The Eternal Smile: Three Stories

This book consists of three different amusing and creative stories. The ideas and plots are unique and interesting, each one shows a different meaning and moral.The first story is about a prince that defeats his enemy and receives everything he ever wanted, but soon discovers that the life he’s living is not real or what it seems. The second story is about a greedy frog that loves money and will do anything to be rich. He believes that money is the only thing that brings him happiness, but he soon learns that he was wrong. The third story is about a woman that receives an email from Prince Henry of Nigeria asking for a loan, but, learns exactly why the people you meet on the internet can't always be trusted. ( )

This graphic novel is a collaboration between two masters of the field--Gene Luen Yang ([[ASIN:0312384483 American Born Chinese]]) and Derek Kirk Kim ([[ASIN:1596436573 Same Difference]])--with Gene writing wonderful short stories and Derek bringing his evocative drawing style. Together they show us three different stories about the worlds we create and the worlds that we live in. In the first story we meet a young prince who discovers his greatest enemy is not who it seems to be; the second story (which is where the title of the book comes from) shows us a wealthy frog that finds that sometimes things aren't as they seem and the simple life maybe better; and the final story is about a young woman who may have discovered her Prince.

Gene's stories create blur the line between fantasy and reality and create a world that we can all instantly recognize and feel a part of....and leave us wanting more. Even though he only has a few pages, the characters have more depth to them than many longer books and help us instantly feel a connection to them. Derek's evocative drawing style brings these characters and worlds to life. The greatest example of which is in the third story "Urgent Request," which alternates different color schemes and is drawn in a more lose style than the other two stories, but has a greater sense of power and purpose, which is difficult to describe in words.

If you've never read any of Gene's or Derek's work pick this book up and discover the magic they can create. Then....go pick up their other books and enjoy those worlds as well. ( )

Three stories that play wonderfully with the borders of reality. A prince finds his fantasy world unravelling at the edges, a greedy frog starts a new religion so he can obtain a pond with enough gold to swim in, and a Nigerian fraud pays off unexpectedly. Hilarious Second Life reference.This would be a good introduction to graphic for nervous post-modernists. And for anyone who enjoys stories with a twist. ( )

Beautifully illustrated in three distinct styles to represent three stories, The Eternal Smile is an empowering and bittersweet story about fiction versus reality. This is a quick-read with a thought-provoking message of making the most of your life, and I think many teens will relate to the characters’ desire to live in fantasy.

The story I enjoyed the most was that of Janet, the office assistant that willingly plays along with an Internet scam in order escape the drudgery of her life. Janet’s story really broke my heart but also had me cheering her on in the end.

A beautiful set of stories that all come together with an uplifting message, highly recommended! ( )