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Sisters by Raina Telgemeier Book Review

Sisters by Raina Telgemeier
Publisher: Scholastic
Release Date: August 26, 2014

A companion to Telgemeier's first book Smile, Sisters is about Raina's journey with her little sister. So excited to become a big sister, Amara is not what Raina was expecting. Amara is cute, but also cranky, grouchy, and a loner, and it doesn't get better as they get older. Things really get interesting when they go on a road trip to San Francisco for a family reunion where there might or might not be a dead snake somewhere in the van.

Although I know this is basically a memoir, it makes me sad to read books where siblings dislike each other so much. I got in fights with my brothers all the time, but I also liked them a lot. Still do. Therefore, it saddens me that Raina and Amara have such a dislike for each other that seems to go far beyond simple bickering. There is also hope there as well. A wink at the reader that lets us know that eventually these sisters do figure each other out and have managed to become friends, despite a very rough start. Just to keep things in perspective Raina is careful not to paint herself as saintly. Sure the book is from her perspective, but she doesn't hold back on her own culpability in the situation.

As with her previous two books Smile and Drama, the illustrations serve the story well and draw in the reader. Can I also say how much I love that every page is in color? Although I don't mind black and white and understand its place within this medium, sometimes there is something to be said about color. I mean, can you imagine Superman without color illustrations? Me neither.

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