No strong opinions about this book. The ending felt a little abrupt; I wanted a little more on what the author is trying to tell readers. Not sure I'd recommend for younger readers.

I really love the artwork for this—wonderfully moody and dark—but I felt like I was reading half a story with so much more taking place off-stage.

A graphic novel that takes you back to 1995. The story is beautifully written through what looks like notes between friends written on random scraps of paper, filled with cozy hues of browns that give the book a nostalgic and heartwarming feel.

Briana, is a quiet and sweet girl struggling to navigate life between two households during her high school years. She feels alone when at either parent's house, finds friends who understand her & starts to fall behind in school work.
Briana's connection with her friend Jacob is particularly touching, and their bond adds depth to the story.

Bri's solace lies in her art. All she wants to do is get lost in her drawings, where paper and pencil are her true companions.
This heartfelt narrative captures teenage struggles and the power of friendship and creativity.

Raised By Ghosts - Briana Loewinsohn

Pages:216
YA - Age 14+
Pub date: 2/4/2025

This was a beautiful slice of life - I felt like I stepped right back into my teenage years. The ache and confusion jumped off the page in this coming-of-age tale. I highly recommend.

I really liked the format of this book. The notes on paper were really cute and I’ve never seen another graphic novel that has done it. This book made me really sad for the main character but also unfortunately, very relatable.

Having an alcoholic mother makes it hard to go home, sometimes. Briana will sometimes pause before unlocking the front door, unsure what she is going to find inside. She finds peace in drawing and writing, and falls into her little world. It is tough, but she makes friends, finally, passing notes between each other.


It is rather a sad look at struggling, and yet joyful when Briana does find some hope in life. Drawn in sepia tones, make the story even more bleak. The only time things get brighter is when she travels off in her imagination.


This is a beautifully drawn story, slow and thoughtful.


Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. I got it as an ARC, and now it was published this month.

This is a fascinating examination of loneliness in childhood that stems from absent parents. It was written and illustrated from the authors own experiences and perspectives from childhood.

Love is found written between the lines. Something that Briana has to search for and almost create the sense of it herself. At times when she’s alone and entertaining herself she can seem almost listless. Aimlessly wandering through life and searching for meaning in the fragmented relationships that she does have.

This was a sad read for me as I experienced something similar in the times I lived with my grandmother and her partner. Seeing a parent nursing an alcohol addiction is a hard thing. Feeling uncared for and holding on to the tiniest of moments to prove to yourself that that person really does care about you. Moments that are fleeting and far in between.

Briana shows herself lost in her own imaginations. She spends a lot of time by herself and in her own head and she draws and writes to build her own worlds. This is another thing I deeply relate to. Giving myself a world to live in that is exciting and fun makes you feel less lonely.

This is a great and at times a difficult read, but I loved it.

This was such a sad story about a teenage girl who feels alone in this world. parents who barely gave her any attention, they also didn't take care of her properly. loved the illustrations, i loved how it was written as a personalised letter from her. I think a lot of teens could relate to her feelings, how lonely it can feel in this world.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. As someone who spent my teenage years in the 90s, this was a great throwback. I remember intricacies of folding notes to pass between classes. A great coming of age graphic novel.

Raised by Ghosts is a powerful story that sheds light on what it’s like to have parents who aren’t really there.

The main character, a young girl with divorced parents, drifts through life feeling completely alone. Her parents are so wrapped up in their own issues that they barely notice her—except to scold her when chores aren’t done.

This story deeply resonates with the loneliness many teenagers feel, even when surrounded by others. It captures that sense of being unseen, unheard, and left out, making for an emotional and relatable read.

It seems to evoke a universal feeling of growing up and finding your place in the world and people you feel comfortable with, but through a more lonely perspective than I usually see in this type of media. I loved the integration of text into illustration as written notes that they gave eachother.

A poignant look at surviving your teen years. As someone who grew up in the '90s , this comic gets the tone of the time period spot on including making mix tapes and going to all ages clubs. Definitely hit the right nostalgic notes for me.

Es una historia que tocará a varios, narra el sentimiento de sentirse rodeada de fantasmas, seres que no existen en tu realidad y se deslindan de tí. Además de que está acompañada de unas ilustraciones muy bellas.

Raised by Ghosts is lacking. It's a kind of graphic novel memoir that reads more like the present day Briana rewriting her own history than an actual story to be read. Perhaps in hind sight Briana thought those things, or was going through those things. As a reader it seems like the author is embellishing how self aware she was. It comes off as pretentious and off putting. The structure is visually gross and sloppy. The torn diary like pages and the word bubbles of gibberish or scribbles. Why a graphic novel if you're going to do it dirty like this? Why not put the story in the story instead of having these empty word bubbles?

The overall feeling is loneliness and neglect.

Thanks Netgalley and Fantagraphics for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.
It was an AMAZING trip.
The materiality of the notes, the journal entries, EVERYTHING was incredible.
Hopefully it gets some Eisner nominations, I'm hopeful it will.

A beautifully haunting exploration of growing up in a neglectful home with emotionally immature parents and the importance of found family and creative outlets such as music or art. A comforting story that many will be able to create to pieces if not all of.

This is haunting and endearing, very emotional. I loved the art and the overall aesthetic. I would have liked more to the plot

Growing up in the Bay Area around the same time made this a special read for me. Add on the connections and parallels this book and it’s MC Briana has to my life growing up, meant that it spoke to me in ways very few books can.

I really feel most people can find their own adolescence in this book, at least in some part. Many teens go through all or some of these motions: apprehension and awkwardness with middle school in general, loneliness and feeling like you don’t fit in, family struggles /divorce, close friendships that heal and hurt, and finding independence and maturity. Seeing your friends, family, and yourself through a new lens and appreciating them all for what they are and what they mean to you.

This book was soothing for my teenage soul and I didn’t think I needed this - but I did. I don’t mean to say I had a terrible adolescence at all but I had struggles, struggles that many go through, including Briana. Her feelings of not fitting in I connect with viscerally. I can imagine the comforting balm this book would have been to my teenage self and hope many teens and young adults get the chance to read this book and experience the same.

Thank you to NetGalley for this wonderful ARC.

I actually really liked this graphic novel a lot, it made me remember how easy and simple the 90s or early 2000s were, before social media and before this became more complicated. It's difficult to replicate a time like that specially to people who never lived through that so I think a lot of people could enjoy this.

This was such a beautifully written graphic novel, I adore coming of age books in general, so when I saw this I had to pick it up, I loved it sooo much. The character is so relatable and described so perfectly that I felt so seen, definitely recommend this (also the graphics was so pretty) !!!