A Gift for a Ghost: A Graphic Novel

By Borja Gonzalez

“The lives of two teenage girls living 160 years apart intertwine in this magical coming-of-age story . . . [an] evocative graphic novel.” —Publishers Weekly
 
An untalented punk band and a parallel dimension—what could go wrong? In Borja González’s stunning graphic novel, two parallel stories reflect and intertwine in a tale of youthful dreams and desires. In 1856, Teresa, a young aristocrat, is more interested in writing avant-garde horror poetry than making a suitable marriage. In 2016, three teenage girls, Gloria, Laura, and Cristina, want to start a punk band called the Black Holes. They have everything they need: attitude, looks, instinct . . . and an alarming lack of musical talent. They’ve barely started rehearsing when strange things begin to happen. As their world and Teresa’s intersect, they’re haunted by the echo of something that happened 160 years ago.
 
“Elegantly crafted, with delicate cartooning and a brilliant autumnal color palette, González’s first full-length work delivers a quietly emotional evocation of the universal hopes and desires linking characters across centuries.” —Library Journal
 
“This thoughtful, graceful look into young women trying to find their place in the world may appeal to other adolescent, frustrated artists.” —Booklist
 
“A Gift for a Ghost is an uncommon fantasy that speaks to the perennial, difficult-to-verbalize issues that teenagers face.” —BookPage
 
“A Gift for A Ghost is the exact opposite of the way so many stories are told today . . . It’s about collaboration between the reader and the work and creating a personal experience from it, something that all the best creative works aspire to.” —The Comics Beat

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: May 5, 2020
• ISBN: 9781683357360

Book preview

Reviews for A Gift for a Ghost

[tsialoukilina · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was a quick and fun read! It has elements of magical realism and in total I really enjoyed it.

[m · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

tough to follow the story but beautiful artwork. maybe it's just over my head.

[Patrícia R. · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Kind of unhinged but yet delightful. The art is lovely and there are so many layers to the narrative. If you ever felt like you didn't quite fit in somewhere, you might find this one relatable.

[James Lück · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow that one was fucking amazing (sorry for the swear word)

[tim · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved all the ghosts and the storyline and pictures are nice

[oldandnewbooksmell · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a short story, even with it being 128 pages, I read it quite quickly. Two stories, one in 1856, with a young aristocrat named Teresa, who is more interested in writing horror poetry than getting prepared for marriage, the other, in 2016, with three teenage girls, Gloria, Laura, and Christina, who want to start a punk band called Black Holes.

I enjoyed the art in this graphic novel, even when the character didn't have faces, a single panel could still show so much emotion. The color scheme for the novel was also beautiful. I didn't get the story (stories), not at first. I didn't fully understand how they were connected almost until the very end of the novel. It was almost like a dream, reading it.

[villemezbrown · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

In 1856 a quirky girl is rejected by her sisters for telling odd stories about Marvel's Ghost Rider and an invasion of alien plants. In 2016, a quirky girl tries to keep her band together while cosplaying and offering up inscrutably gothic lyrics for their songs. The author manages to tie it together so it makes sense in its own way, but he never makes a point. I'm sure it is all just too symbolic for me to see or to really give a damn. This is a European import after all.The art is quirky too, by the way, as the characters literally have no faces -- no eyes, noses or mouths. González makes them expressive anyhow, but it still caused me to hold them at a distance.