Dear Blog,

Recently I read the book Sisters, it’s a 208 page book. The genre is a graphic novel and it is the sequel to the book Smile. Raina grew up in San Francisco and she has a degree from the School of Visual Arts in New York. The author got her teeth knocked out when she was in 6th grade. And the sequel explained all about the story of Rainas teeth. I decided to read this book because there were a lot of different pictures with text. By reading this graphic novel, I could remember the storyline a lot better than a book with no pictures.

It is the summer before high school and Raina is stuck between a squirrelly little brother and a volatile younger sister in a van without air conditioning. They are on a weeklong drive from their home in San Francisco to a family reunion in Colorado Springs, and as temperatures rise, so do tempers. Raina and her sister, Amara, argue over everything, from what to do about a snake on the loose (“What if we shut him in a suitcase till we’re home?”) to their parents’ relationship (“You don’t think Mom and Dad are gonna split up . . . do you?”). Memories of improbable pet deaths, their father’s unemployment and the difficulties of coexisting in a small apartment are woven into the tale of their emotional and sometimes tense journey through the American West. Throughout the book, Raina spends a lot of time tuning out the noise of her everyday life. With the help of a Walkman and some cassette tapes, she manages to disappear into her own world. But as the road trip continues, it becomes clear that Amara, though younger, has picked up more clues about what’s going on between their parents than Raina has, and Raina starts to pay more attention.

I would rate this book a 9 of out 10. Why I wouldn’t rate this book a 10 out of 10 is because the book could have had a little more description. What I liked about this book is all the graphics that it holds. It does help me comprehend a lot more with pictures.

Sincerely, Lydia