Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol

★★★★

"You may look normal like everyone else, but you're not.  Not on the inside."

Anya is a young immigrant from Russia living in the United States with her family.  She doesn’t seem to fit into anywhere at her private school, is constantly worrying about her appearances, and is in love with a popular boy that barely knows she exists.  While walking to school, Anya falls down a well and meets Emily, a ghost from World War I that fell down the well after her parents were murdered.  Anya is eventually rescued, but several days later Emily appears at her house and starts following her around.  At first, Anya loves having the extra help at school from Emily and finally has a friend she can talk to, but Emily begins to become very controlling and threatens Anya’s family.  Anya learns that Emily killed a couple because she was jealous and finds away to send Emily to the afterlife where she belongs.

I enjoyed reading this book.  Even though it was brief, the author was able to create a fascinating story that incorporated many different thematic elements about identity and friendship.  I thought that the graphic novel format was a very efficient way to tell the story and effectively showed elements that a traditional novel would not have been able to capture.  I really enjoyed the character of Anya and thought she was very easy to relate to.  I loved the she used the experiences of meeting Emily to change her need to conform and be popular.  I would recommend this book to young adults, especially those struggling with personal identity.

Saints by Gene Luen Yang

★★★★

These two graphic novels are paired together and take place in China during the end of the nineteenth century. Saints follows the rebellion from the point of view of a girl from the same village of Little Bao named “Four-Girl.”  Four-Girl is an unwelcome fourth daughter and finds belonging in Christianity, where she renames herself Vibiana.  Through her journey, Vibiana faces danger because of her new religion and she hopes to be like her hero, Joan of Arc.

I really enjoyed both of these books.  The graphic novel format was a great way to tell the story of the Boxer Rebellion.  It allowed for a lot of historical detail to be incorporated into the storyline in a fascinating way.  I loved the author used two separate volumes to tell opposite sides of the conflict.  I thought this was a great way to get young adults to think critically about different views of past periods in history and relate it to the present.  I also thought that the usage of mystical elements added a unique perspective on the events.  I would highly recommend this book to others.

 

Boxers by Gene Luen Yang

★★★★

"What is China but a people and their stories."

These two graphic novels are paired together and take place in China during the end of the nineteenth century.  The first novel, Boxers, tells the story of Little Bao, whose village is being disrupted by the “foreign devils” (the Europeans missionaries and soldiers).  Following in the footsteps of his older brothers, Little Bao trains in kung-fu and becomes a leader in the Boxer Rebellion. 

I really enjoyed both of these books.  The graphic novel format was a great way to tell the story of the Boxer Rebellion.  It allowed for a lot of historical detail to be incorporated into the storyline in a fascinating way.  I loved the author used two separate volumes to tell opposite sides of the conflict.  I thought this was a great way to get young adults to think critically about different views of past periods in history and relate it to the present.  I also thought that the usage of mystical elements added a unique perspective on the events.  I would highly recommend this book to others.