It's not easy being a teenager, particularly when you are a Russian immigrant hoping to be just like the other kids at school. Anya Borzkovskaya has worked really hard to fit in: she learned to speak English without an accent, she tries to dress like the other kids, and she has even learned to eat a veggie diet. Even with all of that, she feels like an outsider.

Anya has a crush on one of the cool older guys at school, and she is very jealous of his girlfriend. He is not the kind of boy her mother would want her to see. Her mother is a traditional Russian émigré who wants her daughter to be happy while still holding true to the old ways, and that means dating another good Russian boy who goes to her private school. Unfortunately, he is a nerd, and everyone (including her) picks on him.

On a walk home from school after a spat her her new, sorta-friend Siobhan, Anya falls down a well and has a surprising run-in. She meets Emily, a lonely girl who had fallen down the same well many decades earlier ... she died during World War I. At first, Anya is afraid of the girl ghost, but the two soon begin to talk. Anya learns that Emily is tied, literally to her bones. When Anya is saved from the well gets home and finds a small finger bone in her bag, she learns that she has a stowaway.

Emily tries in all sorts of ways to get Anya to want to keep her around. This includes helping with tests and advising the best way for Anya to get the boy of her dream. The two start to become fast friends.

This starts to change as Anya starts to investigate Emily's murder and the reason she ended down in the well. What is going to happen as the two girls start to grow apart, particularly as Emily has started to try to live her life through Anya's.

This graphic novel really captures the challenges that so many teens face with wanting to fit in even as they feel totally different from everyone else. The paranormal twists in the story add some adventure, but they also highlight the importance of the theme, which is all about being true to yourself.

Anya is incredibly sassy and proves to be quite funny. Her tough talk is really a facade as she tries to compensate for her insecurities. The humor, the horror, and the message blend quite nicely to produce a pretty interesting story that holds a sense of truth about adolescence even as it deals with ghosts.

I found the illustrations to be really interesting. They are simple and cartoonish, which works nicely, as it captures the harsh realities of being a teen. In some ways it reminds be of the dichotomy that was evident in Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. I am really glad I had a chance to read this one. It was quick and fun while also leaving me quite thoughtful.