Happyface - Softcover

Emond, Stephen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0316040991 ISBN 13: 9780316040990

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2011

Synopsis

Cute girls dig him. He has his own fan club

But he wasn't always this awesome. He used to be Mr. Comic Book, a resident of Lonelyland. So when he swtiched schools, he slapped on a grin and went from big nerd to big shot.

Meet Happyface. This is his journal.

This unique combination of text and fully integrated art follows the journey of a dorky, quiet, artsy kid as he reinvents himself after moving to a new town, where he's nicknamed Happyface. Peek in his journal and see the world through his hilariously self-deprecating eyes as he learns to shed his comic-book-loving, computer-game playing ways. Join him as he makes new friends, tries to hide from his messy past, forgives the people who have hurt him most, and ultimately learns to face the world with a genuine smile.

About this title

About the Author:

Stephen Emond is the creator of Emo Boy, which ran for twelve issues and two collections with Slave Labor Graphics. He also won a national contest for his comic strip series Steverino, which ran for several years in his local Connecticut newspaper. His first novel, Happyface, was published in March 2010. You can find him at www.stephenemond.com.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 7–10—Happyface is a shy, artistic sophomore, awkwardly coping with life from the sidelines. When horrific tragedy tears his family apart, he finds himself living in a ratty apartment with his newly sober mom and attending a new high school. Bottling up his grief and fear, he pastes a big smile on his face and makes a fresh start as the class clown. It works for a while and, surrounded by popular friends who know nothing of his real story, Happyface pursues the enigmatic Gretchen, struggling to interpret her mixed signals. Inevitably, the suppressed inner feelings build until Happyface blows up, finally giving him the chance to come clean and make an authentically fresh start without hiding behind a mask. Emond tells the story via the teen's illustrated journal, authentically capturing his up-and-down emotions. The pencil-and-ink sketches, comics, and doodles, paired with a disastrously small handwriting font, lend an intimate stream-of-consciousness feel to a story by turns funny, wrenching, quirky, and redemptive.—Joyce Adams Burner, National Archives at Kansas City, MO
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About this edition

• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0316040991
• ISBN 13: 9780316040990
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336