ARC Review: Delicates by Brenna Thummler

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)

๐Ÿ“– SYNOPSIS

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

Marjorie Glattโ€™s life hasnโ€™t been the same ever since she discovered a group of ghosts hiding in her familyโ€™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 Marjorieโ€™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, sheโ€™ll be labeled as a freak who sees dead people. With Marjorieโ€™s insistence on keeping Wendellโ€™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. Sheโ€™s an avid photographer, and her zealous interest in finding and photographing ghosts gets her labeled as โ€œdifferentโ€ 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 itโ€™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.

โš ๏ธ 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.

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ARC Review: Sheets by Brenna Thummler

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)

๐Ÿ“– 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 sheโ€™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 Glattโ€™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.

โš ๏ธ 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 aboutโ€ฆ 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.

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