A Haunted Girl
by: Ethan Sacks + Naomi Sacks
Image Comics
2024
5.0 stars

A positive and supportive graphic novel for teens and YA thats helps us understand depression and anxiety and the stigma surrounding it. So many young adults are into horror, and I feel using this genre to reach them is wonderful. An excellent idea. The representation of mental illness, dealing with lifes challenges, learning to deal with mostly negative and hostile attitudes, and others people opinions are spot on. Encouraging and kind. I wish I had had this when I was growing up.

In "A Haunted Girl', we meet Cleo, who was hospitalized for two months with major depressive disorder. After her release, she returned to Westchester Tech School, however with peoples hostile attitudes, demeaning comments and hurtful dialouge, she could only made it through half the day at school, before calling her dad to pick her up. The peoples attitudes towards her is so true to life. I know how it feels. This books wants you to know that there is always someone to reach out to. Help is a phone call away. When you feel haunted by your past, haunted by other people, there is always help. I thank god every day for my person. Every day. Without her, I can assure I would not be here.

This hit home for me. I have always been bullied and made fun of. My entire life. It lead me to an anxious and eventually depressive state, which, of course, was just one more thing they could make fun of. I've had my family, and other people I thought were friends tell me that because I am in THEIR house, they can treat me however they want. This is exactly the type of mindset we need to be aware of. People who think you should respect them as they stereotype, label and disrespect you. This is the attitude that perpetuates the problem, and I am so glad it has been addressed here in a positive, mature and compassionate manner. And in a manner and genre that is widely read by young adults. This would be a good book for High School conselors to read and share. Im so glad I read this. Its awesome and I am going to recommend it.
Thanks netgalley, for sending this e-book ARC for review.
#AHauntedGirl #Netgalley

A girl who doesn't know if she wants to live is the only one who can save all life on earth.

The art in this is beautiful; captivating and dark. The story portrays real mental illness mixed with magic and mythology. I enjoyed the Japanese elements and how they mixed into the story. It was a tad on the cheesy side, but hey it's a comic.

This is a fantastic and very relevant story that comes with significant meaning behind it.

The artwork is amazing and really helps get the message across.

#mentalhealthawareness

MUST READ

A compelling hook, executed simply but effectively over four issues. A Haunted Girl very much earns its YA categorisation with its frank, yet age-appropriate depiction of mental health, lent an extra authenticity by the co-writers' own experiences with depression and anxiety. Peppered with resources, this is one l'd lend to the so-called troubled teen in your life.

Christopher Cantwell's "She Could Fly" by way of Jim Zubb's "Wayward", the Sacks' weave a deeply personal tail of psychiatric illnesses and supernatural destiny. While teenage Cleo confronts her role preventing a spiritual apocalypse, the real heart of the story is her struggle to acclimate to daily life outside of her recent stint in an institution. The authors don't bother trying to hide behind subtext and metaphor, everything is upfront raw and exposed, as is representation via co-author Naomi Sacks' own struggle with mental health. The text is supplemented by an Author's note, and inserts including "How to Manage Stress Effectively" by Dr. Jennifer Hartensein, and "Your Own Hero's Journey..." from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Please note:

This comic review for A Haunted Girl by Ethan and Naomi Sacks discusses mental health conditions and suicide ideation from the beginning. I know from experience how triggering it can be to read about these topics. If you are not in a place to read about these, please be kind to yourself 🙂 For content warnings for the comic itself, please see above.

As a teenager, I struggled a lot with my mental health and had no clue how bad it was until much later. At the time, I just thought it was normal teenage angst, and that how bad I was feeling was what everyone else was feeling. That was what the magazines said, after all. While some things have got better since I was a teenager, there is still, so little mental health representation out there, especially for teenagers. They skirt around the topics of medication, hospitalisation, and suicide ideation.

A Haunted Girl by Ethan and Naomi Sacks was created by a father and daughter who lived through all that together. The idea came to Sacks when he was waiting to visit his daughter Naomi at a paediatric psychological ward where she had been hospitalised for severe depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation. These experiences are reflected in the pages of the comic as we follow the journey of 16-year-old Cleo, an adopted Japanese-American, from her stay in hospital to her reintegration back into her old life.

Rather than the starting point being Cleo’s first day outside the hospital, we first meet Cleo in the hospital. It’s her birthday and her dad brings her a cake, and although it wasn’t the sixteenth birthday either of them imagined for her, they make the most of it. Fast-forward two months, and Cleo is meeting with her psychologist for the first time before returning to school on Monday. Again, this was good to see because so often in the media it feels as though the teenage protagonist is just thrown straight back into mainstream society without any support.

When Cleo’s first day comes about it’s as awkward as expected, with awkwardness from the teachers who don’t know what to say to her, and nasty comments from the mean girls. What I particularly liked was how the Sacks showed the way Cleo didn’t know how to deal with her friends. What to say to them, how to react to their enthusiasm that she’s back, how to explain that she’s still struggling. The visual impact of the comic makes these scenes feel so much more powerful.

With a father and daughter team behind the wheel of this comic, we get to see both sides of the relationship, and while Cleo is the focus of A Haunted Girl some wonderful scenes show the struggles of a parent in this situation. Both creators truly put their heart and soul into this and it shows.

As well as being about mental health, this is a supernatural comic and as Cleo tries to return to her old life she finds out that the odds are against her. While she’s been trying to act like everything is normal, she’s been having terrifying visions. It’s almost a relief when she finds out that they’re not hallucinations… almost. Something else much more serious is going on, and it’s something Cleo can’t run from.

While A Haunted Girl does use the ‘chosen one’ trope, this is not a story where the main character is suddenly cured. It’s a story about understanding mental health, recognising that life is in a state of flux and that means there will be problems. Sometimes those problems are mental health conditions, but with the right support, we can work through them.

Pretty good story that depicts the authors daughter struggling with her mental health (depression and anxiety), but with a supernatural twist . The story is fast pace, but some of the transitions between scenes felt a bit choppy and unfortunately I think the storytelling portion suffered because of that.

I did love how at every step of her journey Cleo had someone who advocated for her, and didn’t shame her for some regression she had while trying to acclimatize back into her normal routine at school and back home.

Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this ARC.

The story for this graphic novel was really interesting especially with the mental health representation. I really appreciated the resources that were also provided throughout the book for people that may need someone to talk to.

After reading the author's note, I thought it was really awesome that he worked with his daughter to get a perspective of someone dealing and going through something similar. Unfortunately, I felt like the pacing of the story was a bit off and it was difficult to fully build a connection with the characters. Once we started to get a feel of what was going on, then suddenly it was time to face the climax of the story and it felt a bit rushed.

Aside from that, I did find the story really interesting and am curious to continue reading this series.

I’ll definitely read this again (and the sequel when it’s released).

Pros:
Great artwork.
I really like the Japanese influences.
The depression, school avoidance and therapy felt very real (obviously given the context).

Cons:
Too short, would have enjoyed fleshing out some aspects over 6 issues.
Ending was a bit cheesy and cliche.

Thank you to image comics and the authors for sending me this arc. I really enjoy graphic novels and this one was great. Really relatable content having gone through mental health struggles myself. It was lovely knowing a father and daughter duo wrote this and it reflected their own lives. The artwork was brilliant too loved the use of colour.

Been getting into graphic novels and this was such an awesome horror delight with mental illness rep! Didn’t realize I read it on Libby before requesting here! Hoping there is a follow up.

An enjoyable read which has brilliant mental health representation, showing the struggles one can face when dealing with these issues. I thought the authors note about working with his daughter was extremely sweet, and it truly shows that the story was written by someone who understands what it is like to be dealing with these struggles.

The artwork itself was done well and not harsh on the eyes. My only complaint about this one is that the story felt quite shallow, and none of the characters barring the protagonist was relatable.

If you are looking for an easy read though which implements mental health themes throughout, this one would be perfect for you.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC of this one.

A Haunted Girl tells the story of a teenage girl who is fighting major depression while also finding out she is the only person who can save the world from an apocalypse. As someone who has had major depression since I was a child, the depiction of it resonated with me and was well done. I also liked the concept of mirroring her mental health struggles with battles against tangible evil forces.

The art was beautiful, striking, and horrifying. It was perfect for the story. I wish the graphic novel had been longer though. I think it moved too quickly and the story suffered for it. Depression and saving the world aren’t quick things, and I wish the book had done a better job of showing that.

I genuinely enjoyed this. Even though I got this from NetGalley to review, I did not expect to like it this much. First off, as a person with experience in the mental health field, you can tell how the authors leaned on their experiences, using actual technical jargon and real-life experiences following hospitalization, and incorporating DBT techniques such as grounding. But also, as an avid horror reader, I appreciated the supernatural spin. I'm pretty sure many readers could see themselves in the main character. Sometimes we're fighting our own battles and can't focus on other things, what seems like tiny things, much less an apocalypse.

I believe this worked beautifully as a comic. The visual storytelling added depth to the narrative, making the emotional journey more palpable. It is also a nice way to introduce people to what mental health might be like for some, capturing the heaviness and seriousness, yet presenting it with a unique spin. If you ask people suffering from depression or any type of mental illness, they will describe the overall feeling a little differently, yet the same emotions are depicted in the comic (surrealness, draining, feeling powerless, feeling like nothing's real, the little things being rough, being scared, feeling alone, wanting to be there, and getting better for others).

Finally, the road to recovery is different for everyone—to seek help, or in the case of Chloe, to find the desire to live. Everyone's battle is unique, and I love how the authors represented the young girl's journey with sensitivity and authenticity. This comic is a powerful blend of horror and mental health awareness, making it a compelling read for anyone interested in either genre.

Great start and message but weak ending. The execution needed a bit more tweaking. We get two main parts of the story, the “before” and the “after”. Once our MC discovers her powers, the “after” plot moves far too quickly, and as a result of that, the ending feels anticlimactic. 4 issues isn’t a lot of space to create an entire universe, and we miss out on a few meaningful stories, i.e. for the villain and some of the minor characters. Would I recommend this book? Yes, for teens who love Japanese-inspired stories or need some extra support during tough times.

Feeling more like a teen reading experience than an adult horror one, A Haunted Girl could have used a lot more ghostly apocalypse in it for me. The messaging about depression is valid but my personal tastes wanted the balancing with the supernatural plot to lean more towards the horror. Realizing that I'm probably not the demographic for this book, I will say that the ghostly/monstrous imagery was fun and I enjoyed that quite a bit. If you're a fan of, or selling to, a YA reader then this will fit in your wheelhouse.

I was so excited when I saw that I was chosen to read this graphic novel before release. Thank you net galley for letting me read this ARC.
I will be buying myself a physical copy soon. I definitely want this on my bookshelf. I've never read a book so impactful with mental health. We need more books published like this.
I really liked the mmc Cleo and found her relatable. And the drawing style is perfect for the book.
I read this in pretty much one sitting.

3,5 stars.
I appreciate the authors and their real life story, and their intentions in writing this graphic novel.
Trigger warning: suicidal ideation
Cleo struggles with mental health problems and the supernatural serves as a channel to represent these issues.
The idea is awesome and this collaboration is important.
The father’s letter, the demons and the artwork are perfect.
The very final act or mostly the final scenes felt a bit rushed and predictable.
I wish this were longer and more in depth.
Overall, I highly recommend this.

This has some of the most gorgeous panels I have ever seen! A blend of horror vs mental health sees our protagonist forced to face more than one fear and help save the world. The spider woman was a particular favourite, so wonderfully weird and creepy.

4.5/5

This graphic novel is a cool concept: the discussion surrounding mental health and finding the will to live and combining that with an apocalyptic supernatural twist, but the pacing felt rushed. If there was a deeper exploration into the characters and also the supernatural elements then this would be a 5 star read, but I was left wanting more - I need like 5 more issues! The art was great and I loved the additional covers included at the end of each issue, beautiful work.

Thank you to Image Comics and NetGalley for the DRC!