When ghosts and skeletons appear in popular media directed toward children and teens, they are usually utilized to frighten; the same is true of hospital rooms and medical equipment. \u00a0But not in Raina Telgemeier\u2019s graphic novel <\/span>Ghosts<\/span><\/i>. \u00a0This delightful book explores these two realms of spirits and chronic illness with wit, curiosity, and insight, facilitating a level of ease with both of these normally scary topics. <\/span><\/p>\n

Catrina and her younger sister Maya have just moved with their parents to northern California. \u00a0Maya has cystic fibrosis, and her doctors have suggested that the cool, moist sea breezes may help with her symptoms.<\/span><\/p>\n

Catrina is not happy to move. \u00a0She does not want to leave her friends and the life she has built. \u00a0And their new environs are very strange to her: \u00a0the air is always dense with fog, and the gusts from the ocean are quite cold. \u00a0But the worst thing about this new place is that it is filled with ghosts — and with people who don\u2019t seem to be afraid of them. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Catrina\u2019s journey into this wild new landscape coincides with a setback in Maya\u2019s medical condition. \u00a0She confronts her fears of the spirits and of her sister\u2019s possible death, supported by new friends \u2013 some in human form, others in ghostly form.<\/span><\/p>\n

Telgemeier\u2019s drawings of ghosts and skeletons are full of life; vibrantly colorful and richly detailed, these spectral visions welcome Catrina into a world where death is not terrifying. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The novel highlights the Days of the Dead festival, a Mexican holiday created to honor ancestors who have died. \u00a0In our oftentimes death-avoidant culture, it is refreshing to explore other approaches to the end of life. \u00a0The sisters\u2019 new hometown is a place where life and death are interwoven; and this setting enables the sisters \u2013 and the readers \u2013 to contemplate new ways of relating to death and dying.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When ghosts and skeletons appear in popular media directed toward children and teens, they are usually utilized to frighten; the same is true of hospital rooms and medical equipment. \u00a0But not in Raina Telgemeier\u2019s graphic novel Ghosts. \u00a0This delightful book explores these two realms of spirits and chronic illness with wit, curiosity, and insight, facilitating a level of ease with both of these normally scary topics. Catrina and her younger sister Maya have just moved with their parents to northern California. \u00a0Maya has cystic fibrosis, and her doctors have suggested that the cool, moist sea breezes may help with her […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","footnotes":""},"yoast_head":"\n