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Anya's Ghost (5)

 I bought this book back in the 6th or 7th grade. I would only buy comics from the book fairs because I would love to look at all the different art styles. I remember when I initially read this book, I didn't like it. I thought it was stupid and that Anya wasn't a likeable character. I haven't picked it back up to read it yet because I was turned off by it when I read it initially, so it's been sitting on my shelf ever since. I brought it from my house specifically for this class and because I've been meaning to re-read it. I think I was just too young when I read it initially because I fully understood it now, and it's not as awful as I thought it was before.


Anya is not fitting in her American high school because she's comparing herself to people she will never be. She's trying to get rid of all of her uniqueness to fit in with everyone else. She hates the fact that she's Russian and tries to hide all of her traits that would make her stand out from other people in her school. She purposefully does bad on certain tests and things of the like so she doesn't get bullied like her classmate Dima does. Her ghost only adds a layer of this theme to the story as the more Anya unravels about Emily's past, the more Emily becomes a stereotypical bitchy girl which makes Anya more uncomfortable even with all the bonuses Emily seems to give her. And then we find out Emily's motive: which is to pretty much live vicariously through Anya in the life Anya yearned for originally- the one Anya finds is not as great as it's made to be. The one where the boy she likes cheats on his girlfriend and where you never really truly have friends because of the image you're trying to make for yourself.


In order to find out how much she cares about the life she lives now, she needs to find out the truth about Emily's intentions. She starts to realize the girl in school that she's jealous of is being taken advantage of. She starts to realize that she cares about her little brother and her mother a lot more than she lets on. She starts to realize that being proud of her culture is not something she needs to hide and that doing good in school does not equate being worthy of bullying at all. She starts to realize that she should cherish her friendships more. She matures through her experience with Emily, and that's the entire plot of the story. I guess when I was younger there was no way I would've picked up on it at all. In the end, Emily is sent back to her grave, while Anya finds a newfound excitement for life. I think it's a quick and interesting little story I don't think a 6th grader could comprehend as well.

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