Anya’s Ghost Review
By Shannon Denham
Staff Writer
I had first seen Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol on various bookshelves whenever I went shopping. The cover was the first thing to catch my eye. After all, I’ve always had an affinity for ghosts and ghost stories (as long as they aren’t too scary). However, I didn’t buy the book that day and I seriously regretted it because the next time I tried to purchase Anya’s Ghost, it was nowhere to be found. All of the bookstores were sold out of it. For months, I wasn’t able to get my hands on it, but thankfully I found it underneath our Christmas tree later on. Needless to say, Anya’s Ghost was definitely worth the aggravating wait.
Anya’s Ghost is the first book written and illustrated by Vera Brosgol, who used her Russian heritage to help bring Anya’s story to life. The book has won both an Eisner Award for “Best Publication for Young Adults” and a Harvey Award for “Best Original Graphic Publication for Young Readers.” Upon reading it, you will certainly see why it received such acclaim.
The art of this graphic novel is simple and smooth, yet highly captivating. The natural curves within Vera Brosgol’s work add a sense of familiarity, thus making the characters, especially Anya, both approachable and relatable. The limited color pallet of white, purples, greys, and black helps create a supernatural feel to the comic. Even in scenes set in the daylight, this color scheme creates an almost eerie feeling about it, bringing spooky movies to readers’ minds.
Anya’s story, despite its many supernatural elements, is one in which many people can relate. Anya lives with her mother and her younger brother, Sasha. It is soon revealed within the story that Anya’s family is originally from Russia, having immigrated to America when Anya was little. Anya, like most young adults, is very self-conscious about herself, especially of her Russian heritage and her body. From right off the bat, Anya refuses to eat her mother’s traditional Russian cooking, stating that it will make her fat.
As Anya makes her way to school, Anya’s best friend, Siobhan, and her crush, Sean, are both introduced to the reader. Sean begins talking with his girlfriend, Elizabeth, and Anya, already in a bad mood, bickers with Siobhan. Anya, who is irritated at her mother, Elizabeth, and Siobhan, decides to skip the bus and walk to school. Completely caught up in her thoughts, Anya doesn’t notice that she’s walking right into an old well until it’s too late. Anya falls down the well, landing harshly and hurting her wrist. As she looks up at her surroundings, Anya spies a human skeleton across from her.
Panicked, Anya screams for help but no one comes. As she settles in the well, a ghost appears next to the skeleton. The ghost speaks to Anya once Anya stops freaking out, and readers learn that the ghost has been dead for nearly a century after falling down the well herself, breaking her neck, and dying from thirst. The ghost has never left the well because no one ever discovered her body and she cannot fly too far away from her bones.
Soon, night falls and Anya still hasn’t been rescued from the well. Disheartened, Anya falls asleep. As she sleeps, a passerby drops a can of soda into the well and the ghost helps Anya gain the attention of the man. Anya quickly gathers her things and is pulled up by the man with a rope. Anya bids the ghost farewell, promising to tell everyone of the well so that someone can bury her body properly.
After a few days of rest, Anya returns back to school. Things seem normal for a while, but when Anya is in the girls’ bathroom, the ghost appears again. It turns out that when Anya was gathering her things in the well she accidentally picked up one of the ghost’s finger bones. Now, the ghost is able to follow Anya wherever she goes. Anya is at first ready to bring the bone back to the well as soon as school is over, but the ghost proves herself worthy by helping Anya cheat on a test.
The ghost and Anya become friends as the ghost helps Anya with both her tests and with socializing and fitting in at school. Anya learns that the ghost’s real name is Emily and that Emily had died trying to run away from her parents’ murderer, who was never caught. As Emily helps Anya get closer to her crush, Anya promises to solve Emily’s murder. However, things begin to change after a party.
Emily helps Anya talk with Sean at the party, but soon enough Sean proves himself to be not a very nice boy. Anya quickly decides that Sean isn’t worth her feelings, but Emily disagrees. Emily becomes more controlling, trying to pressure Anya into wearing outfits Emily has chosen and talking to Sean as much as possible. Anya notices this sudden change in Emily’s behavior and decides to leave the bone at home for one day. She heads over to the library to research Emily’s murder and, with the help of Dima, the other Russian student attending her school, Anya discovers something terribly shocking about Emily’s murder. To find out what happens next, pick up your own copy of Anya’s Ghost at your local bookstore. Anya’s Ghost is recommended for ages 12 and up.
Disclaimer
All images in this article are copyright Vera Brogsol and First Second Books.