Guts

Bought at the Foreign Languages Bookstore, Shanghai, China.

Title: Guts
Publisher: Scholastic / Graphix
Date: 2019
Writer: Raina Telgemeier
Artist: Raina Telgemeier
Colorist: Braden Lamb
Letterer: Jesse Post
Editor: Cassandra Pelham Fulton

This is the third of Raina Telgemeier autobiographical series. Raina starts a difficult year in the fifth grade with what at first seems like a bad stomach flu. But a series of recurring stomach problems and anxiety attacks make an already stressful school year terrifying. As the year goes on, Raina learns some ways to face her fears and discovers that she isn't as alone as she thought she was.

Raina Telgemeier's brilliance is her ability to surprise the reader without going to extremes. Her stories are grounded in real interactions but still loaded with plot twists and turns.

This story covers issues around mental health and chronic illness in ways that will resonate with readers, and it manages that with humor and heart.

Rating: 9/10