Smile is an autobiographical

Autobiography

An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...

 graphic novel

Graphic novel

A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...

 written by Raina Telgemeier

Raina Telgemeier

Raina Telgemeier is an American cartoonist whose works include the autobiographic webcomic Smile , which was published by Scholastic Press's Graphix imprint as a full-color graphic novel in February, 2010....

. It gives an account of the author's life from sixth grade to high school. The book is based on Telgemeier's webcomic

Webcomic

Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....

, Smile (A Dental Drama).

Summary

The book recounts the author's nearly five year experience with dental surgery and orthodontics following an accident. This occurs at the same time as the onset of puberty, peer relationships in middle school, and bullying.

Awards and recognitions

The book won the 2010 Boston Globe - Horn Book

Boston Globe-Horn Book Award

The Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards were first presented by The Boston Globe and Horn Book Magazine in 1967. They are among the most prestigious honors in the United States in the field of children’s and young adult literature...

 Honor for Nonfiction. In 2011, the book won the Eisner Award

Eisner Award

The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...

 for Best Publication for Teens. It is also one of the 2011 Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens named by YALSA and a 2011 ALSC Notable Children's Book for Middle Readers.