Review: A Haunted Girl

A Haunted Girl by Ethan Sacks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This slender graphic novel packs a lot of elements into a surprising and very effective story. The author's afterward reveals it was co-written by his daughter, who at one time suffered a major depressive episode that led to her being hospitalized. This story obviously incorporates that real-life experience, opening with the protagonist, Japanese-American Cleo Newman, at the end of her own two-month hospitalization. She is released into the custody of her father, but not before seeing a horrific visage in her hospital room that she thinks she imagined.

Turns out she didn't. Cleo can see ghosts, in particular a Japanese death goddess named Izanami who is trying to tear down the barrier between the living and the dead, and loose vengeful ghosts to eradicate human life on Earth. Cleo is the last of the bloodline who can see and fight those ghosts and save humanity. This is the story of her efforts to get past her own disbelief and her depression, and find the strength to save those she loves.

The aspects of depression and suicidal ideation are dealt with realistically and sensitively, and it's apparent that the author's daughter has contributed greatly to this, making the story more grounded. Cleo doesn't defeat the death goddess alone--her best friend Flor, her father Gus, and even Cleo's therapist Marcy come to her aid in the end (as well as the ghost of her elder brother Hiro, who was taken by Izanami fifteen years before). Hiro was originally sent to fool Cleo and lead her into the death goddess's clutches, and Cleo nearly succumbs. But at the end, in a glorious three-page spread showing Cleo's life and loved ones, she declares, "I want to LIVE! I am going to LIVE! I'm done being made to feel powerless. I will not be beaten. Not by you, not by principal jerkface, not by stuck-up bullies. And not by my damn depression."

It's enough to make you stand up and cheer.

The story features a near-perfect balance between the horror aspects and the mental-health aspects, and also emphasizes the power of friendship and people working together to triumph. It's a striking example of how a graphic novel can be far more than just a "comic book."

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