Book Review: Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgal

September 19, 2025

This is the first spooky book of the season and I am so ready for all the wonderful spooky books I am going to read.

We follow the story of a young woman named Anya who feels like a social reject and uncomfortable in her own skin. She is an older sister, a daughter, a student, and a first generation immigrant from Russia. One day, she takes a little detour on her way home from school and falls into a well that really should have been covered. Much to her luck, she only sprains her wrist, and happens across a friendly ghost while she is in the hole: Emily. At first, she is terrified, as to be expected, but after many hours in the hole by herself with the ghost, she almost becomes friends with her. Anya gets rescued by a man walking by who happened to hear her cries for help, and when she wakes up in the morning, she realizes she may have accidentally taken one of Emily’s bones with her, which has caused her ghost to follow her up and out of the hole. Anya realized it’s not the bad to have a friend right at your fingertips, but is that all Emily has in mind, or does she have some darker ulterior motives?

This was such a cute little spooky story that touched on being different in high school, the facade of popularity, family dynamics, and deception and reality. I loved the illustrations and the story is lovely. I would recommend this lovely story.