Guts

Author: Raina Telgemeier
Genre: Middle School
Type: Graphic Novel
Source: Local Public Library
Publisher: Scholastic
First Published: September 17, 2019
Opening Line: Mom?

Book Description from GoodReads: Raina wakes up one night with a terrible upset stomach. Her mom has one, too, so it's probably just a bug. Raina eventually returns to school, where she's dealing with the usual highs and lows: friends, not-friends, and classmates who think the school year is just one long gross-out session. It soon becomes clear that Raina's tummy trouble isn't going away... and it coincides with her worries about food, school, and changing friendships. What's going on?

Raina Telgemeier once again brings us a thoughtful, charming, and funny true story about growing up and gathering the courage to face -- and conquer -- her fears.

My Rating: 4 stars

My Review: I'm a Graphic Novel novice with Guts being only my second book in this popular genre. Guts caught my eye because A) its by Raina Telgemeier, whose books fly off the shelves at our library, B) I love her art work and C) I have suffered from anxiety myself and I wanted to see how Telgemeier handled this issue that affects so many of us.

Through this book, Telgemeier shares her own experiences as a child who suffered from anxiety and phobias, but the book isn't in a traditional story format. Instead of a prominent story line to follow, readers are shown snapshots of Raina's young life as she struggles with regular stomach upset, bullies, anxiety and even panic attacks. These bite-sized snapshots (and this format in general) are perfect for reluctant readers.

The story has cute illustrations, some humour and has an approachable feel which will appeal to middle schoolers. While many readers will relate to the story, I hope that people who haven't experienced anxiety will read this book to gain a better understanding of what anxiety feels like - emotionally, physically, socially ... 

Overall, this was a good read and I appreciated how it focused on mental health issues which will hopefully help kids talk more openly about this subject. While this book doesn't dive into the nitty-gritty of the issues, it would be a good starting off point for parents who see their children struggling with similar issues.