Ghosts

By: Raina Telgemeier

5/5 Ghosts

Cat is about to move away from everything she knows and loves. She'd be more upset about it if it weren't for that fact that she was moving for her sister, Maya. Maya has cystic fibrosis, and in order to make her healthier, the family is moving somewhere with better medical attention.

Bahía de la Luna does not look appealing at the start. The sun only shines 62 days out of the year! The rest of the days are full of fog and wind. Just when Cat thinks the town can't get any worse, she and Maya run into the town ghost tour guide - Carlos. Carlos tells the pair tales about the spirits that inhabit Bahía de la Luna. Cat is uninterested, but Maya is smitten. She wants to speak to a ghost. She wants to know what happens after she dies because cystic fibrosis is a degenerative disease with no known cure. Despite wanting to make her sister happy, Cat doesn't like the idea of Maya talking to ghosts. Once Day of the Dead approaches, Cat is more determined than ever to keep Maya safe.Will the spirits steal Maya's last breaths?

Ghosts was an absolute wonderful read! I picked it up expecting something similar to The Okay Witch and instead received this wonderful story of sisterhood and Day of the Dead information. I'll admit, I wasn't a huge fan of Telgemeier's book Smile, but she definitely won me over with Ghosts! The pictures were equally as beautiful as the story, and I couldn't put it down!

One thing I really enjoyed about Ghosts is that Telgemeier truly let her images do some of the talking. There were wordless pages that would have been ruined had anything been added to them. I could feel the emotion of each character just by looking into their faces. I also am really fond of the cultural information in this graphic novel. I am rather unfamiliar with Mexican culture, and I know very little about Day of the Dead. I feel so much more informed after reading this book! Not to mention, the cystic fibrosis is introduced and discussed in an informative, yet not overwhelming, way. I will most definitely be recommending this book to students!

Suggested Movie Pairing: Coco