Tag: Oni Press

ARC Review: Delicates by Brenna Thummler

Dini @ dinipandareads5 Comments

Special thanks to Oni Press for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Delicates (Sheets #2)
Publisher: Oni Press
Publication Date: 23 March 2021
Genre: Middle-Grade Graphic Novel

Panda Rating:

(5 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

Following the events of the bestselling graphic novel Sheets, Delicates brings Brenna Thummler’s beloved characters, artwork, and charm back to life.

Marjorie Glatt’s life hasn’t been the same ever since she discovered a group of ghosts hiding in her family’s laundromat. Wendell, who died young and now must wander Earth as a ghost with nothing more than a sheet for a body, soon became one of Marjorie’s only friends. But when Marjorie finally gets accepted by the popular kids at school, she begins to worry that if anyone learns about her secret ghost friends, she’ll be labeled as a freak who sees dead people. With Marjorie’s insistence on keeping Wendell’s ghost identity a secret from her new friends, Wendell begins to feel even more invisible than he already is.

Eliza Duncan feels invisible too. She’s an avid photographer, and her zealous interest in finding and photographing ghosts gets her labeled as “different” by all the other kids in school. Constantly feeling on the outside, Eliza begins to feel like a ghost herself. Marjorie must soon come to terms with the price she pays to be accepted by the popular kids. Is it worth losing Wendell? Is she partially to blame for the bullying Eliza endures?

Delicates tells a powerful story about what it means to fit in, and those left on the outside. It shows what it’s like to feel invisible, and the importance of feeling seen. Above all, it is a story of asking for help when all seems dark, and bringing help and light to those who need it most.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Bullying, grief, bullying, suicidal thoughts

THIS HIT. Wow, Thummler has this wonderful ability to take sad, heavy, heartbreaking moments in life and turn them into powerful stories of overcoming and hope. It’s absolutely no surprise that I was in tears by the end of this story. As wonderful as SHEETS is, I think Delicates outshines it in story, art, and so much heart.

Read More »

ARC Review: Sheets by Brenna Thummler

Dini @ dinipandareads12 Comments

Special thanks to Oni Press for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sheets (Sheets #1)
Publisher: Oni Press
Publication Date: 28 August 2018
Genre: Middle-Grade Graphic Novel

Panda Rating:

(4 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

Marjorie Glatt feels like a ghost. A practical thirteen year old in charge of the family laundry business, her daily routine features unforgiving customers, unbearable P.E. classes, and the fastidious Mr. Saubertuck who is committed to destroying everything she’s worked for.

Wendell is a ghost. A boy who lost his life much too young, his daily routine features ineffective death therapy, a sheet-dependent identity, and a dangerous need to seek purpose in the forbidden human world.

When their worlds collide, Marjorie is confronted by unexplainable disasters as Wendell transforms Glatt’s Laundry into his midnight playground, appearing as a mere sheet during the day. While Wendell attempts to create a new afterlife for himself, he unknowingly sabotages the life that Marjorie is struggling to maintain.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Death of parent, Child death, Bullying, Grief, Depression

If you’re like me and you pick this up solely because of the cover, and you don’t look at the synopsis, you might go into this thinking it’ll be a cute story about… Sheets? Turns out, while there are many sheets involved, it’s not at all the light-hearted cutesy story that I thought it would be. This deals with heavy themes of death, grief, belonging, and loneliness.

Read More »

ARC Review: Taproot by Keezy Young

Dini @ dinipandareads3 Comments

Special thanks to Oni Press for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Goodreads: Taproot
Publisher: Oni Press
Publication date: 28 June 2022
Genre: Young Adult Graphic Novel

Panda Rating:

(3.5 pandas)


Blue is having a hard time moving on. He’s in love with his best friend. He’s also dead. Luckily, Hamal can see ghosts, leaving Blue free to haunt him to his heart’s content. But something eerie is happening in town, leaving the local afterlife unsettled, and when Blue realizes Hamal’s strange ability may be putting him in danger, Blue has to find a way to protect him, even if it means… leaving him.

Read More »

ARC Review: Chef’s Kiss by Jarrett Melendez, Danica Brine (Illustration)

Dini @ dinipandareads17 Comments

Special thanks to Oni Press for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Goodreads: Chef’s Kiss
Publisher: Oni Press
Published: 12 April 2022
Genre: Graphic Novel

Panda Rating:

(5 pandas)

Watch things start to really heat up in the kitchen in this sweet, queer, new adult graphic novel! 

Now that college is over, English graduate Ben Cook is on the job hunt looking for something…anything…related to his passion for reading and writing. But interview after interview, hiring committee after hiring committee, Ben soon learns getting the dream job won’t be as easy as he thought. Proofreading? Journalism? Copywriting? Not enough experience. It turns out he doesn’t even have enough experience to be a garbage collector! But when Ben stumbles upon a “Now Hiring—No Experience Necessary” sign outside a restaurant, he jumps at the chance to land his first job. Plus, he can keep looking for a writing job in the meantime. He’s actually not so bad in the kitchen, but he will have to pass a series of cooking tests to prove he’s got the culinary skills to stay on full-time. But it’s only temporary…right? 

When Ben begins developing a crush on Liam, one of the other super dreamy chefs at the restaurant, and when he starts ditching his old college friends and his old writing job plans, his career path starts to become much less clear. 

TL;DR: This was an absolute treat to read and I would highly recommend it if you’re looking for a wonderfully illustrated graphic novel about new beginnings and finding your way in the world, with wonderful characters and great friendships that are sure to make you smile!

Read More »