Anya’s Ghost

By: Vera Brosgol

Publisher: First Second

Copyright: 2011

Genre: Graphic Novel

Setting: small town, USA

SUMMARY:

Anya is a surly high school student who moved to the US from Russia as a child. She frequently
cuts class to go smoke with a friend or avoid tests. One day while cutting class, she falls into an
abandoned well and finds the skeleton and ghost of Emily who died in the well 100 years earlier.
When Anya is rescued, Emily follows her home, gives her a make-over, and tries to help her
snag the basketball player she likes. But when Emily starts getting too pushy, Anya decides to
find out the truth about Emily’s past, and changes her own future.

AUTHOR’S BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH:

Vera Brosgol was born in Russia and currently lives in Oregon. She attended art school in
Canada. Anya’s Ghost is her first book

Other books written by the author:

SIMILAR BOOKS/BOOKS WITH A SIMILAR THEME:

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: (If question is related to a specific chapter, chapter is in

parenthesis following question)

1. What made Anya begin to distrust Emily? How did this affect each of them?

2. Although Emily wants to fit in, she is uncomfortable with the way Emily wants her to
dress and act. Discuss a time you tried to fit in by doing something you weren’t
comfortable with.
3. How do you think Anya will be the same/ different after her experience with Emily?

4. What country was Anya originally from and how did that affect her experiences
attending American schools?

5. How did Emily’s initial appearance influence your opinion of her? As her appearance
changed, how did her personality evolved?

6. Anya is desperate for a friend. Why do we seek friendship in people even when they
may not really care about us as individuals?

LITERARY LINKS or ACTIVITIES:

Language Arts (List activity and Common Core Standards Grades 6-8 addressed by
each):

Reformulate Anya’s Ghost into paragraph form.

8.RI.2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text,
including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text. (e.g.,
through comparisons, analogies, or categories).
8.RI.6 Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author
acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.
8.RI.7 Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g., print or
digital text, video, multimedia) to present a particular topic or idea.
8.RI.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction at the high end of the
grades 6-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
8.RL.3 Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the
action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.
8.RL.5 Compare and contrast the structure of two or more texts and analyze how the differing
structure of each text contributes to its meaning and style.
8.RL.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and
poems, at the high end of grades 6-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

Not all hardships end for young people once they immigrate to the United States. They
struggle to adapt to a new schools, a new language and a much different culture.
Interview a person (adult or teen or child) who came to this country from another asking
questions pertaining to their experience. Present your interview to your class what you
discovered about the immigrant experience in public schools

Language Arts: Make descriptive presentations that use concrete sensory details to
set forth and support unified impressions of people, places, things, or experiences.
EL.6.7.17 2006.
Deliver descriptive presentations that: establish a clear point of view on the subject of
the presentation; establish the presenter’s relationship with the subject of the
presentation (whether the presentation is made as an uninvolved observer or by
someone who is personally involved); contain effective, factual descriptions of
appearance, concrete images, shifting perspectives, and sensory details.
EL.7.7.12 2006; EL.8.7.12 2006

Mathematics (List activity and Common Core Standards Grades 6-8 addressed by
each):

Science (List activity and Common Core Standards Grades 6-8 addressed by each):

Phenomenon such as ghosts, UFOs, and Big Foot are called pseudosciences. Select a
pseudoscience to research. Write a report about your chosen topic. Then, using what you know
about the scientific method and conducting experiments, explain why it is not a confirmed
scientific phenomenon.

6-8.RS.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science texts.

6-8.RS.8 Distinguish among facts, reasoned judgment based on research findings, and
speculation in a text.
6-8.RS.9 Compare and contrast the information gained from experiments, simulations, video, or
multimedia sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic.
6-8.WS.7 Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated
question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that
allow for multiple avenues of exploration.
6-8.WS.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search
terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the
data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for
citation.
6-8.WS.9 Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Social Studies (List activity and Common Core Standards Grades 6-8 addressed by
each):

Many buildings and cities claim to be haunted. Research a haunted place. How is it the same as/
different from Anya’s ghost?

6-8.WH.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style
are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
6-8.WH.5 With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen
writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on
how well purpose and audience have been addressed.
6-8.WH.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present
the relationships between information and ideas clearly and efficiently.
6-8.WH.7 Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated
question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that
allow for multiple avenues of exploration.
6-8.WH.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search
terms
effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data
and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.
6-8.WH.9 Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Anya’s family moved to the US from Russia. Research an event in Russian history that Anya’s
mother might have lived through.

6-8.WH.2 Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events.

6-8.WH.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style
are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
6-8.WH.5 With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen
writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on
how well purpose and audience have been addressed.
6-8.WH.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present
the relationships between information and ideas clearly and efficiently.
6-8.WH.7 Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated
question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that
allow for multiple avenues of exploration.
6-8.WH.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search
terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the
data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for
citation.
6-8.WH.9 Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Other (List activity and Common Core Standards Grades 6-8 addressed by each):

Challenging Words (pronunciation, spelling, defining) (include chapter and/or page #):
fobby-“fresh of the boat”

Battle of the Books questions are available from the link on the Young Hoosier Book
Award webpage.