Vera ( Author ) [{ Anya's Ghost By Brosgol - Vera ( Author ) Mar

Way to scary for my daughter. She had nightmares after reading it. Better for kids who like Harry Potter than for girls who still like middle school against, make believe and not being scared. I should have read it before I gave it to her.

Are you KIDDING ME??? This book is recommended for 12yrs and up??? I bought it for my daughter for Christmas - thank God I started thumbing through it before I wrapped it!! I will be requesting a refund immediately!!! This content is completely inappropriate for these young girls! I’m at a loss for words seeing all the stars this book as gotten! Disgusting!!!!

This is a great graphic novel for young teens -- especially girls -- with a well-paced story and plenty to say about social anxiety, body image, friendship, and ghostbusting. Anya is a 9th or 10th-grader at a lower-tier private school (not unlike the one I went to), who is embarrassed by her immigrant past. Her family came to the US from Russia when she was five, and she has worked very hard to lose any accent, eat American foods (while not becoming plump), dress properly, and generally fit in as an American teen. However, the signs of her angst are literally postered all over her bedroom: Belle & Sebastian,Camera Obscura,Neko Case,The Shins,Metric, etc. -- all perfectly good bands, but indicative of an underlying wistfulness. (Had she been of my generation, there surely would have been at least one Smiths and one Cure poster.)

One afternoon, she falls down a hole in the park and makes the acquaintance of a ghost from 1918 named Emily. She's been hovering over her skeleton for years, mourning the death of her fiancee in WWI, and herself at the hands of a murderer. One of Emily's bones gets into Anya's bag by accident, and when she'd rescued, Emily is able to hitch a ride to the surface. Before too long Anya and she become friends, with Anya spilling her insecurities to her new gal-pal ghost as Emily tries to help her succeed at school, fashion, and with the boy she has a crush on. Of course, as anyone who's watched a teen makeover comedy knows, there's always danger when the geeky girl tries to rebrand herself according to the conventional norms.

The final third of the book takes a rather menacing turn as Anya starts to realize that even the shiny popular kids have issues lurking just below the surface. This is all kind of John Hughes 101) type stuff (there's even a subplot involving a nerdy Russian kid whom Anya shuns but then has to turn to for help), but it's well done and the high contrast artwork brings it to life in a way that's neither too cartoony nor too realistic. Based on the brief author bio on the back, it sounds like many of the themes are autobiographical, as are many aspects of Anya's personality -- which is probably why it feels so dead on. Great stuff for girls in the 10-14 range or thereabouts, and still fairly entertaining for others.

This review originally appeared on herestohappyendings.com.

I go through a lot of times when I don't feel like I have the attention span to really keep interest in reading an actual novel, and then there are times when I am recovering from a book hangover from an amazing book I've read and can't seem to get into much else. That's what I love about graphic novels - I am always in the mood to read them, and as soon as I read one, I want to read another, and another.

In the case of Anya's Ghost, I've had it on my shelf for a few months now after trading with one of my lovely friends on Twitter. I had heard of it a while back, before I really got into graphic novels, but once I started reading a lot of them, I was only too happy to get my hands on a copy of this one. It took me a while to read it because I was kind of saving it for when I was in a reading slump, which I just fell into after reading Wonder Woman: Warbringer, so I knew this would help me get out of it.

So I started reading this book at night, and of course, I'm a huge chicken (although a huge lover of horror at the same time - go figure), so I was up half the night picturing creepy ghosts coming out of...well, pretty much anywhere (which got me thinking about the movie The Ring, and let's not even go there). So anyway, a word to those who are easily spooked? Read this one during the daytime! While it's not altogether terrifying, if you have a hard time getting to sleep after reading anything about ghosts, this is good advice!

That's the thing about this fantastic book, though - once I started reading that very first page, I was already hooked and it actually made me sad to have to wait until morning to finish it. I read about 80 pages before bed and finished the rest the moment I woke up, and I was so eager to get back to it. It was a fun, fast paced read with a bit of a mystery and a main character that I felt like I could really relate to.

Anya is a Russian immigrant who is trying her hardest to get through high school. She worries a lot about her weight, her clothes, and trying to fit in and make friends, and although her friend Siobhan is someone to spend time with, they don't always get along as well as Anya would hope. Of course, Anya's mother doesn't understand Anya, and her little brother drives her crazy, so often, she feels alone in the world.

During a particular argument with Siobhan, Anya finds herself walking away, and with the thought of the argument and other things going on in her life, Anya misses the large well in the woods and falls into it. Shocked, hurt, and scared, Anya does what she can to try to get attention and make sure she can survive in the well for as long as possible until help arrives. That's when she sees the skeleton at the bottom of the well, and is greeted by a ghost - one that seems innocent and helpful at first.

When Anya gets out of the well, she accidentally takes a bone from the skeleton into her backpack, allowing the ghost to come out of the well and follow Anya home. There, the ghost spends time talking to Anya and trying to get to her to open up to boys, helps her with school assignments, and is generally just her friend.

However, as time passes, things start to change and become a little bit more sinister with the ghost from the well, and Anya is determined to find out the truth.

The artwork in Anya's Ghost isn't bright and vivid in color the way some illustrations in graphic novels are, but they still really pull you in. They are created with such character and detail that they are just exciting to look at, and when combined with the story, it makes for one great graphic novel.

Anya's character is so tremendously well written that I loved her as soon as I picked up the book. She is awkward, one of the only two Russian kids in the school (the other is a boy who Anya deems nerdy and refuses to talk to because she thinks he will make her fall even lower on the social ladder), and she longs for a friend, for something different. She's also struggling in school and at home with her mom and her little brother, and she also has a crush on one of the popular guys in school who is dating the beautiful popular girl. Seriously, Anya is such an easy character to relate to and I think that it will make a lot of readers feel at home with this book. The author did a fantastic job coming up with her character and writing her so well.

The ghost aspect of this book was well done, too. I knew there was going to be some kind of twist at the end of the book, but I didn't have the slightest clue what it was going to be. I was really impressed with how well it was done and how it tied so perfectly into the story - it didn't feel forced or out of place.

I truly loved this and will not hesitate to pick up other graphic novels by this very talented author/artist.

Anya's Ghost was an absolute amazing and fantastic graphic novel that I thoroughly loved and enjoyed. I've been wanting to read some spooky reads for the fall especially in October for Halloween, which I absolutely love reading spooky or horror books the month of October. So I decided to check out Anya's Ghost because I heard amazing reviews about it and a lot of my book friends highly recommend this graphic novel to me. And OMGosh I am so glad and happy I check this book out from the library, because it is one of my absolute favorite graphic novel ever. I just love and adore everything about it. I really don't want to go into any details about it, but the plotline was unique and very refreshing and somewhat dark that I couldn't get enough of it. The characters was well developed and rounded plus there was diversity in the characters, which I so love and enjoy reading diversity in characters. And the writing style was flawless and very expressive that I just felt all the feelings that each characters were feeling especially everything that Anya was feeling in this amazing graphic novel. And the graphic art was really beautiful and dark I just love seeing the purple graphics, which I thought that it was really well done in this graphic novel. All and all I absolutely love and enjoy Anya's Ghost that I will most definitely will continue reading more graphic novels by Vera Brosgol in the near future because I know I absolutely and totally will love them her graphic novels.

What begins as somewhat typical tale of teenage angst morphs into something much darker when high schooler Annushka Borzakovskaya – Anya for short – takes a tumble into a long-abandoned well while cutting though the park on her way home from Hamilton School. There she finds the bones of one Emily Reilly, a young woman who was murdered ninety years ago, her body never found. Attached to the bones: Emily’s ghost, which follows Anya home upon her rescue. Anya accidentally swept up Emily’s pinky, along with her food and other belongings, you see. Or did she?

At first, Anya’s rather rude to the hapless, mousy Emily; a ghost could seriously damage her already lackluster reputation. But when Emily proves a helpful ally – helping Anya cheat on her bio test; scoping out the contents of her crush’s backpack; giving her a bitchin’ makeover and a boost of confidence to match – Anya happily embraces her new BFF, leaving the former title-holder Siobhan in the dust.
Before long, Emily’s interest in Anya’s life veers into SINGLE WHITE FEMALE territory; and after a little digging, Anya discovers the shocking, sinister truth about Emily’s death.

While the ghost story/murder mystery provides the backbone of the story, it’s Vera Brosgol’s adept and compassionate handling of more mundane, real world topics that gives ANYA’S GHOST its heart.

Anya’s family immigrated to New England from Russia when she was just five years old; in the interim, she’s worked hard to assimilate and just generally fit in to the morass that is high school (*private* high school, no less). She eschews her mother’s rich, greasy home-cooked meals in favor of salad on yogurt; a former fat girl, weight is always on her mind. (In an especially poignant panel, we see Anya the way she sees herself: body dysmorphic disorder much?) She aced ESL and now speaks English without an accent, so that she can “pass” as a native New Englander. She goes by Anya instead of Annushka, and introduced herself to her crush as Anya Brown. She even gives fellow Russian immigrant Dimo a wide berth, watching silently as he’s bullied mercilessly for being a “nerd” and a “foreigner.”

Anya isn’t always a nice person. My high school self can most certainly relate.

Likewise, “it girl” Elizabeth isn’t as put together as she seems; and Siobhan nails it when she dismisses Anya’s crush Sean as a dirt bag. Everything isn’t always as it seems; outward appearances can be deceiving.

My 36-year-old self also got a nostalgic kick out of the little HS details: the physical fitness tests (the Bleep Test); the horror involved in performing feats of athleticism in front of members of the opposite sex; the sketchy gym teachers; doing questionable things in the hopes of looking cool.

And can we talk about the artwork? The illustrations are bewitching. Rendered in shades of black, gray, and dark purple, Brosgol sets the mood: dark and creepy, but also a wee bit playful – and, ultimately, beautiful and spirited, just like Anya herself.

I love this story about an immigrant teenager who's having a tough time fitting in. Her story is simple; not unique at all as there are countless other teens around the world that go through this. A common story brought to life through drawing and humor. Then she falls into a well and that is where her ho-hum story stops being common. In the well, she meets the ghost of a young teen that ended up down there many years ago.

Anya, our teenager, is embarrassed about her Russian ancestry and tries hard so hard to not identify with it. She's self-conscious about her body and is resigned to never feeling like she belongs... so, she's a normal teen.

Emily, Anya's ghost, met an unfortunate end years ago and it appears she cannot move on. Maybe she didn't see the light or was advised to stay away from it, so she's still hanging around.

After Anya is rescued she realizes that Emily is tagging along and Anya is not too happy about it. Just look at Anya's face on the cover - not happy :( She eventually warms up to her and that's where their friendship and the fun begins.

Lately, I've been reading a lot more graphic novels than I usually do and they all vary in styles, but I'm still new to this genre and don't consider myself an expert or connoisseur. What I do know is what I find pleasing to my eyes and what I like. And this graphic novel ticks both the pleasing and liked boxes. The artwork is simple and drawn predominantly in hues of violet. Good thing I checked wikipedia because I was going to say it was drawn in gray tones. At least that what they looked like in the library book.

I described the artwork as simple but it's beautifully illustrated and very expressive. I hope I'm making sense here. There are consecutive pages with no dialogue and the story doesn't skip a beat. There's also an important not-so-subtle message there that I hope isn't dismissed.

I'll be picking up a hardcover copy for my library. I highly recommend this spooky little story.

5/5 Stars

Just like Americus (which I also highly recommend!), I found this graphic novel in my high school's library, and the two quickly became some of my most frequent check-outs. Anya's portrayed as a bit older than Neil and Danny, about 16-17, but her story is pretty similar: a student who's not part of the "in-crowd" dealing with growing up and just life in general. The big difference is, while the boys are comfortable with their status, for the most part, Anya wishes she were more popular and has her own set of insecurities. Being a Russian immigrant, she feels embarrassed by her family, her mother especially, because they aren't "American" enough, which I will admit is kind of shallow, but it is still believable. She was bullied for her accent and her weight when she was younger, so she does her best to act as much like her peers as she can, even if it means hiding her roots from them. There are also some more mature topics in this one, such as underage drinking and smoking, also some cursing, so I wouldn't really recommend it for anyone under 15, but that doesn't take away from the story. If anything, that helps make it better, since those are just some of the things teens can be pressured into doing, which again, helps make the story more believable.
As for the ghost, I've always had a love for the supernatural, even if I don't necessarily believe in it, so I was curious to see what role spirits actually played in this story, and boy was I surprised. We're introduced to Emily fairly quickly, and she comes off as a sweet, seemingly innocent girl who suffered through several tragedies. The truth doesn't come out until closer to the end, and while I won't spoil anything here, I will say that it helps Anya realize how selfish and shallow she's been, and that realization is what pushes her to change herself for the better. I know this story won't be to everyone's tastes, nothing ever is, after all, but I will ask that people at least give it a try, as they might find themselves pleasantly surprised.

While Neil Gaiman's "YA masterpiece" blurb initially struck me as a bit over the top this book has a lot to recommend it. Not least is the fashion in which it starts as a fairly predictable teen angst morality tale and then morphs into something a little darker and more absorbing.

Our heroine, Anya, starts out with all of the conventional teen challenges - body issues, Mom and sibling issues, fitting in at school, and so on. Treated very well is the fact that Anya is also a Russian-American immigrant with conflicting feelings about her position standing between the new and old worlds. Because Anya is smart and decent and fairly perceptive we have a good feeling about her even when she whinges or makes poor decisions. She never becomes so much a drama queen that she loses our sympathies, and even at the outset one senses her inner fiber. I expected a fairly predictable course to a happy or at least optimistic ending.

But then, Anya falls into an abandoned shaft and finds a body, or more precisely a skeleton, and the ghost of the young girl whose skeleton that was. The ghost girl is pretty and charming and full of innocent enthusiasm. She's wiser and more centered than Anya is and this begins to look like a light hearted fairy godmother sort of story, or maybe a variation on a "Lassie: episode with the ghost playing the role of the kindly guide and protector. But, wait a minute, if Gaiman thought this was a masterpiece there must be at least a creepy or unnerving third act. Well, maybe there is and maybe there isn't - that would be spoiling. Suffice to say that this isn't all cotton candy and butterflies.

This book is also appealing in that it seemed to me to represent an almost perfect marriage of text and drawing. The panels are crisp with sharp and expressive line drawings. The pencil work is thick, with simple one color washes, but a considerable amount of personality and drama comes through on every page. The ghost is especially well rendered, and is either very realistic or a bit abstract as the situation requires. Anya also comes across as very realistic, but there is always a bit of exaggeration or emphasis drawn into each character to emphasize, highlight or just complement the dialogue and the mood of the character. This is deceptively simple looking and yet remarkably accomplished drawing.

So, a nice coming of age tale and ghost story with a lot going on, all of it under control and well balanced. The overall effect is entertaining and rewarding. A nice find.

Please note that I found this book while browsing the local library's Kindle books, and downloaded it for free. I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.

While Neil Gaiman's "YA masterpiece" blurb initially struck me as a bit over the top this book has a lot to recommend it. Not least is the fashion in which it starts as a fairly predictable teen angst morality tale and then morphs into something a little darker and more absorbing.

Our heroine, Anya, starts out with all of the conventional teen challenges - body issues, Mom and sibling issues, fitting in at school, and so on. Treated very well is the fact that Anya is also a Russian-American immigrant with conflicting feelings about her position standing between the new and old worlds. Because Anya is smart and decent and fairly perceptive we have a good feeling about her even when she whinges or makes poor decisions. She never becomes so much a drama queen that she loses our sympathies, and even at the outset one senses her inner fiber. I expected a fairly predictable course to a happy or at least optimistic ending.

But then, Anya falls into an abandoned shaft and finds a body, or more precisely a skeleton, and the ghost of the young girl whose skeleton that was. The ghost girl is pretty and charming and full of innocent enthusiasm. She's wiser and more centered than Anya is and this begins to look like a light hearted fairy godmother sort of story, or maybe a variation on a "Lassie: episode with the ghost playing the role of the kindly guide and protector. But, wait a minute, if Gaiman thought this was a masterpiece there must be at least a creepy or unnerving third act. Well, maybe there is and maybe there isn't - that would be spoiling. Suffice to say that this isn't all cotton candy and butterflies.

This book is also appealing in that it seemed to me to represent an almost perfect marriage of text and drawing. The panels are crisp with sharp and expressive line drawings. The pencil work is thick, with simple one color washes, but a considerable amount of personality and drama comes through on every page. The ghost is especially well rendered, and is either very realistic or a bit abstract as the situation requires. Anya also comes across as very realistic, but there is always a bit of exaggeration or emphasis drawn into each character to emphasize, highlight or just complement the dialogue and the mood of the character. This is deceptively simple looking and yet remarkably accomplished drawing.

So, a nice coming of age tale and ghost story with a lot going on, all of it under control and well balanced. The overall effect is entertaining and rewarding. A nice find.

Please note that I found this book while browsing the local library's Kindle books, and downloaded it for free. I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.

Just like Americus (which I also highly recommend!), I found this graphic novel in my high school's library, and the two quickly became some of my most frequent check-outs. Anya's portrayed as a bit older than Neil and Danny, about 16-17, but her story is pretty similar: a student who's not part of the "in-crowd" dealing with growing up and just life in general. The big difference is, while the boys are comfortable with their status, for the most part, Anya wishes she were more popular and has her own set of insecurities. Being a Russian immigrant, she feels embarrassed by her family, her mother especially, because they aren't "American" enough, which I will admit is kind of shallow, but it is still believable. She was bullied for her accent and her weight when she was younger, so she does her best to act as much like her peers as she can, even if it means hiding her roots from them. There are also some more mature topics in this one, such as underage drinking and smoking, also some cursing, so I wouldn't really recommend it for anyone under 15, but that doesn't take away from the story. If anything, that helps make it better, since those are just some of the things teens can be pressured into doing, which again, helps make the story more believable.
As for the ghost, I've always had a love for the supernatural, even if I don't necessarily believe in it, so I was curious to see what role spirits actually played in this story, and boy was I surprised. We're introduced to Emily fairly quickly, and she comes off as a sweet, seemingly innocent girl who suffered through several tragedies. The truth doesn't come out until closer to the end, and while I won't spoil anything here, I will say that it helps Anya realize how selfish and shallow she's been, and that realization is what pushes her to change herself for the better. I know this story won't be to everyone's tastes, nothing ever is, after all, but I will ask that people at least give it a try, as they might find themselves pleasantly surprised.

While Neil Gaiman's "YA masterpiece" blurb initially struck me as a bit over the top this book has a lot to recommend it. Not least is the fashion in which it starts as a fairly predictable teen angst morality tale and then morphs into something a little darker and more absorbing.

Our heroine, Anya, starts out with all of the conventional teen challenges - body issues, Mom and sibling issues, fitting in at school, and so on. Treated very well is the fact that Anya is also a Russian-American immigrant with conflicting feelings about her position standing between the new and old worlds. Because Anya is smart and decent and fairly perceptive we have a good feeling about her even when she whinges or makes poor decisions. She never becomes so much a drama queen that she loses our sympathies, and even at the outset one senses her inner fiber. I expected a fairly predictable course to a happy or at least optimistic ending.

But then, Anya falls into an abandoned shaft and finds a body, or more precisely a skeleton, and the ghost of the young girl whose skeleton that was. The ghost girl is pretty and charming and full of innocent enthusiasm. She's wiser and more centered than Anya is and this begins to look like a light hearted fairy godmother sort of story, or maybe a variation on a "Lassie: episode with the ghost playing the role of the kindly guide and protector. But, wait a minute, if Gaiman thought this was a masterpiece there must be at least a creepy or unnerving third act. Well, maybe there is and maybe there isn't - that would be spoiling. Suffice to say that this isn't all cotton candy and butterflies.

This book is also appealing in that it seemed to me to represent an almost perfect marriage of text and drawing. The panels are crisp with sharp and expressive line drawings. The pencil work is thick, with simple one color washes, but a considerable amount of personality and drama comes through on every page. The ghost is especially well rendered, and is either very realistic or a bit abstract as the situation requires. Anya also comes across as very realistic, but there is always a bit of exaggeration or emphasis drawn into each character to emphasize, highlight or just complement the dialogue and the mood of the character. This is deceptively simple looking and yet remarkably accomplished drawing.

So, a nice coming of age tale and ghost story with a lot going on, all of it under control and well balanced. The overall effect is entertaining and rewarding. A nice find.

Please note that I found this book while browsing the local library's Kindle books, and downloaded it for free. I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.

While Neil Gaiman's "YA masterpiece" blurb initially struck me as a bit over the top this book has a lot to recommend it. Not least is the fashion in which it starts as a fairly predictable teen angst morality tale and then morphs into something a little darker and more absorbing.

Our heroine, Anya, starts out with all of the conventional teen challenges - body issues, Mom and sibling issues, fitting in at school, and so on. Treated very well is the fact that Anya is also a Russian-American immigrant with conflicting feelings about her position standing between the new and old worlds. Because Anya is smart and decent and fairly perceptive we have a good feeling about her even when she whinges or makes poor decisions. She never becomes so much a drama queen that she loses our sympathies, and even at the outset one senses her inner fiber. I expected a fairly predictable course to a happy or at least optimistic ending.

But then, Anya falls into an abandoned shaft and finds a body, or more precisely a skeleton, and the ghost of the young girl whose skeleton that was. The ghost girl is pretty and charming and full of innocent enthusiasm. She's wiser and more centered than Anya is and this begins to look like a light hearted fairy godmother sort of story, or maybe a variation on a "Lassie: episode with the ghost playing the role of the kindly guide and protector. But, wait a minute, if Gaiman thought this was a masterpiece there must be at least a creepy or unnerving third act. Well, maybe there is and maybe there isn't - that would be spoiling. Suffice to say that this isn't all cotton candy and butterflies.

This book is also appealing in that it seemed to me to represent an almost perfect marriage of text and drawing. The panels are crisp with sharp and expressive line drawings. The pencil work is thick, with simple one color washes, but a considerable amount of personality and drama comes through on every page. The ghost is especially well rendered, and is either very realistic or a bit abstract as the situation requires. Anya also comes across as very realistic, but there is always a bit of exaggeration or emphasis drawn into each character to emphasize, highlight or just complement the dialogue and the mood of the character. This is deceptively simple looking and yet remarkably accomplished drawing.

So, a nice coming of age tale and ghost story with a lot going on, all of it under control and well balanced. The overall effect is entertaining and rewarding. A nice find.

Please note that I found this book while browsing the local library's Kindle books, and downloaded it for free. I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.

Big surprise: "Anya's Ghost" is about a ghost. And a girl named Anya.

But Vera Nosgol's simple yet entrancing graphic novel is definitely a lot more than that, as it shows a young girl discovering the difference between what she thinks she wants and what she really does want. And her journey is intertwined with wry humor, the uglier layers of high school, and a ghost story that takes a very sinister, dark turn in the last third.

Anya is a fairly typical teen girl -- embarrassed by her very Russian family, unhappy with her curvy body, and enamored of the handsomest, most popular boy at school. On her way home, Anya accidentally falls down an old well. At the bottom, she discovers a ghost named Emily who died there ninety years ago -- and when Anya gets out, she accidentally brings Emily's finger bone with her, allowing the ghost to roam with her.

And at first, Emily makes everything better -- she sympathizes with Anya's woes, helps her on tests, and even helps her interact with her crush. But at a wild party, Anya discovers that the "perfect" teenagers don't quite have the perfect lives she thought. And after a bit of research into Emily's death, Anya realizes that her new friend has a horrifying dark side -- and unless Anya does what she wants, she's going to target Anya's family.

At first, "Anya's Ghost" feels like a 1980s John Hughes coming-of-age movie, only with the added twist of a ghostly companion. There's a lot of angst, crushes, school woes, and a teenage heroine who has to discover what is really important for her in life. And at first, it seems that this is a light little tale about a girl and her ghostly BFF. But everything takes a dark, spinechilling turn later in the story, especially since Emily suddenly develops a creepy, Single White Female-ish fixation on Anya's love life.

And Nosgol's stark, thick-lined artwork really enhances all the emotions the characters feel. The climax is absolutely, um, spinechilling, without any excessive flourishes. And the scene where Anya has an honest talk with the class outcast is touching without being maudlin.

And Anya herself is a startlingly realistic depiction of a teenage girl -- she's embarrassed by her odd family, tries desperately to fit in, and is uncomfortable with her curvy body. But before long, we see hints that her disaffected, sarcastic persona is just a shell, and that the real Anya is a much more reliable, goodhearted person. Emily is the flipside: she seems sweet, gentle and earnest at first, but grows increasingly creepy.

"Anya's Ghost" is one half ghost story, one half high-school/coming-of-age tale. And it's a superb, eerie story right to the end.

ANYA’S GHOST is a wonderful story, that’s probably the easiest way to sum it up.

It’s a story about a young Russian girl that just wants to fit in. She’s self-conscious, she’s pissed at the world, and she’s embarrassed by her family. To say that she’s an entirely unlikable character at first would be putting it nicely. I couldn’t stand Anya for the first ten pages or so, but once we really got to see who she was and the girl underneath the cold exterior? It became easier to understand – and sympathize – with her actions.

What I liked most about ANYA’S GHOST was getting to see Anya come to terms with who she was – to accept that she was different and there was nothing wrong with that. This is something that all teens experience at one point or another, and I feel as though Brosgol did a wonderful job highlighting that.

I also adored the artwork. It’s wonderfully done.
ANYA’S GHOST is dark at times, and most certainly creepy as you near the end, but it’s a wonderful book of self-discovery and I would highly recommend it, even if you don’t care for comics.

I loved Vera Brosgol when she, as a college student, was doing a little webcomic called "Return to Sender." It was weird and crazy and totally unfinished, but I loved it. I even wanted to do a webcomic of my own, which was hard with the whole not-being-able-to-draw thing.

I read one of Brosgol's comics in a Flight anthology at the library years ago, and then kind of forgot about her (and comics in general).

Then there's Anya's Ghost. I had wanted to read it when it came out but... I never did.

I stumbled across a copy at the bookstore the other day and grabbed it. Good thing, because it's really awesome. A girl falls down a hole and finds a ghost who becomes her friend. How sweet! But it doesn't go in the direction you expect it to... EVER. It's a story about trying to fit in, especially as a "foreigner" with an accent; making friends; solving murders; and cute boys on the basketball team. There's a lot going on in this slim little package, both storywise, and with the wonderful art that is jam-packed with details (the Belle & Sebastian poster on Anya's wall really took me back).

Also, it's super cool that Ms. Brosgol mentions Neil Gaiman on her RTS website waaay back in 2007, and Gaiman blurbed her book. That had to be an incredible feeling.

Anya's Ghost is a thrilling experience as it brings a supernatural element to the greatest problems humans have to face, teenage years. As we follow Anya Borzakovskaya in her tale of fitting in with the help of her ghost friend, Emily Riely, we begin to see the process one has to go through in order to "fit in" especially if they are a "fobby" (Fresh Off The Boat: a term used for foreign people who have moved to America). This book was very similar to Gene Luen Yang's "American Born Chinese" but has slight differences to them that tell different stories while keeping the same element, it's not easy being foreign.

Anya's Ghost, by Vera Brosgal, is a graphic novel about a teenaged Russian immigrant to the US who falls into a well, finds a ghost, and makes a friend. Anya moved to the US with her mother and younger brother when she was five years old and has expended a lot of energy changing her accent, updating her wardrobe and losing weight so that she can fit in with her classmates. But she doesn't feel like she fits in at all- she only has one friend, Siobhan, and she can be pretty mean. She struggles in class and feels like a complete outsider. One day, going through a park, she falls into a well and meets Emily, the ghost of a girl who died about ninety years before. Emily comes out of the well with Anya and helps her gain confidence in dealing with the difficulties of high school. But soon, Emily is insisting a bit too much on the way Anya's life should be led, and Anya must decide whether she wants to keep Emily as one of her few friends or let her go.

In a way, this is a pretty typical story. A girl feels very self-conscious and alone in the world, and is very defensive and confrontational because of it. And then something happens- some catalyst action or person- that makes the girl realize that she has value and can make good choices, too. But just because this is a typical coming-of-age story arc, that doesn't mean that it can't be done well. And I think Brosgal succeeds.

This story reminded me of a book I read when I was much younger and don't even recall that well any more, Wait Till Helen Comes. In that book, too, a girl encounters a ghost who encroaches on her life in more and more disturbing ways. Emily was an excellently written character. I loved how the graphic representation of her evolved over the course of the book. She started as a timid, dowdily portrayed ghost, and then became more defined and svelte as the book continued and she experienced more of the world. Comparing her to Anya, who had such expressive features, was one of my favorite things about the drawings in this book.

What I like most about Anya is that she knows from the start that she has value. She is confident enough to know when a gorgeous, athletic guy who expresses interest in her is actually not a good person at all. She also feels sorry for the beautiful, kind girl that is dating the guy because she's so worried about her image. Anya wants friends, but she knows better than to put herself down in order to gain them. I also like that this book addresses a lot of the difficulties of being a teenager, but doesn't try to solve everything. Anya struggles with her weight, is uncomfortable with her body, isn't interested in school and feels like an outcast. Brosgal acknowledges all of these things, but she really focuses her story on Anya showing the confidence to be her own person, especially in her final confrontation with Emily. I really appreciated that. I think the simple color scheme- all in varying shades of grayscale- really helps to project this, too. Anya's face is full of expression, as is her body stance. You can tell what she's feeling even without reading the words.

I enjoyed this book a lot, and I'm glad I was able to read it so quickly as it's been a very long time since I've read a graphic novel! Recommended for fans of YA fiction.

Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol is unlike any graphic novel I have read to date. I've seen it around, but was more or less content to overlook it until it was literally placed in my hands. A personal recommendation, a blurb by Neil Gaiman, and the prospect of discovering something new drew me in, and I gobbled down the wonder of Anya's Ghost in little over an hour of reading time.

Anya's Ghost tells the story of Anya, just your average high school girl struggling to fit in and learn to be comfortable in her own skin. Her family immigrated to the US from Russia just before she started school, and she spent years getting rid of her accent and lying about her last name in order to blend in and keep herself from being mercilessly teased like the one other Russian kid at her high school. When Anya falls down a well and spends two days with the ghost of a girl whose skeleton is her only company, she comes home with a new friend, and a new way to look at life.

Anya's Ghost is about learning to be comfortable in your own skin, embrace who you are, and love where you come from. While Anya's inevitable evolution as a character is fairly predictable, the route she takes to get there is fun, unique, and just a little bit scary. I loved the story of Anya's Ghost, and as the first real YA graphic novel I've ever read, I'm labeling it as a resounding success and just the type of thing I'll have my eye out for more of.

I've always been a bit biased against black and white art in graphic novels, as I haven't been a big fan of the ones I've read (no, I haven't read Sin City-I know it's art is amazing, it's on my shelf), but Vera Brosgol proved me completely and utterly wrong in Anya's Ghost. I loved her cartoony art that was on the one hand cutesy, but on the other hand the perfect creepy portrayal of the story at hand, and always expresive. I appreciated the fact that Anya, who immigrated from Russia as a child, was a normal teenager. She had weight problems (which were worse in her head than they were in real life), normal skin, normal hair-far from a Mary Sue. It's sometimes hard to believe characters in YA books are really as average as they're described when all of these gorgeous guys are attracted to them-not so with Anya. All of the characters were well done, particularly Emily (the ghost), and I love Vera's style so much, I'd love to see more! And you can, on her website, including some really awesome fan art of Katniss and Thessaly (the later from Neil Gaiman's Sandman).

I wholeheartedly recommend Anya's Ghost as a creepy but cute coming of age story, and hope to see more from Vera Brosgol in the future. The story had surprising depth, the art never failed to capture the emotion of a scene, and even if someone never puts this book in your hands, I recommend you seek it out.