Review: Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol

Title: Anya's Ghost

Author: Vera Brosgol
Year Published: 2011

Genre: YA Fiction (graphic novel)

Pages: 222

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Challenges: What's in a Name 5 (creepy crawly); Winter Olympics 2014 (Russia)
Geography Connection (my Google Reading map): USA

FTC Disclosure: I borrowed this book from my school's library

Summary (from the inside flap of the book): Of all the things Anya expected to find a the bottom of an old well, a new friend wasn't one of them. Especially not a new friend who's been dead for a century. Falling down a well is bad enough, but any'as normal life might actually be worse. She's embarrassed by her family, self-conscious about her body, and she's pretty much given up on fitting in at school. A new friend--even a dead one--is just what she needs. But Anya's new BFF isn't kidding about the "forever" part.

Review: I haven't read a graphic novel in a while so it felt good to read this one tonight in just one short sitting. I love the drawings with their solid, simple forms that convey so much and the story took me somewhere that I didn't see coming.

Anya is like so many teenagers, she is unsure of herself and of her place in high school. She wants to be liked, to date, to have more friends, and to feel happier about her body and she has worked hard to get rid of her accent (she was born in Russia). Then she falls in a well. For two days she is stuck below ground with a skeleton and its ghost. Once Anya is rescued she discovers that the ghost has come along for the ride. At first it's great, the ghost helps her on tests and gets her information, but then things turn....

I think this is a quirky graphic novel that is fun, interesting, and has a good message that definitely doesn't hit you over the head.