Cannonball Read 13

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Search This Site

| Log in
  1. Follow us on Facebook
  2. Follow us on Twitter
  3. Follow us on Instagram
  4. Follow us on Goodreads
  5. RSS Feeds

  • Home
  • About
    • About CBR
    • Getting Started
    • Cannon Book Club
    • Diversions
    • Event Calendar
    • Fan Mail
    • Holiday Book Exchange
    • Book Bingo Reading Challenge
    • Participation Badges
    • AlabamaPink
  • Our Team
    • The CBR Team
    • Leaderboard
    • Recent Comments
    • CBR Interviews
    • Our Volunteers
    • Meet MsWas
  • Categories
    • Review Genres
    • Tags
  • Fight Cancer
    • How We Fight Cancer
    • How You Can Donate
    • Book Sale
    • CBR Merchandise
    • Supporters and Friends of CBR
  • FAQ
  • Contact
    • Contact Form
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Follow Us
> FAQ Home
> Genre: Biography/Memoir > “Guts” delivers and important message to younger readers about mind/body connection

“Guts” delivers and important message to younger readers about mind/body connection

Guts by Raina Telgemeier

December 17, 2020 by Dome'Loki Leave a Comment

Child holding open a book to cover their face. The book is Guts by Raina TelgemeierRaina Telgemeier returns to the autobiographical in Guts.  I’m late to the party on this book as my 13 and 9 year old have read it multiple times since its release in 2019.  For those familiar with Telgemeier’s autobiographical graphic novels, this is a story in which Raina is younger than in Smile or Sisters.  She’s in fifth grade and has begun having stomach troubles.  It started with a round of stomach flu going through her family and school.  But afterward Raina begins to obsess about the possibility of getting sick and vomiting.  She is no longer comfortable sharing food, becoming germophobic about hand washing, and eating a drastically reduced diet to a small group of “safe” foods.

Along with the near constant fear of the possibility of having to vomit, Raina is having stomach pains and lower intestinal distress.  Each exam and round of tests by her doctor show that there is physically nothing wrong with Raina.  This is when her parents bring her to a therapist.

All this happens with the backdrop of fifth grade year in school.  Gross body humor and teasing are an ongoing trial to which Raina is particularly sensitive to, due to dealing with her gut issues.  Girls are starting to mature faster than boys, who has a period and who doesn’t starts to separate girls, and friendships become more complicated.   At home things are challenging too, as the Telgemeiers are a family of five sharing a two bedroom apartment, with only one bathroom, a potty training toddler, and a grandmother come to stay for several months, adding a sixth person to the household.

Through therapy, Raina is able to identify the stressors in her life and how that is having a physical effect on her body.  Raina gains an understanding about controlling what you can and accepting that some things are beyond your control.  She learns breathing and grounding techniques to bring her back from panic attacks.  The end of the book finds Raina in a much improved space physically, emotionally, and within her friend circle.

What I wouldn’t have given to have this book when I was younger.  Around the age of eighteen, I approached my parents about seeing a therapist for to my depression.  And the only reason I came to understand the need for a therapist was due to having a boyfriend at that time who was in therapy.  I can’t help but wonder ‘what if’ I had read this at the age of my kids, would I have reached out for help sooner?  We are very open about therapy in our household so my children are growing up knowing that it is healthy to see a therapist.  Not every child/person is so fortunate to have that education at home and I hope this helps people of all ages.

Note: This review is first in my effort to review everything I read to my kids.  My nine year old asked for this to be read aloud at bedtime.  We finished the book last night and here is the review the following day!  Now to just keep this up 🤞🏼

Filed Under: Biography/Memoir, Children's Books, Graphic Novel/Comic, Health, Non-Fiction, Young Adult Tagged With: All Ages, autobiograpy, cbr12, Children's, Dome'Loki, Fiction, Graphic Novel, non fiction, Raina Telgemeier, YA

Dome'Loki's CBR12 Review No:41 · Genres: Biography/Memoir, Children's Books, Graphic Novel/Comic, Health, Non-Fiction, Young Adult · Tags: All Ages, autobiograpy, cbr12, Children's, Dome'Loki, Fiction, Graphic Novel, non fiction, Raina Telgemeier, YA ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

About Dome'Loki

CBR13 participantCBR13 CommentsCBR12 participantCBR11 participantCBR10 participantCBR  9CBR 8

Reader, role-player, board-gamer, and baker who happens to be a mom that would like to travel and ride horses more. Found predominantly reading fantasy, sci-fi, children's, middle grade fiction, and YA in roughly that order, preferably with a cup of tea nearby. My daughter in 7th grade will occasionally be adding comments, as Ysakitty, to books she has read too. View Dome'Loki's reviews»

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.



Recent Comments

  • Singsonggirl on Ye Olde ChildrearingCrap, I can't find it on the TV station's website anymore. But it was made by Austrian TV and was in German anyway. One of...
  • Singsonggirl on Perfume – Patrick Suskind (1985)Aaahhh, this is one of my all-time favourite books! I read the ending as a culmination of all the olfactory and sensory impressions? Like it...
  • narfna on Re-reading Mistborn, Era One – Part I: The Final EmpireA re-read would probably be your best bet if you want to continue because Sanderson is the king of bringing back details and making them...
  • wicherwill on Re-reading Mistborn, Era One – Part I: The Final EmpireMy brother suggested this book, and only recently told me / did I realize there were others as well. I don't remember enough of this...
  • llamareadsbooks on “Mouths always open, minds never so”OMG, that is the PERFECT casting. I was thinking this would make an absolutely amazing, brain-twisting movie. And you are so right about Doka, too,...
See More Recent Comments »

Want to Help Out?

CBR has a great crew of volunteers, and we're always looking for more people to help out. If you have a specialty or are willing to learn, drop MsWas a line.

  • How You Can Donate
  • FAQ
  • Shop
  • Volunteers
  • Leaderboard
  • AlabamaPink
  • Contact

Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo
© 2021 Cannonball Read | Log in