The cover of this book caught my eye at the local library (it was on display with some other comics) and after a minute or two of browsing I remembered that I had read a short preview for it on Tor.com (you can see it here) and liked what I saw but didn't think I'd have a chance to read the rest. So, since I had this wonderful chance, and it's getting close to Halloween here in the US, I thought it would be an appropriate read.
Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol
Summary: Anya isn't a popular girl in school but she's getting by most days. Until she falls down a hole, meets a ghost and then has to deal with a seemingly helpful ghost in her love life.
The Good: The story was short, flowed well and was a fairly fun read. The supernatural element worked well, the resolution to the romantic sub-plot was different and, while some of the things about Emily weren't the most original plot points either, they worked well and made sense. It's a nicely done story that I can see working for either the middle grade or young adult crowd and I enjoyed it.
The Bad: The very ending of the story felt a little cliched (some of the conversation does anyway, Anya's actions seem sensible) and I thought her change in heart towards her family was just a little too fast. I'm not sure how it could have felt more believable in that respect, the story was moving so quickly at that point, but it made the ending feel a little too neat over all.
The Art: The book has the same color scheme as the cover so you can see that it's not in full color but it's not in black and white either, is there a term for a three or four color scheme? Regardless, the page layouts flow well (although I do wish the book had been split into chapters or something, it's easier for me to read books in chunks these days rather than hope I find a good stopping point in time) and the art worked well. Anya managed to look like an actually curvy teen (as opposed to looking rail thin and the audience having to take her word for it), all the characters looked different from each other and it was a nice touch to see how Emily's design changed a little over the story as foreshadowing.
So I'm happy that I got this one out and it was a nice read for the Halloween season. Speaking of which, next week's comic is also going to have a bit of a supernatural/horror theme, the horror/supernatural/magic genre really is a bit one in comics isn't it?
