Ghost World by Daniel Clowes
Fantagraphics Books, Seattle: 1998
ISBN: 1-56097-427-3

Plot Summary:
There is not much of a plot to the graphic novel Ghost World. Rather, there are a series of episodes illustrating the alienation Enid Coleslaw, the main character, is feeling more and more each day. Enid and her best friend Rebecca have recently graduated high school and are not sure what to do with themselves. Enid is making tentative plans for art school, while Rebecca decides she'll just follow Enid and get a job, though neither of them are in a big hurry.

The girls--Enid especially--love to make fun of popular culture and seek out the alternative and bizarre. They obsess over Bob Skeetes, a random astrologer Enid meets at her yard sale, and their virginal friend Josh. However, Enid can find something wrong with almost anything or anyone. She hates preppy people and bohemians alike. Soon she is even driving away Rebecca. In the end, she doesn't get into art school and feels more lost than ever.

Critical Evaluation:
I thought this book was refreshing and insightful. Not only is popular culture the target of Clowes's criticism, but he also takes aim at people who think they are too cool for it as well. A person is not simply a collection of everything she hates, which might be Enid's problem. She's still searching for something she loves to do. I think a lot of high school seniors and recent graduates can relate to that feeling of limbo.

Reader’s Annotation:
We all have our own paths to travel--where will Enid Coleslaw's take her?

Information about the Author:
Daniel Clowes earned his BFA at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY where he attempted to work as an illustrator. In 1989, Fantagraphics published his first installment of the series Eightball, which is now on issue 23. Many of the serials in Eightball have been released as graphic novels, including Ghost World, which was turned into a feature film in 2001.

Genre: graphic novel

Curriculum Ties: none

Booktalking Ideas:
I would focus on Enid and her obsession with being alternative and calling others out for either being main stream or not alternative enough. Then I would talk about her and Rebecca and the circumstances they find themselves in after graduating high school.

Reading Level/Interest Age:
I think this book would be appropriate for ages 17 and up.

Challenge Issues:
Enid goes into an adult store to browse and also relates the story of the first time she had sex. I would explain the library's selection policy and give the challenger a complaint form to fill out.

Why I chose this book:
I chose this book because it was one I wished I could have read back in high school. I would have felt like my story was being told. I related to the aversion to pop culture and yet still felt the need to fit in.