preteen issues.
acne.
piercings.
first crush.
major dental surgery.

Wait? What!

That's right. Raina Telgemeier crafts a wonderful coming of age tale. The story opens with the character Raina's big life events: losing her two front teeth and getting braces.

Raina runs the typical traps of middle school: first crushes and frenemies while dealing with her epic dental journey. Yes, you heard me. Dental journey. Braces, head gear, retainers, fake teeth, root canals. All of these ingredients make for a tale about growing up, learning to be yourself and, yes, the search for perfect teeth.

Fun Fact: My first Telgemeier work was Ghosts followed by Smile.

Fun Fact II: Also, it doesn't surprise me that she adapted The Baby sitter's Club to graphic novesl and even co-authored X-men: Misfits.

Yep, I am already drawing up a wish list for Christmas.