Anya's Ghost
 | |
| Author | Vera Brosgol |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Graphic novel, supernatural |
| Publisher | First Second Books |
Publication date | June 7, 2011 |
| Media type | Print (hardback, paperback) |
| Pages | 221 pages |
| ISBN | ISBN 1596437138 |
Anya's Ghost is an award-winning supernatural graphic novel by Vera Brosgol. The book was first published on June 7, 2011 through First Second Books and in 2012, won an Eisner Award for "Best Publication for Young Adults" and a Harvey Award for "Best Original Graphic Publication for Younger Readers".[1][2]
Brosgol worked on Anya's Ghost over a period of four years, beginning in 2007 and finishing the text in 2009 while completing the cover in 2010.[3]
Synopsis
Anya Borzakovskaya is an immigrant from Russia who lives in the United States, alongside her mother and brother, Sasha. Anya is unpopular at her New England private school, aside from her best friend Siobhan and fellow Russian immigrant Dima, who Anya avoids due to being too “fresh off the boat,” and wishes to join the popular kids, including Sean, the object of her affections, and Elizabeth, Sean’s girlfriend. Walking to school one day, Anya falls down a large hole in the forest, which contains a skeleton. The body’s ghost, a shy, homely girl soon appears and explains that she had fallen down the hole and died of thirst after breaking her neck ninety years ago, but is unable to move very far from her bones.
Anya is rescued by a passerby, but the skeleton is not discovered. At school several days later, the ghost appears to her, as Anya had apparently put a small finger bone in her bag by accident while leaving the hole. Anya initially wants to put the bone back in the hole, but relents after the ghost helps Anya cheat on a biology test and spy on Sean. Later, the ghost reveals herself to be Emily Reilly, whose fiancée had died during World War I. Shortly thereafter, Emily’s parents were murdered, and Emily fell down an old well while escaping the killer. Anya promises to find Emily’s killer, while Emily agrees to help Anya fit in at school and win over Sean. However, Anya’s attempts to become popular ostracizes her from Siobhan, who dislikes Sean, and Emily becomes disinterested in discovering the murderer’s identity.
Later, Anya goes to a party and discovers Sean habitually cheats on Elizabeth, who is only with him for the boost in social status. Anya leaves, leaving Emily, who believed the two were destined for each other, angry and confused. After this incident, Anya notices Emily is becoming more controlling of her than before, even straightening her hair and smoking cigarettes like Anya had. Anya decides to finally search for the killer and finds a newspaper article about Emily’s disappearance with Dima’s help. It is revealed that Emily had no fiancée, and had in fact murdered a young couple in their home after the man rejected her, and then died running from the authorities.
When Anya returns home, she discovers the finger bone to be missing, and that Emily is capable of moving solid objects, implying she had put the bone in the bag in the first place. Emily begins threatening Anya’s family in order to make Anya stop resisting her manipulations, even causing Anya’s mother to fall down a flight of stairs. After Emily appears before Sasha, he reveals to Anya he had found the bone earlier and put it with his “dinosaur bone” collection. Anya retrieves the bone and runs to the pit, pursued by Emily. After Anya drops the bone into the hole, Emily manages to possess her skeleton and climbs out of the pit. Anya convinces Emily of the futility of her situation, causing the tearful ghost to dissipate into the air, implying that Emily is free to the afterlife, and the skeleton falls into the pit again. Much later, Anya convinces her school to fill up the hole and rekindles her friendship with Siobhan.
Characters
Anya Borzakovskaya- A teenage girl who immigrated from Russia to the United States when she was young. She is often trying to distance herself from her heritage, not wanting to appear 'Fresh Off the Boat'. Self conscious about her looks, she tends to reject her mother's Russian cooking (much to her brother's delight). She tends to have poor school performance, dislikes going to church, and smokes cigarettes, trying to fit in. Her best friend is Siobhan.
Emily Reilly- A 90 year old ghost who died when she was roughly the same age as Anya around 1918. Heart broken by a crush, in a rage, she killed him and his lover in a housefire, and while escaping from authorities, fell down the old well and died from thirst after breaking her neck, paralyzing her. Initially kindhearted and curious, her quiet nature and friendliness mask a more sinister personality than Anya would have expected. Her character is created to expose Anya's best qualities, and mirror her worst.
Siobhan- Anya's tomboyish best friend who has no qualms with smoking, cursing, and skipping class. Aside from her rebellious nature, Siobhan has a snarky sense of humor, and truly does care for Anya's wellbeing, even if she doesn't like to show it. According to Anya, she has several brothers, and is Irish.
Anya's Mom- A stout chubby woman who is usually cheerful and loves her two children very much. Her English is still shaky, and she has yet to take her citizenship test. Sasha loves her cooking, but Anya is worried it will make her fat. The whereabouts of her children's father(s) is unknown and unmentioned. She appears to be very religious, as she has pictures of Jesus in the house, and attends church regularly.
Sasha- Anya's younger brother. He likes to dig up the yard to bury 'treasure and fossils' which usually includes Anya's jewelry, much to her disdain. He loves his mother's food, and is terrified of Emily.
Dima- A Russian immigrant who attends Anya's and Siobhan's school. Nerdy and still 'fresh off the boat' he is incredibly unpopular, and is often a victim of bullying.
Sean- A popular boy at school who Anya has a crush on. Initially appearing friendly and charismatic, he is revealed to be quite the womanizer, and is unashamedly cheating on his current girlfriend Elizabeth, who seems to stay with him mostly for status.
Elizabeth- A classmate of Anya's who is Sean's current girlfriend. She initially appears 'perfect' with her good looks and popularity, but Anya learns how Sean is openly cheating on her, and how she is staying with him for his status and that she still loves him, making Anya feel sorry for her.
Reception
Critical reception for Anya's Ghost was positive.[4][5] Common elements of praise included the book being "easy to relate to" and Emily's personality shift from a friendly girl to an obsessive villain.[6][7] The artwork of Anya's Ghost was also subject to frequent praise, with Wired calling it "lively and sophisticated" while the New York Times commented that Brosgol was "especially adept at capturing its spectrum of angst".[8][9]
See also
References
- ↑ "Congratulations to the Harvey Award Recipients!".
- ↑ "Eisner Award Recipients 2010-Present".
- ↑ "Wordstock Interview: Vera Brosgol". Wired. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
- ↑ Carpenter, Susan (19 June 2011). "Not Just For Kids: 'Anya's Ghost'". LA Times. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
- ↑ "Review: Anya's Ghost". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
- ↑ "Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol - review". London: Guardian. 6 February 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
- ↑ "If you dare, these books will give you a good scare". Fredericksburg.com. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
- ↑ "Review: Anya’s Ghost". Wired. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
- ↑ Paul, Pamela (8 June 2011). "A Girl and Her Ghost". New York Times. Retrieved 11 April 2013.