sierra_color's review against another edition
5.0
Telgemeier is one of the authors I absolutely SIMP for, I love her work, and I love her art. She was one of the first few authors that I read when I was getting into graphic novels, and even though it's been many, many years since I've first read one of her books, since I practically grew up with them, I still love and adore every since one I've read, this one is no exception.
This book has a beautiful and unique art style, which uses wonderful visual metaphors to illustrate how mental illness, such as anxiety, affects you, and makes the story, through using visual gags and exaggerated facial expressions, both funny and relatable, but this relatability doesn't cloud or ruin the story, in fact, it adds to it, showing that Raina's experience is normal, and that's okay.
I wish that there were more stories that openly talked about these subjects-- mental illness, bullying, not fitting in, puberty, and just growing up in general. This story is able to cover a lot of subject, but each subject is not only treated with care, but is shown to be something that happens to a lot of people, if not everyone. I find this story so humanizing, and ultimately, connecting, I can't wait to read more of Raina's work, I've read most of her books, and this has been one I've been wanting to read for a while-- I can't wait till her next book. I would definitely recommend reading this one while you wait for her next one!
This book has a beautiful and unique art style, which uses wonderful visual metaphors to illustrate how mental illness, such as anxiety, affects you, and makes the story, through using visual gags and exaggerated facial expressions, both funny and relatable, but this relatability doesn't cloud or ruin the story, in fact, it adds to it, showing that Raina's experience is normal, and that's okay.
I wish that there were more stories that openly talked about these subjects-- mental illness, bullying, not fitting in, puberty, and just growing up in general. This story is able to cover a lot of subject, but each subject is not only treated with care, but is shown to be something that happens to a lot of people, if not everyone. I find this story so humanizing, and ultimately, connecting, I can't wait to read more of Raina's work, I've read most of her books, and this has been one I've been wanting to read for a while-- I can't wait till her next book. I would definitely recommend reading this one while you wait for her next one!
mariethelibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
i love love loooove raina. shes such a great storyteller and drawer. her stories just resonates with me.
spiffysarahruby's review against another edition
5.0
Oh lord, this book hit me with all the feels. It was so familiar.
In middle school I got bullied by a teacher and my stress started going to my stomach. That got solved quickly by a fantastic guidance counselor.
Fast forward to March 2016 (literally Super Tuesday in Oklahoma of the Primary Election--I got my vote in for Bernie but had to stop for a bathroom 3 times on the way!), I caught some kind of stomach bug that apparently altered my guts FOREVER. Of course 2016 was STRESSFUL for so many reasons, and things since then have been stressful. Anyway, I spent 3 years of tenacious-D and stomach aches, going to gastro docs to see what was wrong. I could only get a diagnosis of IBS, which LITERALLY means "you have gastrointestinal issues, but we don't know what's causing it.
Sowwy." That has got to be the most helpless diagnosis. :(
After switching to a new doc that was fine with doing ALL THE TESTS (which I was happy to do), I got diagnosed with Celiac Disease. At age 33? How something like this pops up in the middle of your life, I don't understand (thought it was probably that virus that effed up my guts). It's been a journey, that's for sure.
I've now been living the gluten-free life for 3 years now and things are MUCH better on the gastro front, but due to the pandemic, my brain/emotions/hormones, etc. just all got effed back up. So even the stress and therapy part of this story hit home for me.
Getting help really can be the hardest thing to ask for, but once you START, oh my lord does it help. This book was a great read for a 36 year old and I can't imagine how VITAL this book will be for contemporary middle school kids!!! All kids need to read this book. ALL. OF. THEM.
In middle school I got bullied by a teacher and my stress started going to my stomach. That got solved quickly by a fantastic guidance counselor.
Fast forward to March 2016 (literally Super Tuesday in Oklahoma of the Primary Election--I got my vote in for Bernie but had to stop for a bathroom 3 times on the way!), I caught some kind of stomach bug that apparently altered my guts FOREVER. Of course 2016 was STRESSFUL for so many reasons, and things since then have been stressful. Anyway, I spent 3 years of tenacious-D and stomach aches, going to gastro docs to see what was wrong. I could only get a diagnosis of IBS, which LITERALLY means "you have gastrointestinal issues, but we don't know what's causing it.
Sowwy." That has got to be the most helpless diagnosis. :(
After switching to a new doc that was fine with doing ALL THE TESTS (which I was happy to do), I got diagnosed with Celiac Disease. At age 33? How something like this pops up in the middle of your life, I don't understand (thought it was probably that virus that effed up my guts). It's been a journey, that's for sure.
I've now been living the gluten-free life for 3 years now and things are MUCH better on the gastro front, but due to the pandemic, my brain/emotions/hormones, etc. just all got effed back up. So even the stress and therapy part of this story hit home for me.
Getting help really can be the hardest thing to ask for, but once you START, oh my lord does it help. This book was a great read for a 36 year old and I can't imagine how VITAL this book will be for contemporary middle school kids!!! All kids need to read this book. ALL. OF. THEM.
saraamitchell's review against another edition
read this bc i grew up reading raina and it was a very comforting read
tphillips's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
fast-paced
5.0
lookakat's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic novel about anxiety and mental health. I really appreciated seeing this subject matter in a books for kids - I haven't seen many like it nowadays, and definitely didn't read many like it when I was a kid.