The Eternal Smile cover

The Eternal Smile

by Gene Yang

This book presents three short stories in graphic novel format involving the blurred line between fantasy and reality, including an office assistant who falls for an e-mail scam, and a young knight whose life is not what it seems. Meet Duncan. Charming and brave, he's the Princess's favorite -- and he's on his way to winning the throne. But lately, the walls of reality in Duncan's kingdom are wearing a little thin. Meet Gran'pa Greenbax. Nothing seems to satisfy this greedy old frog's longing for a pool full of gold -- until, one day, a mysterious smile appears in the sky. Has his chance at happiness come at last? Meet Janet. Her nine-to-five life takes a turn for the romantic when she learns in an email from a mysterious Nigerian prince that she has been chosen to liberate his family's vast fortune. All he needs is her banking information. In three very different stories, master storytellers Gene Yang and Derek Kirk Kim pit fantasy against reality, for good or for ill. Subtle, surprising, and entirely entertaining, The Eternal Smile delves into our dreams, and the unexpected places they lead. - Publisher.

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?