Vera is a typical pre-teen girl: all she wants to fit in with her American friends. But she is just “the poor Russian kid” and different. Her parents are divorced, she cannot afford to go to summer camp and does not have the cool new toys. When she learns about a camp just for Russian kids, she thinks she will finally fit in. But the wilds of suburbia did not prepare her for the wilds of the woods. Based on the authors experiences, poetic license […]
Sweet, and a Little Spooky
Not all spirits are bad, and not all spirits are good, but how do you tell when they have your best intentions in mind? (Sounds kind of like any other friendship, huh?) Anya’s Ghost is a graphic novel that features a short little story about a teenage girl named Anya, who moved to America from Russia at a young age. She isn’t doing great in school, and doesn’t feel like she truly fits in: she has one close friend named Siobhan, who isn’t really all that […]
Single White, Really White, Female
A big thank you to my wonderful English department colleague, who when I said I needed to read a non-superhero-related graphic novel, took me to his office and pulled a bunch of books off the shelf and loaned them to me. Anya’s Ghost was the first one I read, and I devoured it in one sitting. Anya is a typical teenager, broody, slightly exasperated by her mom and brother, and trying to distance herself from Dima, a nerdy and much more recent immigrant from Russia. […]