Review: Raina Telgemeier makes gutsy move with new book, and kids and parents will love it

The graphic novelist who first cracked the bestseller list by writing about her teeth has turned her focus to another part of her body, her stomach. It’s yes, a gutsy move – and one that pays off.

Many young readers were introduced to Raina Telgemeier through “Smile,” her 2010 autobiographical tale of the dental misadventures of her youth. Her hit follow-ups included “Sisters,” another true story from her Bay Area upbringing.

Now Telgemeier completes her personal trilogy with “Guts” (available Tuesday), which chronicles her battles with anxiety while growing up, including bouts of nausea and fear of potentially disagreeable foods.

Winningly on exhibit again in “Guts” is Telgemeier’s warm honesty. She writes and draws her phobias and insecurities with knowing humor. It’s an appealing approach that has made her a bestselling, brand-name author among middle-grade readers. Millions of students snap up what at least one media outlet has dubbed a “Telgememoir.”

In “Guts,” young Raina, the sensitive avatar on the page, has become a richly developed character. Her expressive eyes help readers empathize with her challenges, which in “Guts” include gripping her belly and fleeing the scene – panic-attack moments that Telgemeier poignantly depicts in ripples of deep, queasy green.

Amid Raina’s stomach woes, “Guts” also delivers on a Telgemeier trademark: capturing the universal experience of navigating the ever-tenuous social structure at school. Friendship triangles and false perceptions heighten the classroom and cafeteria drama.

Raina eventually goes to therapy to treat her anxiety, and these sessions are handled with a deft sensitivity in which young readers, perhaps facing similar fears, can find comfort. It’s an accomplishment that renders the book a must-get for not only school librarians, but also clinicians who treat children. (Telgemeier writes in the afterword of the various therapies she has used, further destigmatizing such treatment for school-age readers.)

Best of all, “Guts” – a story not only of sore tummies, but also of courage and intestinal fortitude – should prove to be a conversation starter between children and adults. There are too few such graphic novels in the YA market. “Guts” should naturally appeal to the millions of young Americans diagnosed with anxiety, yet the story holds reassuring lessons for any kid facing down fears and the people who love them.