Book Review: ANYA'S GHOST by Vera Brosgol

Anya’s having a difficult enough time in high school. Coming from a family of Russian immigrants, she’s struggled to lose her accent and fit in with the other kids. Her only friend mostly just bums cigarettes off her. And the guy she likes barely knows she exists.

Then she falls down a well and meets a ghost. When the ghost girl follows her home, Anya figures this is the last thing she needs. But the ghost helps her cheat on a test and gets her a date with her crush…maybe having a ghost friend might not be so bad!

Of course, it doesn’t exactly stay that way.  

ANYA’S GHOST by Vera Brosgol is my first experience with a graphic novel, so my review might not be a super close examination. The plot was captivating and sucked me in right away. It had just the right dose of creepiness for a wimp like me. So did the illustrations. There were no gory pictures, but I remember gasping out loud at a couple because I was appropriately startled and creeped out. The dialogue was fresh and real, too.

At just over 200 pages, this graphic novel can be read in one sitting. Neil Gaiman blurbed the cover, which make sense because the story gave me a similar vibe to Gaiman’s THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. ANYA’S GHOST is a great graphic novel for beginners, I think. I flew through it and enjoyed myself much more than I imagined. I don’t have experience with other graphic novels to compare, but now I’m excited to explore this genre.

If you have any graphic novel recommendations for beginners, let me know!