Guts Book Review

 














Guts

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Telgemeier, R. (2019). Guts. Graphix. ISBN: 978-1-72542-613-9

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

Raina is in 4th grade navigating the world around her. A bout of the stomach bug leads to anxiety and worry that certain foods will make her sick again. When it begins to affect all aspects of her life, her parents have her start therapy. She copes with making comics of her life. When an enemy is hospitalized, Raina realizes that she has stomach issues like her and has a change of heart. Armed with relaxation techniques and medicine, she is ready to tackle middle school. 


3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Raina is the main character and is very relatable to tween girls. She has friendships and arguments just as a typical girl that age. The plot is believable as a typical girl growing up. She has siblings and parents who are all crammed into a small apartment. She battles with stomach issues and anxiety which readers can feel seen with similar ailments. The setting is Raina’s apartment, school, and her therapist’s office. The illustrations are detailed just enough to depict the scenes in a meaningful way. The theme is navigating mental and physical ailments. Readers who suffer from those ailments will feel a sense of belonging to a “club”. The style is authentic to Raina’s life as she is the author telling her story. She is open about her IBS and anxiety struggles. The illustrations and words change when her anxiety is rising. These components are vital for true experiences felt by Raina. Guts has several starred reviews from several journals. 



4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Booklist (June 1, 2019 (Vol. 115, No. 19))

Grades 3-6. After a particularly bad bout of the flu in fourth grade, Raina keeps having stomach aches and intense feelings about food and germs. The thought of being near a sick person sends her into a panic, and conflicts among her friends at school and embarrassment about bodily functions in general certainly don’t help matters. In this third graphic memoir, Telgemeier describes her childhood anxiety in an approachable, nonjudgmental way and emphasizes how useful talk therapy can be. Her depiction of her spiraling anxious thoughts, often in noxious greens and crowded by negative self-talk in bulky fonts, nicely show both how isolating anxiety can feel and how physical it can be. Telgemeier’s particular talent for rendering evocative facial expressions with only a few carefully placed marks makes the pain, worry, and panic in Raina’s face and body language unmistakable. As in Smile (2009) and Sisters (2014), Telgemeier gets to the heart of middle-school experiences, from the playground jokes to the minefield of shifting friendships, and the many, many fans of her work will be enchanted by this as well.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Telgemeier is a force unto herself in kids graphic novels. Trust me, this will have a lengthy wait list. 

5. CONNECTIONS

Author study on Raina Telgemeier

Read the other 2 books in the trilogy

Telgemeier, R. (2010). Smile. Graphix. ISBN: 9780545870986

Telgemeier, R. (2014). Sisters. Graphix. ISBN: 9780545540605


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