Something for young and old alike

Ghosts
Scholastic Graphix
Creators: Raina Telgemeier
Publication date: 2016

This is not an original graphic novel I discovered on my own. My 10-year-old daughter came across the book in her school’s library. She was intrigued by the title and cover, borrowed the book and read it. And she loved it. So much so, that she bought her own copy of the book at the next school book fair. She read it again, and afterwards, she talked it up so much that her mother read it next, and I read it after they each did.

The story is written and illustrated for a younger audience, but like most of the best children’s fiction, is not written down to younger readers. That makes it an enjoyable, if quick, read for adults, too.

Catrina, who prefers to be called Cat, is the main character in this story. While Cat’s age in not specified in the book, my daughter thought she was likely junior high age. I think 12 or 13 sounds about right. Cat’s family has just moved to a new town, Bahia de la Luna in northern California. Cat’s younger sister, Maya, has cystic fibrosis, and it was recommended the family move to the coast to help Maya’s breathing issues. So the family of four moved in August, ahead of the new school year. Cat is a little resentful of the move. She loves her younger sister but misses her friends from the family’s old hometown.

One of the first people Cat and Maya meet in their new town is Carlos, a neighbor boy who happens to be Cat’s age. Carlos offers to take the girls on a tour of Bahia de la Luna and tells them all about the emphasis the residents of the town place on remembering and celebrating the dead — ghosts.

Maya is particularly interested in ghosts. Cystic fibrosis is a degenerative disease, meaning she will never get better and will likely get worse over time. She has questions about death and dying she hopes ghosts can answer for her. She would also like to meet one special ghost — her maternal grandmother whom she has never met.

Cat is much less anxious to meet any spirits. She grows increasingly worried and paranoid about ghosts the more she hears about them, and everyone in Bahia de la Luna seems to talk nonstop about ghosts. Things only get worse when Maya ends up in the hospital due to complications from her illness. Cat blames herself for the dark turn Maya’s illness has taken.

But rest assured, this being a book meant for younger readers, everything works out well in the end.

I found this book to be an enjoyable read with good lessons about family, friendship, courage and empathy for readers of any age. I wasn’t familiar with Raina Telgemeier’s work before this, but she has written a very engaging tale that includes some weighty subjects like death and cystic fibrosis in a way that helps younger readers understand and accept them. Her artwork is very cartoony and simple, but she still includes a wealth of details in the backgrounds and history.

I’m also very happy my daughter is growing to enjoy reading as much as her mother and I do, and I’m pleased that she is branching out to discover books beyond what her mother and I suggest for her, finding her own tastes and styles. It helps that she also likes superhero books, like I do, too. But I like to read other genres besides superheroes, both in comics form and prose. I enjoy seeing her find things she likes on her own, especially if she is choosing books like this one.