Anya's Ghost

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A little warning: there is some language in this graphic novel, although the language is not really strong and it only appears a few times in this novel, so this graphic novel should be appropriate enough for the young adult audience. Also, the theme about a possible murder in this story might be a bit frightening for readers who do not like reading about death. Anya has posters of various alternative/indie groups like Weezer, Belle and Sebastian, Metric, and Camera Obscura in her room. Rewatch Bonus: Emily doesn't sound as excited as one would think she would when Anya says they can get started on solving her murder. Because she wasn't murdered...she was the murderer.

As I mentioned, it's the Friday of a three day weekend so I'll keep this short, but Anya's Ghost is a real keeper. Brosgol deftly accomplishes so much in so little space. There is an economy of text but an abundance of meaning. The message is wonderful. The illustrations are engaging. The heroine is spectacular. The more I learned about Anya the more I celebrated the differences she despised. I really enjoyed and highly recommend this book. Misfit teen Anya attends a private high school where the only people who really talk with her are tough-girl frenemy Siobhan and fellow Russian immigrant Dima, whom Anya deems too “fobbie” (fresh off the boat) to be her friend. She wants to be more American, especially more slender like most of the other girls in school, but it’s not easy with her single mom plying her with heavy, fried Russian breakfasts. Then one day, her mind filled with all her problems, Anya walks right into a hole in the ground and falls into an abandoned well, where she finds a skeleton. This skeleton has a ghost, a teenage girl, who helps get Anya rescued, and then follows Anya home. She says her name is Emily Reilly, and she was murdered ninety years before. Before long, Emily starts helping Anya pass her exams, dress more fashionably, and stalk her secret crush, school basketball star Sean. At first, Anya enjoys her new BFF, but as time goes by she realizes that Emily has taken over a lot of her life. When Anya tries to do things her own way, Emily threatens her friends and family. In time, Emily reveals that she was once engaged to a man who died fighting in World War I. She also tells Anya that she fell into the well while fleeing a murderer. Anya promises to help Emily discover the identity of the man who killed her so that her spirit can rest in peace, and Emily agrees to continue helping Anya fit in at school.In the first place, Brosgol works hard to make Anya a character who very easily could be weird or strange or unwelcome but isn’t. She’s a typical teen from an immigrant family. She herself is an immigrant and by her word we learn that she’s worked very hard to compen Kirk Summation: Anya's last argument with Emily. She sums up how basically Emily was trying to live the life she lost through Anya herself, but pointing out she lost her chance already. a b c Brosgol, Vera (June 16, 2011). "process". verabee. Archived from the original on March 31, 2016 . Retrieved December 21, 2021. Face–Heel Turn Though it's debatable if she was a Heel to begin with, Emily becomes more overtly controlling after Matt's party and later starts threatening Anya's family when Anya finds out the truth about her death.

As is often the case with comics aimed at younger readers, it is a little didactic but not obnoxiously so. And the message about being proud of who you are and not relying on other people to make you feel good about yourself is a fine one to send to all readers, whatever their age.

Q&A Asked about Anya’s Ghost

And as for the ghost, I’ll refrain from talking too much about her, simply because her role drives the story. We’ll just leave it at this: I was surprised by what Brosgol did with what could have been a terribly cliched device. And that I could be so pleasantly pleased speaks highly for Brosgol’s product here. Unfinished Business: A rather selfish example of this trope. Emily never got to finish chasing boys around and living her life, so she begins controlling Anya's life instead. Foreign Cuss Word: When Anya's mother falls down the stairs and twists her ankle courtesy of Emily, she says, "Oy...bleen...my leg!" Bleen is a very mild Russian swear word that literally means "pancake." Slut Shaming. Wow-zah. The casual level in which this was depicted was mind-boggling. Apparently, women can't wear shirts that show off their breasts without Anya and her ghost having a few choice words about it. #yikes. Concerning the ending of this story, I was a bit annoyed at how the book ended since I wanted to see more from the characters in Anya’s world. I will not tell you what happened at the end, but let us just say that the book sort of ended on an abrupt note and you are wondering if there will be another book detailing Anya’s adventures.

Dying as Yourself: Well, dying again as yourself, but as Emily falls down the well again, her hair reverts from the long, modern style to the poofy, dandelion-like style she had when she first met Anya. Anya's Ghost won the 2011 Cybils literary award in the Young Adult category. [12] It also won the 2012 Harvey Award for "Best Original Graphic Publication for Younger Readers" [11] and the 2012 Eisner Award for " Best Publication for Young Adults (Ages 12–17)". [13] Anya's Ghost was nominated for the 2011 Bram Stoker Award for Best Graphic Novel, but lost to Neonomicon by Alan Moore. [14] And one day while she’s feeling particularly blue about her life, she falls into a deep hole in the ground. Underground she meets Emily, a 90 year old ghost.Noodle People: The thin people, like Emily, are really thin. Emily herself is also somewhat bendy looking, as if she doesn't have bones in her legs. About a week later I was tidying my table, and I came across it again. I did go through the 'I must read that' thought process, but I shoved it on the book shelf with all the other books all the same. In the same week, my mother started a graphic novel for adults, named 'drinking at the movies.' Which she loved. This brought her to ask me if she could read my new book, 'Anya's Ghost.' I said yes, and in another week she had finished it. Her words, quoted correctly "This is a really good book Grace, you would enjoy it." So, I read it, and I'm really glad I did. Anya is a completely normal teenage girl, she's sure she looks fat in her shirt, she never says her surname because she's sure it's more embarrassing than everyone else's, and she envies that pretty girl, and her perfect boyfriend, who she quite fancies for herself.... A lovely story about friendship, selfishness and maturity. Try the artist's blog for more information.

Weight Woe: Despite not being particularly overweight and even considered pretty by some characters, Anya sees herself as fat and refuses to eat her mother's homemade cheese dumplings because they're too greasy, even though she loved them when she was a little girl. Some of her dialogue implies that this is the result of being bullied as a child, as well as the elders at her church telling her she's too fat "while their ankles are spilling over their orthopedic shoes." Generally speaking, of course. There are always a few works of the genre that don’t play to cliché. Thankfully, Anya’s Ghost avoids most of the usual traps of the form. There are even moments when I found myself gleefully surprised at a direction in which Vera Brosgol would choose to take her story. Anya’s Ghost, as one may have guessed by now, is about three things. A girl named Anya, high school shenanigans, and, of course, a ghost. So really, the joy is in the details of how the story all works out rather than in the genius of any of the three parts on their own. Axe-Crazy: Emily whenever she's rejected. In life she murdered the boy she loved and the girl he chose over her because he called her "ugly", and as a ghost she starts trying to injure, and possibly even kill, Anya's family once Anya tries to break off their relationship. Past Bram Stoker Nominees & Winners". Horror Writers Association. Archived from the original on May 3, 2016 . Retrieved December 19, 2016.A girl who falls down a well and becomes a ghost. Sounds familiar. The reference is made pretty explicit when at the end, Emily claws her way up the well and crawls out of it, head slumped downwards. Anya herself. She's dislikable. I was not a fan of how she treated her family, nor did I enjoy the fact that she only really turned a corner when they were in a life or death situation. Emily (the ghost) stated it best when she told Anya that she was selfish and self-centered. I Am Not Pretty: Again, Anya. For a curvy, fresh-faced young girl, she's pretty convinced that she's unattractive. Expository Hairstyle Change: Emily learns to flatten her hair to create a more modern look, showing how she's becoming stronger in what she can do as a ghost and how her relationship with Anya is changing. Bastard Boyfriend: Sean turns out to be this when it's revealed that he makes out (possibly even sleeps) with other girls at parties for fun, even when Elizabeth knows about it.