Anya's Ghost

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Anya could really use a friend. But her new BFF isn't kidding about the "Forever" part . . .

Of all the things Anya expected to find at the bottom of an old well, a new friend was not one of them. Especially not a new friend who's been dead for a century.

Falling down a well is bad enough, but Anya's normal life might actually be worse. She's embarrassed by her family, self-conscious about her body, and she's pretty much given up on fitting in at school. A new friend—even a ghost—is just what she needs.

Or so she thinks.
Spooky, sardonic, and secretly sincere, Anya's Ghost is a wonderfully entertaining debut graphic novel from author/artist Vera Brosgol.

This title has Common Core connections.

Anya's Ghost is a 2011 Kirkus Best Teen Books of the Year title.
One of School Library Journal's Best Fiction Books of 2011.
One of Horn Book's Best Fiction Books of 2011.
Winner of the 2012 Eisner Award for Best Publication for Young Adults (Ages 12-17)

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Published Jun 7, 2011

221 pages

Average rating: 7.41

27 RATINGS

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Cresta McGowan

Dec 25, 2025

2/10 stars

Anya's Ghost was just okay for me. I wanted there to be more conflict with the ghost itself, but it turned out to simply be shallow and selfish. This bothered me. Granted, I understand the context was for Anya to learn NOT to be this way, I just felt as if the ghost was cursory to the plot - the book almost could have survived without it. The choices Anya makes, while encouraged by the ghost, we're not out of the realm of possibility for Anya to make on her own. For a true foil character, for me, there needs to be a stronger distinction. I did enjoy the graphics, although the idea of cartoon figures smoking cigarettes did annoy me. I'm not opposed to these choices for teens to read about because it's relevant to them, but the graphics of it felt forced. Overall, it's not a book I'd recommend, not because it's a graphic novel, but because the story was unremarkable.

njlbo1

Jul 18, 2023

6/10 stars

Maybe I just don't "get" graphic novels, but I thought this was just okay.

JaneRose0514

May 02, 2025

10/10 stars

Anya is a typical American teenager and she's worried about her looks and argues with her mother. And merge into American culture and the halls of her private school. Until one day she falls into a deep hole in the park and found the bone of a long-dead girl and things quickly change. The spirit of a dead girl named Emily tells herself to Anya. Emily quickly becomes a friend to Anya, helping her with schoolwork, and finding the right thing to say to the boy of her dreams. The story of Emily's death, as she tells it to Anya is tragic and Anya wants to solve her murder. But as Emily begins to get more comfortable among the living, the truth about her past comes to light but Anya realizes that she has much to fear from her new friend. (I thought Siobhan, Anya’s friend, was a man but I found out she was a woman

sunshine.reads

Nov 15, 2023

10/10 stars

Very well written. At first I thought it'd be a typical teenager story but turns out it was more than a typical teenager story. Must read.

witch.riot

Jun 15, 2023

6/10 stars

i'd give it a .5 more. it's good distraction on a bad day.

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