193. Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol

Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol (Canada) - (US)

Pages: 221
Ages: 14+
Finished: Aug. 28, 2011
First Published: Jun. 7, 2011
Publisher: First Second Books
Genre: YA, graphic novel, ghost story, paranormal
Rating: 5/5


First sentence:

What's for breakfast?

Acquired: Received a review copy from First Second Books.

Reason for Reading:   I love a good ghost story!

Brilliant creepy ghost story!  Anya is a Russian immigrant highschool student.  She's been in America since she was 5 so she's pretty much Americanized except for her name, but she doesn't see it that way.  She feels as though she has to struggle to fit in at school, that her mother and her Russian cooking and ways are embarrassing, that she's expected to be friends with the new Russian nerdy kid is beyond endurance, especially since she only has one friend herself who is also an outsider.  What with normal teen issues such as body image, a crush on the school's cutest guy and embarrassing herself in gym; it's not like she doesn't have enough on her plate.  But then one day she falls down an open well in the woods and finds a skeleton and its ghost.  The ghost comes along with her and becomes her new best friend, but what at first seems a sad, kind, helpful ghost turns into something much more sinister and Anya realizes she's put her whole family at risk.

Absolutely loved this!  The pace was perfect; it just slowly got creepier and creepier and watching the ghost's true self come out was a lot of fun.  Anya was a great heroine; someone easily relatable to, with issues similar to all of us at that age.  Do take note of the age recommendation (14+), the book is written about teenagers and contains material or references to topics that will not be appropriate for youngers.