'Delicates' with story and art by Brenna Thummler takes us back to the haunted graphic novel world of 'Sheets' and it's just as wonderful.

Marjorie Glatt has lost her mother, but gained a bunch of ghostly friends who have saved her family laundromat. Now she has made it in to the popular crowd. Eliza Duncan is not part of that crowd, but wants to believe in ghosts. As Marjorie neglects her ghost friend Wendell, he becomes closer to Eliza, he discovers something that will need Marjorie's help.

This series has such a sense of the loneliness of youth. I love the mood of both books and I think this book might be the stronger of the two. Highly recommended.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Oni Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book. I really enjoyed this book. It is adorable and a heart wrenching story, I cannot wait to read the second book in the series, I love-love this book. and the ghost in the book is so adorable. This book has taught me some valuable lessons which I will never forget.

Thank you again for the copy in exchange of an honest review. I will treasure this book forever,

Eighth grader Marjorie has a group of ghosts that live in her family’s laundromat. When Marjorie starts school after the summer, she’s become friends with the kids that used to bully her. This year, the kids have turned to bullying Eliza, a girl who has been left back a grade and is in their class. Eliza feels left out and finds comfort in her photography hobby. Eliza tries to take photos of ghosts, which also makes her the subject of teasing. However, Marjorie knows that ghosts do exist. Eventually, the bullying reaches a breaking point, and Marjorie is the only one who can save Eliza.

This is the perfect companion to the graphic novel Sheets. In that story, Marjorie and her laundromat full of ghosts were introduced. In this sequel, Marjorie has to use what she learned in the first story to help Eliza.

There was a lot of bullying in this story. There was also some discussion of suicide. This theme of death is part of the story, since Marjorie is friends with the ghosts of people who have died. This could be triggering content, but this story is also an important teaching experience about depression.

I really loved this graphic novel!

Thank you Oni Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

While I enjoyed the first instalment in the series, Sheets, I felt like this sequel missed the mark for me. It still has the same gorgeous artwork and colour palette, but although the main topic here is hard-hitting (suicidal ideation by a young teenager), in a weird way this story wasn't as moving or touching as the one told in Sheets. And I feel like a lot of it has to do with Eliza, the new character in this instalment. Whereas Sheets focused on Marjorie and Wendell, we now get another POV added to the mix: Eliza, the daughter of Marjorie's P.E. teacher from the first book and the victim of bullying by other kids at their school. At first I was tentatively intrigued by her as an unknown character, but as the story progressed and it became clear what was going on, the overwhelming emotion I was left with was pity. I didn't really like her. Not that I disliked her, but there was just so little there in terms of a dynamic journey for the character. Meanwhile, Marjorie has made friends with her "enemies" from the first book and is ignoring Wendell more and more. That part of the story feels like it could have more substance to it, but their conflict gets resolved in maybe less than 10 pages, which seems like a missed opportunity to deepen the emotional lives of these characters.

It is not often that I get to read a sequel to a graphic novel. This one turned out to be better than the first. The first was cute in a whimsical way, whereas this was pretty brutal while maintaining its whimsical undertones!
You can pick this up without reading the first, although it would be hard to like Wendell going into the story without knowing what he did the last time. Wendell is a ghost who wears a sheet to have a form. She lives in the Laundromat, and his best friend is the daughter of the owner. In this book, she has an 'In' with the in-crowd. This may not be a good thing. She is silent for the most part and lets the concept of just having friends overlook a lot of bad behaviour. I am sure many will identify with her; I know I did. At the other end of the story, we have a girl who is the daughter of a pretty popular and confident teacher at the school, but she is obsessed with the idea of Ghosts both literally and metaphorically. How their worlds meet and what happens after was quite well done. I do not want to say much more because it not a very big book. I think it will resonate with a lot of kids and adults. The drawings are simple and straightforward. I really enjoyed the ending! I recommend picking this up in order just to get the proper feel for it.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Lovely story and beautiful art work. I love the color palette and style. The story really captures on of finding one's own identity and finding acceptance. It really showed the emotions and growth of the characters. Wonderful graphic novel!

Returning to the world of Sheets, we are introduced to new characters in Marjorie's world as she tries to fit in with the popular crowd at school. Eliza comes across Marjorie as the story opens, but it is clear that she won't fit in with the popular crowd. As Eliza endures bullying, and Marjorie tries to convince Wendell to stay at home so he isn't discovered, Marjorie learns that being popular isn't as great as it first appeared.
I think this might even be better than Sheets and I loved returning to Marjorie and Wendell's world :)

I haven't read Sheets, the first book in this series. Luckily that didn't matter too much. The book filled me in on some of the important details and I felt like the actual plot stood on it self so I didn't miss anything. But do keep in mind that this is a sequel.

At first I wasn't completely sure where this story was going and I had a little bit trouble getting into the story. However, about 30% I got in a great flow and read the rest of the book in one go. I couldn't put it down and enjoyed it a lot.

Delicates is a middle grade novel and it really revolves around school kids finding their place in life. What it is to be 'weird', how standing by is also bullying and how you never truly know what's going on with someone. While some of the wording was a bit off in my opinion I did really like the overall messages.

Our main character, Marjorie, is being swept up by her new friends but realises she doesn't actually agree with basically anything they do. I liked seeing her getting more confident and standing up for what she believes in. Eliza is another major character and I just wanted to hug her (although she doesn't like them...). It isn't specifically stated anywhere but I wonder if Eliza was written as autistic, or at least as neurodivergent. This book definitely has a lot of diversity in race, body type and mental health.

I really enjoyed the art style, not all of the characters are 'pretty' but that made them very real and therefore so much more beautiful. The colors are as beautiful as the cover hinted at and I loved that so much. Lastly, I haven't talked about one of the main things in this book haha. The ghosts! Marjorie's parents own a laundromat and it has a ton of ghosts who inhabit the sheets. They are very cute and an important part of Marjorie finding herself. I loved this part of the book and definitely want to read Sheets at some point.

Overall this was a wonderful book. Because of the slow start and some of the not great wording around some of the messages I ended up giving this 4 stars instead of 5, but still a very good book. I would highly recommend picking up this series!

i haven't read the 1st book before, so before picking up this book i scrunched through internet to get my hands on the 1st book to read and feel the real connections in the sequel.

safe to say i was delighted

Delicates was such a great sequel! I was intrigued by the characters in Sheets, and Delicates really brought them to life.

The introduction of Eliza added a new layer to this story, to Marjorie, to Wendell that I didn’t expect. She really brought more awareness and depth to their lives, to the story in general and even to my love for this graphic novel series. The way her feelings and emotions were handled was done with care and authenticity and I often found myself with tears in my eyes that led to full crying by the end of the story.

This series deals with grief, being an outcast, suicidal thoughts and bullying well, there was never a moment where it didn’t feel authentic. These topics are important to discuss and both Sheets and Delicates discussed them well, bringing awareness to them and the affect that they have on people.

•Character development- 4☆
• Story Plot- 4☆
• Side characters- 4.5☆
• Flow of the story- 4☆
• Overall - 4.5☆

Delicates is the sequel to the graphic novel Sheets, which introduces the reader to Wendell (a ghost) and Marjorie (his human friend). In this installment we find Marjorie just trying to fit in with the kids in school but having a hard time still being true to herself. The lessons the book tries to teach are both important and obtainable, e.g. Bullying is never ok, Being true to yourself is cool, and embrace the hobbies and passions that make us all weirdos. Marjorie will make new friends and open herself up just a little more than before, with the help of Wendell of course. If you loved Sheets, than Delicates will delight you as well.

This was just as amazing as the first book. I loved it even more than Sheets. It was a very heart-touching story. I really recommend it to everyone who loves graphic novels or wants to try reading a graphic novel. Delicates touches on some very important themes such as depression, bullying and the struggles of trying to fit in. I can’t even express how amazing the illustrations are, the details, the colors, the blue vibes, it’s all so beautifully done. 🥰

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of Delicates.

This was gorgeous and very heavy emotionally. Both Eliza and Wendell are feeling hurt and alone, and Marjorie doesn’t realize the damage she’s doing to both of them - and has to come to terms with that and how she can be a real friend. The art was lovely, and Eliza’s subplot as a ghost photographer fit so well to continue the story from Sheets.

The ARC fro this sequel was provided by NetGalley. I absolutely love Sheets and this is the perfect sequel to it! Delicates left me with a lot of messages, to the point where I kind of like the sequel more than the first book! This books focuses on bullying and feeling like a ghost to others! Brenna Thummier did such a good job telling this story!!⁣⁣
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TW: bullying, depression, suicidal

If you loved Sheets then Delicates is a must-read! This is a great option for middle school readers, but I’m an adult and I love the illustrations and color scheme.

I really enjoyed reading this graphic novel. The art style was beautiful with the color scheme. This told the story of ghosts but it entailed a bigger picture of school life. Having the bullies and finding yourself through all of that. I'm sure a lot of people would be able to relate to this.

This book deals with a tough subject with feeling and grace. Marjorie and Eliza are great characters to lead the reader through the minefield that is 8th grade socializing while trying to be true to yourself.
The title might be referring to a different type of delicates, but what I liked the most about this book is the delicate art. The fine lines and clean paneling really lend themselves to giving the story room to shine while perfectly expressing the characters' emotions and moods.

Thanks to NetGalley and Oni Press for the early read!

A stunning continuation of an already favourite story! The art is beautiful, the story is beautiful! This is just everything I was hoping it would be.

4.5 stars

I love Delicates more than Sheets because for me, this one hits even harder than the first one! In this book, Marjorie managed to befriends the “popular” kids at her school at the expense of her conscience and how she treated others. I love how the topic of bullying is handled delicately and with compassion: it shows the dynamics and struggle of school life but doesn’t absolve Marjorie from the role she played either. It slowly let Marjorie and us as readers understand that what she’s doing, as a bystander, is also hurtful and majorly impacts Eliza. It also shows how this new friendship and guilt affected Marjorie and her relationship with her family and Wendell. The book shows Marjorie character’s development as well as Eliza’s, and I love how the ending didn’t solve everything and remove all the hurt, but letting each characters involved to grow as a person.

I highly recommended this duology for everyone: it has beautiful art style, cozy setting and friendship, and yet managed to tackle heavy topics such as grief and bullying perfectly. It made me laugh and smile, but it also made me cry and feel for the characters. Surely one of the best in terms of writing, art, and characters!

4.5 for me. A graphic novel that touches on death and grief in an approachable way is great - this followup to Sheets goes one step farther by touching on bullying, suicidal thoughts, etc. I cried, but I was totally touched because it still deals with these topics in a way that is approachable to a wide audience and was really heartwarming. I love the friendships and ghosts and the colouring - a grade 8 coming of age story that most people can relate to. I loved this.

"Everyone has ghosts. I think we all need to learn that there's no shame in letting them out."

Thummler is back with a fine followup to her 2018 graphic novel 'Sheets.' Marjorie is growing up, and finding new friends to hang with, and her old pal, Wendell, is really missing her. It's rough being a ghost when your best friend would rather spend her time with the living. This go-round is just as enjoyable as the last, with new characters, and an important lesson about bullying.