Anya's Ghost (Vera Brosgol)

I'm actually reading at a pretty steady clip right now.  I'm happy to report that Summer Reading 2015 is off to a good start.  At least until classes get underway.  Then we'll see how I'm doing, I suppose.

But, for right now, let's talk about my next read: Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol.  This is a graphic novel story of a high school girl (Anya) who is struggling to fit in with her classmates because her Russian immigrant mother keeps pulling her back into her heritage, encouraging her to attend Russian Orthodox mass and become friends with nerdy little Dima, who is also from Russia.  But, instead, she's something of a loner, smoking cigarettes behind the principal's back with her friend Siobhan, and wishing the cute guy in her class would notice her.  All this changes when she finds herself taking an alternate route home from school and ends up tumbling into a well.  She's not the only one there, either.  There are the skeletal remains of a young girl, about her age.  And the ghost of that girl is still down there.  Ninety years is a long time to be alone, and she's eager to

have found a new friend, although Anya's not so keen on being pals.  Still, when Anya leaves the well, she finds that this ghost is going to be a bit harder to lose.  But, that might not be a bad thing...or is it?

This is a sort of spooky tale.  It's a ghost story, after all.  And of course, this is one of those stories that I really can't say much about for fear of spoilers, so I ask that you bear with my vague descriptions.  But, if you're interested in paranormal stories, ghosts, mysteries, or comics, this is something you might enjoy.  Also, I recommend this to anyone who has ever felt like the outsider or been unlucky in love.

Since this was a graphic novel, I did want to comment on the art style.  I really liked the character design, and I thought the art was wonderful!  The characters were emotional and expressive and popped off the page.  The art actually reminded me somewhat of the art of Bryan Lee O'Malley, who writes the Scott Pilgrim books.  Obviously not the same, but it made me think of it.

Well, I have a whole stack of books lined up for continued reading.  I hope you'll stop in again to see what else I'm reading this summer.  In the meantime, I'm reading about management for a Library Science class....Bleah.

But, still, there is a lot of good stuff out there.  I'm looking forward to sharing my samplings of it with all of you.  And tell me what you're reading to!  As always, Happy Reading! ~em