Ghosts: A Graphic Novel

Maya is Cat’s younger sister and the story’s deuteragonist. She has cystic fibrosis, a degenerative disease that causes severe buildup of mucus in the lungs as well as problems with digestion. The story begins as the family moves to Northern California to a town called Bahía de la Luna for Maya’s sake, as the parents believe that the salty, cool air of the bayside town will help Maya breathe easier and live longer. While Cat wants her sister to be healthy, she admits feeling resentful for having to leave her home and friends behind for Maya’s sake. This conflict within Cat creates conflict between the two sisters, but ultimately The Unbreakable Bond of Sisterhood resolves it. Despite her disease, Maya remains an optimistic, happy-go-lucky child. She is in many ways braver and more hopeful than her sister, both about her illness and regarding life in general. Maya does have questions about death, and interacting with the spirits of Bahía de la Luna helps her resolve many of her fears. Maya wants only to enjoy herself while she is alive, and she is quite aware of how short her time is: “It’s not like I’m ever going to get better …. So why not let me have fun while I can?” (163). Maya not only wants to know more about death but about her Mexican heritage as well. She is especially enthusiastic about building an ofrenda for her abuela’s spirit.

Maya is around eight years old, and sometimes her bravery bubbles over into recklessness. This leads her to trouble with her illness, sometimes to the point of approaching death. When Maya wants to meet the ghosts, Carlos says they need to hike up the hill to the mission at the top. Maya is without her medication and would have difficulty even with it, but she decides to race up the mountain anyway. She is already out of breath when she arrives at the top, but when the ghosts surround her and begin taking her breath, she collapses due to a lack of oxygen. Maya is hospitalized, and Cat is blamed. This experience causes fear in Cat but only makes Maya more curious. Indeed, when she meets José later on, she is even generous enough to share her breathing tube with him. Since Maya is not able to attend the Day of the Dead celebration or go trick or treating due to her illness, it is through José, who flies to visit her, that Maya has her questions about death answered. Maya shows her selflessness when she confesses her biggest fear about dying: “José, if I die, Cat will be all alone. She’s terrible at making friends. Or at least, she used to be …” (224). Maya is also comforted by a visit from the spirit of her abuela at the story’s conclusion; a delicious feast mysteriously appears, and the same black cat who has been following the girls around town shows up at their doorstep.

Carlos is a boy Cat’s age who lives in Bahía de la Luna. He is a round character who appears at first to be mischievous and cunning but soon shows himself to be caring and understanding. Carlos first appears in the exposition when Cat and Maya go to explore their new town. He is the first local that they meet, and the impression he gives the girls provokes terror and mystifies them. Carlos introduces himself by saying, “You’re early. The ghost tour doesn’t start until three” (33-34). Cat is immediately skeptical, but Maya is intrigued, wanting to know more about what happens after death. Although Cat does not like Carlos at first, she goes along with his tour for her sister’s sake. She is shocked to meet not one but several ghosts; unfortunately, the ghosts surround Maya and try to take her air, rendering her hospitalized. After this experience, Cat wants nothing to do with Carlos. He keeps showing up, though, bringing flowers for their abuela’s ofrenda. Carlos’s persistence and openness are largely why Cat learns to Accept and Adjust to Change.

Carlos’s family deeply honors its Mexican heritage and traditions. Cat’s family is amazed to taste real Mexican tamales when invited over for dinner; Cat gorges herself on them, wide-eyed and overwhelmed. It is food that first inspires Cat to open up not only to Carlos but also to the new town; food also sparks her curiosity regarding her heritage. Cat slowly develops a crush on Carlos, and when they meet at the Day of the Dead celebration, they dance together and shake maracas. An intricately detailed splash page of Carlos and Cat, along with two mariachis and several spirits dancing and shaking maracas, illustrates this uplifting moment in the story. At the end of the night, Cat kisses Carlos, confirming that she has feelings for him and that she finally feels like she belongs in Bahía de la Luna. Carlos’s actions and persistence help Cat and Maya Discover Their Heritage.

Cat and Maya’s mother and father are both flat characters who appear only momentarily, scattered throughout the story. As the story’s focus is on Cat and Maya’s bond and Discovery of Their Heritage, their parents serve mainly to propel the plot or explain certain situational and characterization elements. Their father is a friendly, caring, and attentive parent. Their mother is equally caring and attentive but also overprotective of Maya. Both parents spend a great deal of time ensuring that Maya is healthy and safe. Cat’s mother is Mexican, and she explains that she grew apart from her heritage due to a difficult relationship with her own mother: “After your abuela died … A lot of old traditions died with her” (58). Due to this lost connection, Cat’s family lives as if they were of only non-Latino US heritage. This begins to change when they move to Bahia de la Luna and meet Carlos’s family, engage in Mexican celebrations such as the Day of the Dead, and soon find themselves building an ofrenda for their abuela. They also repeatedly encounter a black cat, who shows up again in the end and may be Abuela. In the story’s closing moments, the family finds a mysterious feast appeared on their dining table, and it seems that Abuela prepared it for them. Moving to a town rich in Mexican heritage opened the doorway for Cat and her family to rediscover their lost culture.