Ghostly Double Feature: “Anya’s Ghost” and “Archival Quality”

Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol

I recently borrowed Anya’s Ghost from my local library as an eBook. The work focuses on a teenage Russian immigrant who discovers the bones, and then, the ghost, of a long-deceased girl. They become fast friends, but that’s far from where the story ends. What are my feelings about the work? Read on to find out.

What Worked For Me:

• I enjoyed the art style; it reminded me of many of the webcomics I read in my younger years
• I can appreciate the message of self-acceptance at the center of the story
• The story goes some surprisingly dark places; the story is not graphic visually, but there’s a scene where a couple is burned alive (off-page).

What Didn’t Work For Me:

• I have mixed feelings about the ending. On one hand, convincing the ghost that “the life she wants doesn’t exist,” could work to persuade her to move on. On the other hand, the ghost had also shown a willingness to hurt, maim, and kill to get her way. In other words, it seems like it would take more than “talking it out,” to resolve everything that happened.
• I was surprised that community didn’t play more of a role in the story as a whole, especially in the climax and resolution. Anya spends the majority of the story embarrassed of her Russian heritage. By the end of the story, she seems to embrace it more openly. Her ability to deal with the main antagonist of the story, however, comes more from her own conviction and observations (e.g. her discomfort with how the ghost pushes her to act, her interactions with Sean, etc). It almost felt like the “Russian” part of her identity could have been swapped out with almost any other identity and still worked, with only small details needing to change.

Conclusion:

I liked this work. It was a fun romp with an enjoyable art style that went some surprisingly dark places for a work targeted at the middle-grade / YA crowd. If the premise sounds interesting, this one is worth a look.

Check it out here.

Archival Quality by Ivy Noelle Weir and Christina Stewart (illustrator)

Archival Quality follows Celeste Walden: after losing her job at the library, she begins work at the Logan Museum as an archivist. Cel’s struggles start with her mental health and relationships; they soon grow to include more supernatural concerns.

Pros:

• The story explores mental health and medical ethics, a topic I rarely see in this medium
• The story includes LGBTQ representation
• The work includes a splash of bonus content (e.g. extra drawings, production notes, etc)

Cons:

• While I was enticed by the premise, I didn’t love some of the writing. A few examples are as follows: the story wraps up a bit too neatly, the plot requires a contrivance or two to really work (e.g. the fact that cellphones don’t have signal in the archive and that the main character is able to live “on campus”), and the characterization of “the Board,” jumps around a lot over the course of the book. While their motivations are spelled out by the end, I didn’t get a clear sense of their true nature until the last few pages.
• (nit-pick) While the art is consistent, it may not be for everyone. I am listing this as a nit-pick rather than a full con because it’s more a matter of personal preference. In other words, the art never hindered what the work was trying to say / do in my opinion (though, admittedly, things got a bit hairy for met at the tail-end of the work).
• (nit-pick) Some of the pages and panels were blurry. I’m not sure if this only affected the digital version of the work, but I found them distracting at best and annoying at worst.
• (nit-pick) The cover of the work gives off “romance” vibes, but that is absolutely not what this work is about. If you go into this work expecting a fun, LGBTQ-focused ghost romp, you will be disappointed. With that said, I am only listing this as a nit-pick because it can easily be dispelled by reading the publisher’s blurb.

Conclusion

The work was a quick read with an interesting premise. While there are a few things that hold it from greatness in my mind (see: cons), it was still fun (if macabre) evening’s diversion. Check it out if you are particularly interested in stories about mental health and medical ethics. Lovers of ghost stories may also enjoy the work. To everyone else, you can probably skip this one.

Check it out here.

You may also enjoy …

• “Mooncakes by Susan Walker and Wendy Xu; you can check out my review here.
• “Witch For Hire” by Ted Naifeh; you can check out my review here.

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