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A review by ashlightgrayson
Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I went in blind when I picked this book up and I think that was a good choice. The inciting event in the story is Anya falling down a pit and encountering the ghost of a young woman. The ghost follows her home and eventually initiates a friendship with her. However, this is more a driving force in the story rather than the main point of the story itself.
Anya is a Russian girl and daughter of Russian immigrants attending a private school funded by her single mother. The story starts off with Anya being highly unlikeable. She rejects her heritage and has many complaints about her life despite her mother's hard work to provide her and her brother with a better life. In addition, she treats her friends poorly in an effort to better fit in with the popular kids at school and seem more likeable to her crush. There is an in-depth exploration of Anya's internal struggle to fit in as the daughter of immigrants whilst also undergoing tremendous growth as a character as the story progresses. That is really where the meat of the story lies. Her behavior is a projection of her own feelings of inadequacy. As she grows as a character her priorities and behavior change for the better. She becomes a better person and her character growth is really what the plot is about. I was highly impressed with how well the writer integrated Anya's character growth into this fantastical story. The haunting elements were fun, but did not distract from the heart of the story.
I found this a super enjoyable graphic novel to read and I think it's great to pick up for anyone who is new to comics/graphic novels.
Anya is a Russian girl and daughter of Russian immigrants attending a private school funded by her single mother. The story starts off with Anya being highly unlikeable. She rejects her heritage and has many complaints about her life despite her mother's hard work to provide her and her brother with a better life. In addition, she treats her friends poorly in an effort to better fit in with the popular kids at school and seem more likeable to her crush. There is an in-depth exploration of Anya's internal struggle to fit in as the daughter of immigrants whilst also undergoing tremendous growth as a character as the story progresses. That is really where the meat of the story lies. Her behavior is a projection of her own feelings of inadequacy. As she grows as a character her priorities and behavior change for the better. She becomes a better person and her character growth is really what the plot is about. I was highly impressed with how well the writer integrated Anya's character growth into this fantastical story. The haunting elements were fun, but did not distract from the heart of the story.
I found this a super enjoyable graphic novel to read and I think it's great to pick up for anyone who is new to comics/graphic novels.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Xenophobia, and Murder