Anya's Ghost

Anya's Ghost

By Vera Brosgol

Published by First Second

Summary:
Anya's ghost is another book about ghosts and high-schoolers getting involved in shenanigans. This time it stars our titular main character Anya, a Russian immigrant to the US and high-schooler struggling to get through while existing at the bottom of the pecking order. When she trips and falls into a well, she finds a ghost. After they get out, they help each other out. Anya helps the ghost see the world again and the ghost helps Anya with grades and talking to boys. But things slowly start to morph and twist as the story goes on, and not everything said is entirely true.

Art:
The art is good. It's monochrome with a bubbly design which allows for more expression in the characters. The backgrounds are pretty bleak, with the art style reveling in the banality of the setting. over all, it's fine. Nothing I haven't seen before though.

Characters:
The characters pretty good. Most of them are pretty cynical at times, and the main character can be a little irritating in her selfishness, but the arcs are good and some of the characters have very good chemistry. I enjoyed the interactions between Anya and the ghost especially. There were a few characters that were nothing but tropes, but over all they were good.

Setting:
The setting is bland and boring. It's suburbia with some forests, and looks and acts the part. Of course, not much can be done with a setting when it's supposed to mimic the real world, so points for realism. It does feel pretty hyperbolic at times.

Plot:
The plot is quite good. After a slow start, it gets much more interesting as our two leads interact more, and Anya begins to learn more and more about what's happening around her. In the second half the story the cynical darkness is turned up a lot, especially in the party scene. I won't spoil it, but it really sells the story. The ending feels rushed, but over all, the story was good.

TL;DR:
Anya's Ghost is a pretty good story about ghosts and high-schoolers. It is bland and boring at times, saved by the second half.
7/10