On the opposite side of the spectrum from heroic martyrdom lies this tasteless and asinine waste of paper:
Anya's Ghost by Vera Brogsol
So, we have an entire section devoted to graphic novels, and I figured that I would pick one up. It's a pretty subversive way to get older kids to "read" because their books have pictures. Ridiculous. Anyways, this book, and many graphic novels like it, are labeled Young Adult because they're really meant for high school students. This can be a bit disconcerting to parents who see comics and automatically think, "comics are great for kids, this would be a great book for the Halloween season!"
No. Fail. Wrong. Think of Ghost World or V for Vendetta or 300. They were all comics/graphic novels.
If anime, the Simpsons, Family Guy (barf), American Dad (shudder), and Adult Swim have taught us anything, it's that cartoons and comics are not always for kids.
First of all, I'm not going to waste my time with the typical format for my review, because this book already wasted an hour of my life that I'm not getting back. That's how long it took me to read it.
This plot of this graphic "novel" takes the brain power of flying through a short story. And that's pretty much what it is. Novels are complex, have developed, dynamic characters, several different story lines and problems, and they force the reader to invest in what's written by not copping-out and using pictures.
Anya's ghost has none of that. The entire work can be summed up in one sentence:
Shallow high-school Russian immigrant falls in well with skeleton, meets ghost, survives teenage drama, and gets rid of ghost.
Ugh. Besides being peppered with some occasional swear/slur words, Emily, Anya's ghost, helps her to cheat on tests and "say the right thing" to get attention and fit in. Emily can't wander too far away from her bones, so Anya fashions a necklace with Emily's bone in it to make sure she stays close. Emily also has an obsession with making Anya really worldly.
The book is pretty sexist- saying that guys are only interested in a girls boobs and dressing "slutty" is a great way to get attention. There's also underage smoking, drinking, and fooling around in it. When Emily becomes to clingy for Anya's taste, Anya tries to get rid of her by researching the town's history. It turns out that the ghost is a liar and has been trying to "get stronger" in order to grab objects so she can continue on a murderous rampage. Anya ends up throwing the remnant of Emily's bones back down the well. The story concludes when Anya convinces Emily to "pass on" by saying that there's nothing left for her here.
Absolute rubbish. It reminds me of a story I wrote in 3rd grade, only my story was probably a little more compelling, didn't have all the vice, and had no pictures.
AAAAAAND, I think I just came up with the name of books that don't win the Word Nerd Seal of Approval and fall FAR below any literary standards of most self-respecting persons out there: The WASTE Award:
What Asinine Stupidity! Tell Everyone!
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