about the book
Wanting a sister and actually having a sister are two very different things. In this autobiographical memoir, Raina Telgemeier writes and draws about her summer before high school, her family life, and especially about her tense relationship with her younger sister.
When Raina was five, she wanted someone she could play with. Instead, she got Amara, a cranky baby sister who grew to be a snarky volatile grouch. The two fight constantly.
Now an outcast fourteen-year-old with on-going orthodontia problems, Raina is leery about the upcoming three-week summer road trip to a big family reunion. Since her father has to work, it will just be her mother, Raina, nine-year-old Amara, and their six-year-old brother, Will, in the VW microbus—without air conditioning—all the way from San Francisco to Colorado Springs. They’ll be camping along the way, making the trip all the more “interesting”.
To say the close travelling quarters exacerbates the two sister’s relationship is an understatement. Amara has the knack of finding Raina’s sore spot and poking it to the max. In addition to the usual spats, there are all sorts of hi-jinks and road mishaps, including an escaped pet snake.
Once the Telgemeiers get to the reunion, things are not much better. The rambunctious little kids race around unsupervised, the adults constantly bicker, and Raina’s favorite cool cousins turn contemptuous. What’s worse, Raina comes to the realization that her sister’s crazy observation that their parent’s marriage is falling apart turns out to be spot on!
To get through this all, Raina is going to need some help. Is it even possible for Raina and Amara to become sisters in the truest sense?
about the author/illustrator
Raina Telgemeier first graphic novel, Smile was autobiographical. She really did knock out her front teeth and she was viciously teased by her “friends,” withdrew into her art, and lost patience when she was publically humiliated. But Raina did find great friends in high school who loved her art and helped her regain confidence enough to head off to college.
Raina studied illustration and cartooning at the New York School of Visual Arts. Although she thought animation was the way to go, she realized she was more suited for working alone, creating comic books.
Raina started her cartooning career by writing and illustrating several comics, including a mini-series called Take Out. She did seven issues, twelve pages each, and printed 6000 copies. When she showed an issue to Graphix, they asked her to work up some ideas for Babysitter Club graphic novels. It was perfect, because she had devoured the books when she was a kid. She also does freelance work for magazines, newspapers and publishers.
Raina currently lives in Queens, New York, with her cartoonist husband, Dave Roman.
Sources:
Author website
Author interview: School Library Journal
Other graphic novels by Raina Telgemeier:
Drama. Graphix. 2012.
Smile. Graphix. 2010.
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