GNW: Smile by Raina Telgemeier

Sixth grade isn't known for being an easy time in anyone's life. In Raina's case, that is especially true. When she knocks out her very permanent two front teeth while running with some friends, she is whisked into a nightmarish sequence of visits to the dentist, orthodontist, periodontist, and all those other "dentists" who can help her get her mouth back to normal.

In Smile, Raina Telgemeier takes us back to that awkward stage in her life where dental drama wasn't the only drama in her life and worrying about her teeth was simply added to worrying about boys and whether or not she was wearing the right clothes.

Smile is an autobiographical graphic novel in which Raina tells her story and draws us all back to a time when awkwardness was our overwhelming concern and nothing ever seemed to go the way we expected.

After falling in love with Drama, I was more than a little excited when I spotted Smile on the shelf of my local B&N. I snatched it up immediately and fell in love almost as quickly. As a girl who spent nearly four years of her life in braces and took a couple of trips to the periodontist, this graphic novel really drew me back to that time and gave me the chance to laugh at all those dental disasters I thought I would never make it through. 

Smile was a wonderful story about growing up and growing into your awkwardness, bringing the reader back to a time where the worst thing that could happen was that you looked a little geeky. I really enjoyed it from beginning to end. Whether you're just entering this awkward stage yourself or those years are long behind you, I'd absolutely suggest picking up this lovely graphic novel. You won't be sorry.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Harry, A History by Melissa Anelli

All of us led other lives, with work and school and families who didn't understand how we could love anything as much as we loved Harry Potter, who even, at times, made fun of us for devoting so much time and energy to it- but then would spend six hours shouting themselves hoarse at a football match, and five after that shouting themselves hoarse at each other as they discussed the same game.

I picked up Harry, A History at LeakyCon when I attended last year. The author, Melissa Anelli, runs the convention and I'd heard her speak a few times (and even met her once) when I saw this in the LeakyCon bookstore. I figured it was worth a read and added it to the stack books I had in my arms at the time.

I still hadn't managed to read it a few weeks ago when I was getting reading to go visit my family. It was about that time that news got out about the stalking case going on with Melissa Anelli. To make a long story short, Melissa has been stalked for the past five years by a mentally unstable woman who has threatened both her, her family, and her friends. Though this has been an open case for a while, no justice has been brought to the situation yet.

There isn't much of anything I can do personally for this lovely author, but I wanted to show some sort of solidarity with her. I wanted to show, in some small way, that I support her and my thoughts and prayers go out to her in this rough time. So I yanked this book off the shelf, settled it into my carry-on, and spent most of my ten hour plane ride tearing through it.

In Harry, A History, Melissa Anelli documents the Harry Potter movement, showing the numerous ways it impacted a generation and launched more than a few people into following their dreams and making the difference they had always hoped to make in this world.

Anelli tells her own story of falling in love with the Harry Potter series, all the while weaving in the stories of the people she has met- from the brothers who started the band "Harry and the Potters" and thus started the Wizard Rock (WROCK) genre to telling us about the popular Draco Malfoy fan fiction written by Cassandra Claire (who now goes by Cassandra Clare and is the author of the Mortal Instruments series, with its first movie adaptation coming out in the fall). She even takes a full chapter to  detail how she met with Laura Mallory, one of the top spokespersons for the banning of Harry Potter in the United States.

This book was incredibly interesting. As someone who really only entered the Harry Potter fandom about two years ago, I really missed out on a lot of the excitement of waiting anxiously for the release of each new book. The closest I managed was seeing the Deathly Hallows Part 2 on the night of the release (and I hadn't even read the books yet!). I really enjoyed having Melissa Anelli take me back to when Harry Potter was a bit more underground and not that book series that nearly everyone has read by now. She let me experience that excitement and that thrill with her.

If you're a fan of Harry Potter or even want to see what all the chatter is about, I definitely suggest that you give this book a chance. It's absolutely worth it and will draw you in from page one.

Rating: ★★★★★

What does [J.K. Rowling] hope people will take with them about this time?
She pauses, but the answer is right on her tongue.
"When all the fuss and hoopla dies away, and when all the press commentary dies away, I think it will be seen that this phenomenon was generated, in the first instance, by kids loving a book. A book went on shelves, and a few people loved it. When all of the smoke and lights die away, that's what you'll be left with. 
"And that's the most wonderful thing for an author."

Make Good Art by Neil Gaiman

So be wise, because the world needs more wisdom, and if you cannot be wise, pretend to be someone who is wise, and then behave just as they would.

I am certain that, when Neil Gaiman stood up in front of the Philadelphia University of the Arts graduating class to give this speech, he didn't expect it to be made into a book. However, like many of the things Mr. Gaiman finds himself doing, it proved to be inspirational. It garnered enough attention and praise that it was decided that they would make it into a rather short book, one that was designed by graphic artist Chip Kidd and mass produced. Whoever made that executive decision deserves a round of applause.

Neil Gaiman's Make Good Art is short enough that it didn't need page numbers and can be devoured in one twenty minute sitting. It's packed to the brim with good advice and lessons in growing up from a man known for his creativity and ingenuity. And don't even get me started on the visual degree of pleasure the reader receives from Chip Kidd's typography and color theory.

All in all, this is one of those short volumes that I will very likely be revisiting frequently in the years to come. It is a visual and intellectual feast that I cannot praise enough. You will close the book feeling satisfied and inspired, itching to tackle the scary yet beautiful life ahead of you.

Rating: ~★★★★★~

Make 
interesting 
amazing
glorious
fantastic 
mistakes.
Break rules.
Leave the world more interesting for your being here.

The Burn Journals by Brent Runyon

I know that darkness is the absence of light, but where does the light go when it's not here? And how do you know if it'll ever come back?

Picked up this volume in the Non-Fiction shelf in the YA section at my library. It seemed interesting and I really enjoy interesting memoirs, so I figured I'd give this one a shot.

Let me just go ahead and inform you: as soon as I finished, I found The Burn Journals on the Book Depository and bought it immediately. That's how much I enjoyed this book.

When he was fourteen years-old, Brent Runyon got in trouble at school for accidentally setting something on fire. When he got home from school, he went to his bathroom, doused his bathroom in gasoline, and set himself on fire. Brent survived his suicide attempt, but not without burning 85% of his body and spending over nine months in the hospital.

In The Burn Journals, Brent Runyon gives us a first-hand account of his healing process. The reader receives the chance to take a look inside his head as he comes to terms with what he's done and begins to realize his own warped way of seeing things. Runyon brings the reader in, giving us fascinating insight into the mind of a depressed fourteen year-old boy who only wanted to be happy.

If I could describe this memoir in one word, that word would be "fascinating." I cannot tell you how deeply enthralled I was with this book. I really did enjoy getting to see inside the mind of Brent Runyon at such a vulnerable time and, though I'm sure it was hard for him, I couldn't be more thankful to him for writing it.

The Burn Journals is an important book for many reasons. I'm honestly quite sad that I hadn't heard of it before now. I think it addresses a deeply important issue and a prominent mental illness that too often goes right under the radar. Nearly everyone I know, including myself, has undergone some type of battle with depression and it seems like everyone is scared to address that. However, Runyon handles it with a finesse that I cannot praise enough.

One of my favorite things about the way he handles it is the fact that the reader gets to see exactly what was going on behind the closed doors of his mind through various stages of his struggle. It is absolutely insane how well the reader can see the various little bits that show just how warped his thinking was, and yet it is warped in a way that it's clear he thinks is normal and you can absolutely understand how he would think that.

All in all, it was a fabulous book and one I'll be suggesting frequently to as many people as I can manage from now on!

Rating: ~★★★★★~

I'm standing in the closet with my head in the shirts. I can't stop crying. I can't stop.
"You're asking me all the wrong questions." Why don't they love me? Why don't they take care of me? Why don't they act like I'm their son? The tears are all over my face and I can taste them in my mouth, like salt water, but I can't stop crying. I can't stop crying. I can't believe how little they know me.