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Graphic Novelist Raina Telgemeier Taps into Adolescent Anxiety, Zeitgeist

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Telgemeier is the author of "Smile," "Guts," and "Sisters," among other popular graphic novels for teens and kids. (San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images)

You might not think that 224 pages devoted to a sixth grader’s tricky journey with braces would make for a bestseller, but since its publication in 2010, Raina Telgemeier’s graphic novel “Smile” has remained hugely popular with the kid set. And her follow ups “Guts,” “Drama” and “Ghosts” have earned her rave reviews from kids, tweens, parents and librarians for the humorous, hopeful, and honest depictions of life as an anxious kid. We’ll talk to Telgemeier, a Bay Area native, about her work and how she taps into the zeitgeist of adolescence.

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Raina Telgemeier, author of "Smile," "Guts," and "Sisters," among other popular graphic novels for teens and kids

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