BOTM for APRIL 2023 is Ghosts

[Jennifer]

The results are in and the winner for April 2023 is Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier. I've read several other graphic novels by her that I've really enjoyed, so I'm definitely looking forward to reading this one!

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[Timothy]

Oooo! A graphic novel. This one looks good too!

[Patricia]

I already read this one and it was great:D

[Manybooks]

Ghosts

Just reread this, and my review and also my textual issues, I am still in agreement with them.

To tell the truth, I first read Raina Telgemeier's 2016 graphic novel Ghosts earlier this year, but have not really until just now managed to figure out how to actually star rank Ghosts and what kind of a review I would be posting.

Now I have certainly found both reading joy and exquisitely rendered pain within Raina Telegemeier's printed words (and I also aesthetically consider Telgemeier's accompanying artwork for Ghosts to be bright and imaginative but also at the same time still a realistic enough visual compliment to the latter, to her text) and with little Maya's increasingly losing battle with cystic fibrosis certainly bringing tears to my eyes but also feelings of immense pride with regard to how bravely and often with an engaging sense of humour Maya tries to deal with her affliction, and yes, with older sister Catrina's feelings of guilt that she rather often seems to feel impatient with and even at times resentful towards her little (and seriously ill) sister and that she is also majorly incensed at the family having had to move to a new area of California due to Maya's CF (with the hope that the more humid and foggy climate there will be better for her precarious health) both leaving me emotionally tenderhearted and full of sympathy but also sometimes and indeed rendering me quite livid and furious as well with regard to how Cat is often behaving annoyingly and acting horribly towards not only her family but really towards quite everyone in town (at least at the very beginning of Ghosts when the family first arrives).

However, albeit that the family story as it is related in Ghosts (about a mother and father with a chronically and genetically ill young daughter and how this and the fact that there is no cure for cystic fibrosis is obviously affecting every family member and each in pretty different ways) has most definitely been a very much and absolutely lovely (even if also saddening) reading experience, if indeed this were the extent of Ghosts I would most likely be rating Raina Telgemeier's narrative (and her combination of text and images) with four to five stars. But yes and unfortunately, there also is a very strong and persistent supernatural element and component being featured and presented in Ghosts (including the rather strange and not really ever sufficiently enough for me explained factoid that all of the departed spirits talked about and celebrated in Ghosts during the Day of the Dead celebration are in fact supposed to be totally and absolutely real and that the Day of the Dead celebrations in Ghosts do therefore not only honour deceased ancestors but that these same ancestors actually do then make bona fide appearances and even physically interact with the celebrants, drinking with them, dancing with them, talking with them).

And while I do not generally have issues reading ghost stories (if they are not too creepy, that is, and Ghosts has certainly not been all that creepy or frightening), I also do tend to find the entire concept of the departed spirits during the Day of the Dead festivities actually and totally being real entities both generally a bit personally uncomfortable and unbelievable and equally also rather tacked onto the main storyline of Ghosts and not really incorporated all that well and smoothly into Catrina and her family's personal story and their life and health based issues and problems with younger sister Maya's CF (rather suspended in space and feeling to me personally as though Raina Telgemeier has simply added the Day of the Dead and the ghostly appearances for shock value and for an interesting autumn celebration to be portrayed and shown, and in my humble opinion with the end result being that the entire Day of the Dead celebration parts and all of the explanations of ghosts and the like being potentially real kind of feeling and reading like a bit of an afterthought and perhaps even somewhat of an inadvertent caricature, not terrible of course, but in my opinion certainly pretty much more than somewhat diluting the tender and heartfelt family tale parts of Raina Telgemeier's text and thus really only making Ghosts but a three star story for me).

[B.E.]

Here is my review for Ghosts

There are many stories in this world that need to be told and I appreciate Raina Telgemeier for taking on such tough subjects as childhood fear of death and illness.
“Ghosts” is a lovely story told in pictures about a girl, Catrina whose family moves away to help her sister, Maya, improve her health. Maya has cystic fibrosis and struggles with breathing and eating without the occasional assistance of medical aids.
With this move, Catrina has left all her friends and is now in a strange new town where people can’t stop talking about ghosts! But they don’t talk about ghosts as if they are scary, instead they talk about them as if they are family.
“Ghosts” weaves themes of acceptance of death, making connections again with ones cultural upbringing and valuing family with the fun and engaging artwork. The comic trip like artwork both warms hearts and expresses the range of emotions kids have when dealing with complex life issues.
It’s a great book that shows representation for the cultural holiday and traditions of Día de Muertos and kids that experience health concerns. It is also a window for kids who do not have these life experiences to have a better understanding of the world and the people in it.