Fantastic artwork and storytelling. It was a little slow at first and took me a while to get into it, but overall, enjoyed it.

As someone who deals with depression, “A Haunted Girl” resonated deeply with me.
This comic blends supernatural horror with the raw reality of mental illness, creating a story that is both haunting and relatable.
The story follows Cleo, a 16-year-old Japanese-American girl battling severe depression and suicidal thoughts. Her journey is not just about facing external supernatural forces but also confronting her inner demons.
What sets “A Haunted Girl” apart is its balance of horror and hope. The supernatural elements metaphorically represent Cleo’s internal battles, making her victories empowering.

This is a must read especially if you struggle with mental illness.

A Haunted Girl is a series of comic issues that tell the collective story of a girl battling with depression and the goddess of death who wants to takeover the world.
Going into this comic, I didn’t expect depression to be portrayed in an accurate light. A Hollywood’s depiction of mental health maybe but the premise intrigued me so I gave this comic a try and I’m quite glad that I did.
Speaking from my own experience with depression—this comic’s accurate. It’s so, so accurate. Not just surface level, politically accurate research, but It has the touch of someone who actually went through it too... Whichhhhhh I quickly found out was true for one of the authors.
This story is actually a collaboration between Naomi Sacks and her father, Ethan Sacks. Their experiences directly reflect onto the story and presumably parallel the relationship of Cleo and her father.
I felt safer learning that, that I was in good hands and can just sit back to enjoy the storytelling without having to worry about misrepresentation.
The characters feel real and very developed.
For example, I loved Cleo’s father! He wasn’t correct all the time but he kept pushing to understand and to help his daughter which made me like him even more.
There’s a therapist who’s caring and professional despite the supernatural stuff she gets pulled into. Most—if not all—of her advice I’ve heard before in my own sessions. I laughed at the mentions of DBT skills because I remember my therapist teaching them to me.
Poor Cleo is trying so hard to get back to a regular life and I love her. Depression is trying to overpower this girl but she’s still fighting! (She deserves only good things.)
The story’s pacing was quick and dynamic but I couldn’t fully get into it. Maybe it was the comic issue formatting? I wasn't a fan of the artwork either. It felt too stiff and I didn’t like style of it, but despite my preferences, I do appreciate the artist putting in the work and using his skill to bring the story to life.
Sprinkled throughout the comic issues are small PSAs explaining mental health, depression, where to go or what to do if you’re feeling depressed or suicidal, and the importance of keeping good mental health along with your physical health. It’s comforting and I never felt talked down at while reading.
I love the push of including these with the comic. I never felt unsafe or “triggered” while reading, which I appreciated more than I’d initially thought.
I would let older kids and teens read this. It’s a good look into what living with depression is like without the emotional scarring and trauma like the other media depictions of depression have. Who either romanticize it, make it inaccurate, or worse.
A Haunted Girl is a good comic to use as a teaching tool for creating discussions about mental health. It can help teach empathy and compassion while at the same time teaching kids and teens not to let any goddess of death take over the world.
For those fighting depression, I think this is a comic full of adventure that can provide some hope but definitely listen to yourself if it’s not right for you. Keep fighting.
Thank you to Images Comics! They gave me an eARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review :D

A great horror story with a focus on the importance of mental health. I really enjoyed the monster designs and all of the illustrations were very good.

Thanks to Image Comics and NetGalley for the ARC.

A beautifully illustrated and depicted story of Cleo, our MC and her struggles with depression with a side of supernatural fuckery. It was a short and sweet comic, I wish there was more of it. The story was really good, and the art is top tier. It also gives you helpful information for people struggling with mental health. Thank you, NetGalley, for allowing me to experience this comic!

A good-natured exploration of mental health through the lens of a Japanese mythology-inspired possession horror story, A Haunted Girl isn't the most realised attempt at a story like this, but it is a short and effective take on an important subject.

I finished this book in one day . I enjoy every moment of it. I love anything horror and spooky with a great plot. I will be recommending this comic book to others with the same love horror comics. Especially with Halloween coming up

(4.25 rounded up to 5) This was a beautifully rendered, poignant meditation on mental health struggles. This was a highly personal story with the father/daughter co authors and that was evident in the text. The only critique was the pacing felt a bit off. That being said, I truly loved and appreciated the story being told, especially as someone with similar mental health struggles. Thank you so much for the opportunity to review this title!

I enjoyed this book I feel like it had a very important message and I think a lot of people will be able to relate. That being said thier are a few things that fell flat for me. The plot was a little predictable and I didn't really connect to the characters. I feel like the book was to short and if it was a little longer I would've been able to connect with the story in general a little more. Even though I have a few critiques about this book I still liked it and I do recommend.

A dark tale of a girl who's suffering long, horrible, dark dreams. The pacing is oddly done, jumping around from dream to real life. Sometimes was hard to tell what was happening. I also felt like the characters didn't fully connect for me. I did like the art a lot, and the dialogue was solid, poor dad in this was just trying his best. I liked the idea more than the execution overall but it wasn't a bad read at all. If like a dark twist, dealing with depression and false dreams, this would be for you.

I think I'm being a little generous with three stars here, but I think the origin of a story is worth taking into consideration, and the basis in the author's own struggles and the focus on mental health gets this up to three stars for me. I think it's a worthy cause and a reasonable depiction of some aspects of depression.

That said, the supernatural aspects felt formulaic despite some wonderfully creepy art, and the end of the world stakes were too abrupt to build any tension. While comics tend to move quickly, even by comic standards this story was going at breakneck speed so the emotional beats didn't have time to land: reaching out to a friend for help despite their estrangement, that friend abandoning ship (not unreasonably), and then getting back on board all happened in around 30 pages, simply too short to feel anything before the next event steamed through.

In the same way, these characters, even Cleo herself, didn't have the space to breathe and establish themselves for the audience to identify with. Cleo was strongest because she functions as an author avatar so the afterword in issue #1 fills in for her character development. I'm happy to see her reach an ending that seemed out of reach at the start, I just wish the story had been built to let her earn it the way she deserved.

*Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.*

A beautifully illustrated and compelling graphic novel that mixes horror, ghosts and pre apocalypse themes with a story about overcoming mental health despite challenges, and not letting it consume you.
The writers experience with mental health really shines through and you can tell they are passionate about it, and the listed support and resources throught the book are an invaluable resource, especially for the type of topics covered.


Thank you to Image Comics via NetGalley for a reading copy of this amazing graphic novel in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

A paranormal thriller starring a 16-year-old Japanese American that can see through the barrier to the spiritual world. This was an interesting concept that I haven’t seen before. Enjoyable horror to pick up. Thank you Image Comics for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an e-ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was a nice read. The book is split into four issues and resembled comic book style. The illustrative style suited the story and I liked how the different demons and monsters were illustrated. The main part of this book is the protagonist being a suicidal teenager who is in charge of saving the world. I have never read anything like this and it was powerful. I also appreciated the mental health page at the back of each issue. This book is a personal story of Ethan and Naomi and I do think its so beautiful that they managed to create this. I would recommend!

As someone who deals with depression and anxiety, I deeply connected with the mental health themes presented within the book. I appreciated the message of resilience—about not letting depression define you and recognizing your own worth in the world. However, I felt the supernatural elements could have been more developed. A bit more background on the ghosts and their relevance to the main plot would have enhanced the story. Additionally while a little rushed I would read this again but overall like I stated I really enjoyed the book!

A Haunted Girl by Ethan Sacks and Naomi Sacks is a gripping and atmospheric graphic novel that expertly weaves together suspense and supernatural elements. The striking artwork and compelling storyline create a chilling and immersive reading experience. This collaboration delivers a captivating tale that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Having read some of Ethan Sack’s work on Star Wars I knew this would be a decent book, however I was surprised at how beautiful this truly personal story wrapped in some horror wrapping paper actually was. Written along with his daughter, the two authors really get to grips with some really difficult and personal themes throughout the four issues which really helps bring the mental health plot to the fore and make the subject matter palatable for a wider audience.

Beautifully written and gorgeous to look at, ‘A Haunted Girl’ is well worth the read.

I was interested in the title after hearing about it on NPR. I thought it was very sweet and meaningful to have a father/daughter pair write about mental health challenges in this way. However, story didn't feel fully built out. It seemed like more time was needed to develop the world and Cleo's experiences.

I thought this was good. The atmosphere, characters and plot were good but I wasn’t blown away unfortunately

This was an interesting premise with really great comic illustrations, but something was missing for me and I can't quite put my finger on it.I don't exactly know how I feel about the idea that someone struggling with their mental health is the one person who can save the world-I get the dilemma this brings up (if you're the only one who can save humanity but you don't even know if you want to live, what happens then?) but something about it doesn't sit right with me. There are also some gaps/holes in the story that I think detract from its message and strength - what does Cleo think happened to her parents and brother? How can she tell her therapist the stuff she's seeing and not immediately have herself placed into a psych hold or have any other steps taken to ensure her safety? Why can her friend and therapist and father suddenly see the ghosts/monsters at the climax fight scene when nobody could see or hear them before? I am thinking that maybe this just isn't the right comic for me, as there was much I enjoyed about it but overall it just didn't hit the mark.