- Graphic Novels
- Ages 12–16
- Horror
Anya's Ghost
A sharp, eerie and funny YA graphic novel about an insecure teenager and a ghost who is not as helpful as she first seems. Excellent for older readers who like spooky stories with real emotional and social bite.
- Best for12–16
- FormatGraphic
- Length224 pp
- Read aloud~1 hr45 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Conversational
- Comedic
Tone
- Dark
- Suspenseful
- Funny
- Thought provoking
- Bittersweet
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
Anya is embarrassed by her family, frustrated by school and desperate to seem more like the kind of girl she thinks she should be. After falling into an old well, she meets the ghost of Emily, who appears at first to be a secret friend and supernatural helper. Emily can give Anya advice, spy on people and help her gain confidence, but the friendship slowly turns darker as Emily becomes possessive, manipulative and connected to a hidden death. Vera Brosgol's graphic novel combines teen insecurity, immigrant-family tension, body image, school social pressure and ghost-story suspense with a crisp visual style. It is not a picture book despite the user's initial category: it is a proper older-reader graphic novel. It is a strong bridge from middle-grade comics into YA horror, especially for readers who like witty, character-led darkness.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
- 1
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- Best fit · 12–16
- Read aloud · 11–15
- Independent · 12–16
Prose load
Moderate
Visual support
Very high
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Patchy
Works well for
- Gift-buying
- Reluctant readers
Preview before sharing if a child is sensitive to: body image, bullying, death of character, scary imagery, violence.
Bedtime suitability
1 / 5 · Wide awake
Sensitive-child
1 / 5 · Tough fit
Graphic intensity
5 / 5 · Intense
Best for
- Older graphic novel
- Ghost story
- Teen identity
- Spooky but smart
- Strong female lead
Avoid if
- Under 11
- Sensitive to ghosts
- Sensitive to body image
- Wants cosy graphic novel
Particularly good for children who are…
- Low self esteem
- Being bullied
- Anxiety and worry
- Immigration or new country
- Reluctant reader
In the classroom
How it works in school.
A sharp, funny YA graphic novel about fitting in, body image and identity — a strong discussion text for older readers and an accessible, gripping read.
A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with. Reviewed for the classroom · June 2026.
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The specific weight is Emily turning out to be the wrong kind of friend — a ghost who starts as helpful and becomes possessive, manipulative, increasingly hard to escape. A teen reader gets the recognition of a friendship gone wrong, with proper horror under the social honesty.
- Friendship and belonging
- Having a nemesis
- Proving yourself
- Secret world
- Transformation
Why parents love it
The YA graphic novel that handles teen insecurity and the manipulative-friend trope through a haunting story — Vera Brosgol's spare visual style turns the ghost into both a comfort and a threat. Genuinely creepy. Best for older teens; the ghost-friend-becomes-something-worse turn is excellent.
- Great writing
- Conversation starter
- Shared humour
- Cultural representation
About the author & illustrator
Vera Brosgol.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
More like this…
Books that share themes and topics with this one.
Where you’ll find it
On these reading lists.
Buy or borrow
Pick up a copy.
- Bookshop.org ↗
- Waterstones ↗
- Amazon UK ↗
- Hive ↗
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