Anya's Ghost

It seems like things couldn't get any worse for Anya. She hates her family - the greasy food her mother makes, her church where no one bothered to learn English, and the way her little brother gets away with everything. She's unpopular at school - maybe it's her body, or the remnants of her Russian accent, or that everyone thinks she hangs out with the one other Russian kid at school, a nerd named Dima. And Anya has no friends - no one to confide in or hang out with. So yeah, perhaps things couldn't get worse for Anya... until she storms off campus one day and falls down a well.

But somehow, at the bottom of that well, is the answer to all her problems! Well, sort of. There's a skeleton at the bottom of the well and attached to it is a show more ghost. Emily died ninety years ago and has been stuck in the well all those years. At first, Anya is terrified of her. But when Emily follows Anya to school and helps her cheat on tests and get noticed by her crush, well... maybe having an undead best friend is pretty awesome.

Except there's more to Emily's past than she's letting on. And pretty soon she's controlling more and more of Anya's life. Yeah, Anya was looking for a BFF, but Emily isn't kidding about the "Forever" part.

This book is amazing! The art is excellent - no stereotypical rail-thin girls with gravity-defying boobs. Brosgol represents lots of different body types and looks and Anya sports a chubby and pretty body. Her body image issues are worked out in the art and some of the storyline without ever being heavy-handed. The dialogue is spot-on. Anya's wit and sarcasm are perfect for a teenager and I never felt like Brosgol was trying to hard. And the story - I did quite the turn-about on how I felt about these characters as the story progressed. There's enough spookiness to appeal to fans of ghost stories, but I think this would be a story that's an easy sell to almost any reader. show less

I love ghost stories. I love stories of haunted houses, spooky encounters, and ghostly meetings. When I saw a book with “ghost” in the title, I requested it from the library without even reading a single review. Because of this, I had no expectations and this graphic novel certainly exceeded any that I did have.

Anya is the epitome of misunderstood; her mother wants to fatten her up with traditional Russian cuisine, her best and only friend makes fun of her crushes, and school is far from being a cake walk. One day, while on her way to school, she falls into a well where she meets a friendly ghost. Emily, the ghost, has been trapped in the well for 90 years and can’t wait to escape with Anya. The two become fast friends until show more Emily’s guidance takes a nasty turn. Anya must uncover Emily’s past before Anya’s future is jeopardized.

This graphic novel has very few flaws. The illustrations are in grays, blacks, purples, and whites which become progressively oppressive as the story becomes darker. Anya is a very relate-able character as she is your typical fish out of water teen. I think teen readers will sympathize with Anya and when Emily starts to improve Anya’s life, readers may even be envious that they don’t have a ghostly pal. However, a dark twist occurs that causes Anya to give thanks for her typical teenage life. Thus causing the reader to do the same. I found the investigations into Emily’s past to be the most interesting aspect of the graphic novel. Overall, this graphic novel teaches a good lesson while remaining interesting and a bit eerie.

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‘’No one has the right to decide who gets to live or die.’’

I will tell you straight away that this is so much more than a comic. I thought it would be a cute tale, a whimsical ghost story and, following a discussion with my dear friend Marina, I decided to try my luck with Brosgol’s work. I was definitely in for a surprise. A bleak, haunting, and yet quirky and beautiful surprise.

Anya is a young girl in high school. Having arrived to the USA from Russia before primary school, she has adopted to the ways of her new homeland. She has even lost her accent and yet her life is anything but easy. Her mother, a cheerful, loving woman, and her six-year-old brother don’t seem to help because Anya wants to fit in, influenced by the show more vile notion of the ‘’popular’’ student. One day, after a really bad day and a strange accident in the park, she finds herself attached to the ghost of a girl who died under mysterious ways. Her life changes drastically in ways that she couldn't have anticipated when she decided to make the 90-year-old spirit her new best friend.

Yes, this comic is rich in beautiful illustrations whose palette consists of blue, white, black and grey but this is just the tip of the iceberg of excellence. This is a comic book that could have easily become a spectacular novel. The themes that Brosgol communicates through the storyline are plenty and utterly relevant to our times and the lives of the young students, particularly in the USA. First and foremost, the difficulty of being accepted when your roots lie in a far-away country that your classmates know only through hearsay and prejudice spread by ignorant, uneducated fools. Moreover, you don’t meet the standards of the time, you’re not blonde, skinny and stupid, you haven't managed to gain a place in the cliques therefore you don't exist. And the worst danger comes when you are tempted to shed off your identity and your heritage like a skin that has no use anymore just because the social circles demand everyone to be the same. And Anya falls in love so what can she do? That’s where the ghost comes to help and the price will be... but you have to read it to find out. Love is such a weird thing...It can make our lives a brighter place and it can drive us to deeds that we never thought ourselves possible to commit. And then, there is the devilishly thin line between love and obsession…

I have to stop here because I’m dangerously close to start spoiling the plot. What I can tell you is that this is a comic book to be enjoyed and taken seriously. I felt that this isn’t only targeted to teenagers but to adults as well since the social commentary is evident and provides an opportunity for parents and educators to think of the problems of the young ones and the ways to help them accept themselves and avoid the trap of the notion of the ‘’popular’’ kid. I was more than satisfied with Anya’s development and her courage to recognise her mistakes and illusions… show less

Anya is from a Russian immigrant family, trying to blend in a private American high school. Of course, this is not easy and Anya becomes a bit of a loner. One day, after taking a short cut, on the way home from school she falls into a well. There she meets Emily, another teenage outcast, who also happens to be a ghost, with a very dark past.
Emily helps Anya escape from the well and soon after, they become fast friends.
Sounds light & breezy, huh? It’s not. This wonderful, well-drawn graphic, is very insightful and takes some unexpected twists and turns. Seek it out.

[b:Anya's Ghost|18157945|Anya's Ghost (Kindle Edition)|Vera Brosgol|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1372789746s/18157945.jpg|14279456]
[bc:Anya's Ghost|18157945|Anya's Ghost (Kindle Edition)|Vera Brosgol|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1372789746s/18157945.jpg|14279456]


I found Anya’s Ghost created by Vera Brosgol, an enchanting and entertaining graphic novel. It’s a YA magical tale that hits that sweet spot where is an appropriate read for young readers and still interesting for adults. On a completely different note, I also learned what the acronym “FOBBY” stands for (Fresh Of the Boat, in case you didn’t know either).

This graphic novel is about a girl named Anya Borzakovskaya, her struggles adjusting into her life as an American show more teenager and of course a ghost. It deals with universal teenagers-riddle-with-angst themes such as, adapting to a new environment, finding new friends and romantic love, being ashamed of your parents, body image issues, etc.


Anya struggles with her image

Anya is also a girl with an identity crisis, on top all the challenges she faces as a teen, she’s also an immigrant. Anya feels inadequate in the preppy American private school her single mom pays for her (using the child support money she receives). Anya has worked hard at getting rid of her Russian accent and renouncing her background, all of this for the sake of assimilating better into her new environment.

I like that the author escapes the typical high school drama and truisms you would expect in this sort of story. There are not character-clichés in this novel; it’s refreshing not to find teens rigidly divided along the regular social groups of jogs, nerds, cheerleaders, etc. Instead, Ms. Brosgol has created less simplistic, hence more fascinating characters. I don’t read too many YA books, but sometimes I find a tendency among some authors to depict teenagers as shallow and one-dimensional characters and to treat them with a certain level of disrespect. I was pleased to see that in Anya’s Ghost, Ms. Brosgol seem to have escaped what, to me could have been a flaw in her depiction of Anya and the other young characters in this story.
Anya is far from perfect, she smokes, is sometimes disrespectful to her mom, dishes fellow Russian immigrant Dima because he’s too “fobby” and cuts classes. But I like that when the time comes, she finds the courage to do the right thing.

At the beginning of the story Anya falls into an abandoned well and there she meets her new BFF, Emily Reilly. Emily is the ghost of a girl that was murdered 90 years ago.
Shortly after, Anya is rescued, and she and Emily quickly become best friends. They start a sort of symbiotic relationship in which Emily uses her “ghostly powers” to help Anya in all sorts of ways, she gets her the answers in a test, teaches her how to dress better and even provides tips on how to get the attention of Sean, her secret-crush, basketball star, in return, Anya tries solving the mystery of how Emily was murdered.


Anya's terrifying finding inside the well

After a while, Anya realizes that some of the facts Emily has told her about her past don’t seem to add up. The story takes an interesting turn when Anya discovers that Emily has been hiding some important information from her. She also learns that Emily expects Anya to take all the help she offers without any questions and that she has allowed Emily to pretty much take over her life. And this is when the story takes a more creepy and scary turn. Let's just say that it becomes apparent that Emily is not the sweet, innocent friend Anya originally thought.


Anya finds that Emily is not so sweet after all

Anya comes to comprehend that her insecurities and the rejection of her heritage and culture have indeed not only put her life in danger but that she has also allowed for her individuality to get lost in the process. In the end, Anya is happy to be who she is and learns that to be “normal” is not such a bad thing after all.

Anya’s Ghost is a wonderful exploration of identity, the importance of remaining true to ourselves and the choices many immigrants have to make between assimilation and tradition.

Although this book is recommended for teens, it was not difficult for me to relate to Anya’s Ghost as the story of as an outsider struggling to fit it.

This beautiful graphic novel, with its simple and elegant black and white drawings and a mix of mystery and horror, should be a good choice for young adults that might not be too crazy about literature but like to read. show less

Single White Lady

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 - show more 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 and 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 introduces herself to her crush as Anya Brown. She even gives fellow Russian immigrant Dimo a wide berth, watching silently as he's mercilessly bullied 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 presidential 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.

http://www.easyvegan.info/2015/02/13/anyas-ghost-by-vera-brosgol/ show less

‘’No one has the right to decide who gets to live or die.’’

I will tell you straight away that this is so much more than a comic. I thought it would be a cute tale, a whimsical ghost story and, following a discussion with my dear friend Marina, I decided to try my luck with Brosgol’s work. I was definitely in for a surprise. A bleak, haunting, and yet quirky and beautiful surprise.

Anya is a young girl in high school. Having arrived to the USA from Russia before primary school, she has adopted to the ways of her new homeland. She has even lost her accent and yet her life is anything but easy. Her mother, a cheerful, loving woman, and her six-year-old brother don’t seem to help because Anya wants to fit in, influenced by the show more vile notion of the ‘’popular’’ student. One day, after a really bad day and a strange accident in the park, she finds herself attached to the ghost of a girl who died under mysterious ways. Her life changes drastically in ways that she couldn't have anticipated when she decided to make the 90-year-old spirit her new best friend.

Yes, this comic is rich in beautiful illustrations whose palette consists of blue, white, black and grey but this is just the tip of the iceberg of excellence. This is a comic book that could have easily become a spectacular novel. The themes that Brosgol communicates through the storyline are plenty and utterly relevant to our times and the lives of the young students, particularly in the USA. First and foremost, the difficulty of being accepted when your roots lie in a far-away country that your classmates know only through hearsay and prejudice spread by ignorant, uneducated fools. Moreover, you don’t meet the standards of the time, you’re not blonde, skinny and stupid, you haven't managed to gain a place in the cliques therefore you don't exist. And the worst danger comes when you are tempted to shed off your identity and your heritage like a skin that has no use anymore just because the social circles demand everyone to be the same. And Anya falls in love so what can she do? That’s where the ghost comes to help and the price will be... but you have to read it to find out. Love is such a weird thing...It can make our lives a brighter place and it can drive us to deeds that we never thought ourselves possible to commit. And then, there is the devilishly thin line between love and obsession…

I have to stop here because I’m dangerously close to start spoiling the plot. What I can tell you is that this is a comic book to be enjoyed and taken seriously. I felt that this isn’t only targeted to teenagers but to adults as well since the social commentary is evident and provides an opportunity for parents and educators to think of the problems of the young ones and the ways to help them accept themselves and avoid the trap of the notion of the ‘’popular’’ kid. I was more than satisfied with Anya’s development and her courage to recognise her mistakes and illusions…

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com show less