make sense to me. Either way, I couldn't even push myself to finish it.

I won't lie when I say I have high standards when it comes to graphic novels. For instance, the simply believable characters and brilliant illustrations in Batwoman: Elegy left me in awe. I urge you to compare the panel layouts between these two! No matter if you're on Side A or Side B, I suggest you pick up Witch & Wizard, graphic novel or book, and find out for yourself.

~~Sean

Reading into the New Year!

Yes, it's time to establish your reading goals for 2011! There's tons of different ways to approach this: for ideas, check out Crete Teens awesome blog post about their reading challenge. Even better, you, along with some of your friends, could create your own annual reading challenge!

Just to get your ideas flowing, here are a few examples of some 2011 online reading challenges:

• Fans of a certain author can participate in this Nicholas Sparks Reading Challenge
• A YA Books reading challenge with levels of participation from "mini" to "mega!"
• Ughhhhrrrrh... a Zombies book challenge
• This Science Book Challenge is as easy as pi...

Read a cartload of books!

So, to make your own reading challenge:

-Think of a theme

-Name your challenge
-Create your rules (start and end date, etc.)
-Come up with a prize (doesn't have to be big)
-Round up some friends!

*Helpful hint: make sure you keep track of your reading, either electronically or the old-fashioned way--by hand... on paper. (A novel idea!)

Ready, set... GO!