Part story of fitting in, part ghost story, part a point about standing up for yourself, this teen graphic is a great read with a few good themes running through it. Who says comics need to be simplistic? 
Anya’s Ghost
by Vera Brogosol
First Second Books
ISBN: 978 1 59643 552 0
Anya is not at all thrilled with life. She is, after all, a teenager, and a teenager who doesn’t really fit in well at her prep school, what with being the teensiest bit plump, her immigrant mom, and not being rich. So it seems like the best thing that ever happened when a ghost she met at the bottom of a well starts to help her out. Soon she is doing better on tests and catching the attention of a boy she likes – but she also finds out everything isn’t quite what she thinks, either.
That cute boy? Turns out to be a creep, and his perfect girlfriend doesn’t have it all, after all. Worst of all, her ghost turns out not to be the good buddy with a tragic past that Anya thought she was… and now Anya has to figure out how to get rid of her.
It’s a good story, but of course, you can’t talk about a graphic novel without talking illustration. This one is all black and white, with deep, heavily inked blacks and a bold, comic style that keeps it from being too gothic. Think more Emily the Strange than Gustav Dore, and this, I think, sits about right for the audience. Facial expressions are always something I look for, and I think they work well here, both on Anya and on the ghost, as she changes, at first subtly and then drastically. On the whole, I think this has more appeal for girls (I hate to gender specify, but honestly, most teenaged boys won’t read a graphic about the life of a girl, and it would be a shame to waste it on someone who would only roll their eyes at you!), and speak pretty directly to most girls, because how many of us really felt like we fit in perfectly as teenagers?
One last thing – I like to try to show you a bit of a graphic when I post it, because you really can’t, I think, but a graphic without seeing a sample of the art, so here you go, with my recommendation:
My 9yo daughter loves graphic novels, but can’t find many that suit her typical ‘girl’ tastes. She loves Raina Telgemeier (Smile and Drama) who has adapted the first 5 or so Babysitter’s Club books to graphic style. Maddy has read through all of them several times, and is longing for more. Since Ms. Telgemeier doesn’t have another novel forthcoming, I think I’ll try this one out for my girl 🙂 Thanks for the recommendation!