Member Reviews

Absolutely ADORABLE final instalment to the Sheets triology - we find out more of Wendell and that was the perfect way to close the series. Once again, the illustrations are perfect when depicting the emotions of the characters.

Was this review helpful?

Oh my heart. This graphic novel series has me completely hooked. I am absolutely in love with these characters and their stories.

In the second instalment, Marjorie continues to be haunted by Wendell and all of his ghost friends / community and they continue to help her laundromat. At school, Eliza is struggling socially, and when Marjorie’s new friends start to bully Eliza, Marjorie has to make a choice of what to do.

Make no mistake: this book deals with significant and heavy themes. As tender and heartwarming as it is, it is also deeply sad. Please be mindful of the TWs listed below.

I am so glad I was recently approved for the third instalment (coming out September 6th) because I absolutely cannot get enough.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free e galley.

Was this review helpful?

This was the perfect conclusion to this series even though I’m sad it’s over. I enjoyed learning more about Wendell, and Marjorie and Eliza developed so much too. The storytelling and art are just so beautiful.

Was this review helpful?

This was a fantastic end to the trilogy, the story made me laugh and cry.
A great story about grief, healing, friendship, and finding light through the darkness!

I loved diving deeper into Wendell’s life and finding out what happened to him, although it did make me sob 😭 I also enjoyed watching Marjorie grow compared to books 1 and 2! I enjoyed this book slightly more than Delicates, simply because we got more Wendell 👻

The imagery and way Thummler so simply expressed emotions through single images was once again really well done. I’m sad the series is over but thought it was beautifully wrapped up 💗

I’ll definitely be reading more from Thummler and watching for her next book! Thanks to her, I discovered I actually really love graphic novels and am so excited to continue exploring the genre 🥰

TW/CW: child death, grief, bullying (brief reference), death of parent

Was this review helpful?

Wow, the way I was an absolute sobbing mess at the end…

In the final installation of Sheets, we follow Wendell’s life and death and his journey to remember it. This is really a wonderful ending to these stories with a lot of heartwarming friendships and lessons learned.

This is definitely one of those books that can be enjoyed by everyone - there are so many difficult topics broached in a wonderful way to invoke understanding and acceptance.

The third graphic novel is easily the strongest and I can’t recommend it enough!!

Was this review helpful?

Thanks to Brenna Thummler and Oni Press, I received and read this free e-ARC via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

This is the third and, I believe, final graphic novel in the Sheets series. The trilogy has addressed friendship, grief, mental health issues, bullying, peer pressure and adolescence. I enjoyed it, particularly the last book. Wendell has always been my favorite character and the exploration of his backstory was the focus of this story. That allowed us to see how the characters have grown and changed and what they have learned. While the ending was bittersweet, it made sense.

My only minor "con" would be some of the designs of side characters was a bit strange. One of them was drawn and colored in a way that made her eyes looked bruised and her nose broken. It was a bit off-putting and distracting. But the main characters were consistent and I liked the color palette, as always.

I would definitely recommend this story and the trilogy as a whole.

Was this review helpful?

A really sweet and conclusive final to the Sheets trilogy. Thummler did a great job at tying all loose ends in the third and final instalment of the Sheets trilogy.

Lights focuses more on Wendell's life and subsequent death. His backstory was quite interesting and had me hooked from Sheets, when we first learned about his drowning. The introduction of a new character that played a strong role in Wendell's origin story helped to keep the series feel fresh.

I also liked the subplot of Marjorie and Eliza's ongoing and evolving friendship. Thummler has made some great points about the awkwardness and trickiness of making friends as a teenager, which most readers would find relatable.

The pacing of this book was very similar to Delicates. Lights showcases Thummler's refined skills and is a fantastic finale to this sweet and spooky series.

Was this review helpful?

4,25☆

Thank you to Oni Press and Netgalley for an arc of this graphic novel. All opinions are my own.

This was a beautiful end to the trilogy. The writing and illustrations were great and the storyline flowed well and was evenly paced.

Wendell has always been my favorite thing about the series and I loved how much of this novel was focused on him and his backstory. I do feel like Marjorie as a character didn't have as much growth in the beginning of this novel as I had hoped for, but I did warm up to her by the end of the book.

The ending of this book is bittersweet, but I couldn't think of a more fitting way to bring closure to the story.

This whole series is perfect for people of all ages. The novels are great for reading together as a family/class in order to discuss important topics.

Was this review helpful?

I assume this is the final part of the Sheets-Series. If it is, I think it is a good ending.
I'm glad that they finally spent some time of Wendell's backstory and ended the series on a postivie note for everyone.

Was this review helpful?

Lights is the final book in the Sheets series by Brenna Thummler. This is a connected series and I recommend reading the first two before you read this one. This book happens immediately after the end of Delicates. Marjorie and Eliza are working on their friendship and how to let other people in. Wendell is also learning how to deal with Marjorie spending time with other people. The three of them agree that they want to find out more about Wendell's death, as what he remembers is slowly fading.

This was an incredible final book. This story always seems like it will be lighthearted, but tells a much deep story than you would think. It was so heartfelt and poignant. Learning what happened to Wendell was freeing, but also incredibly sad. This book was about closure and getting to a place of comfort. Wendell had closure, as did Marjorie and Eliza with some of the painful things that had happened in their lives.

As always, the artstyle is beautiful and Thummler captures the emotions of all the characters. I like how she uses different tones, depending on whose voice you are reading at the time. Lights did a tremendous job of wrapping up the story from the previous two books and I think that this would be a great book for any middle grade lover. Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for a copy of this book. All opinions are 100% mine.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you NetGalley for the review copy!

Incredible moving final book. It's been an emotinal and heartfelt journey with these characters who tell a much deeper story then you would think. Highly recommend!

Was this review helpful?

I'm so sad that this is the conclusion but I'm beyond happy that it ended on such a high note! Both heartwarming and emotional, this made me feel all the feels! Just as with the other two installments, this had wholesome yet spooky vibes and I adored that we had the mystery aspect of finding out what happened to Wendell!
Thummler's gorgeous artwork is a big draw to this series but the story itself is also phenomenal! Can't wait to see what the author does next.

Was this review helpful?

A lyrical, poignant and gorgeous conclusion to the Sheets trilogy. Brenna Thumler's poetic writing and art shine such an authentic, uplifting--at times heartbreaking--light (ha) on themes of grief, friendship and growing up. These graphic novels will stay with me for a long time, and I can't recommend them highly enough for readers of all ages.

Many thanks to Oni Press and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

4/⭐

Thank you to Thummler and Oni Press for sending me an advanced copy!

I'm glad to have read Sheets before hand. It's really heart warming to welcome back Marjorie and Wendell. The art style has progressed and the story telling us rich as ever. We start to dip more into depth with Marjorie's back story and learn more about her old family life. Eliza is a girly who is going to grow up hosting true crime podcast. We get to discover more of the small sleepy town as the trio uncover many mysteries.
The art work has definitely evolved and really became its own style. The use of light to create colorful settings that would change from page to page.
I realized at the end that I had missed reading Delicates, which also explains the gap between this volume and Sheets. Regardless, this became a truly heartfelt story about finding the light in the dark and new friendships in weird places.

Was this review helpful?

A stunning conclusion and my favorite of the trilogy. The focus on what happened to Wendell made this a mystery and a real page turner. Thummler's writing is poignant and touching and the art work is as great as ever. One of my favorite trilogies of graphic novels ever.

Was this review helpful?

**Spoilers ahead!** This was such an emotional and heartwarming conclusion to the series! I loved this series so much. In fact, Sheets was one of the first graphic novels I ever read, so this series holds a special place in my heart. I also admire the fact that each novel is named after the types of clothing you have sorted by pile when you do your laundry; I think that is such a great detail!
Jumping right in, Marjorie's character development not only throughout this novel but from the first time we meet her in Sheets is tremendous. We were able to see Marjorie slowly open up to her dad more and more and I loved that we could see her trust in him blossom. I appreciated how realistic it was for Marjorie to question the friendships in her life and wonder what it is exactly that she wants and values in a friend and what it even means to be a friend herself. I remember feeling that exact same way when I was her age.
Sasha and Sid were great additions to the novel. At first, I was a little apprehensive of what exactly their role would be, but as the story progressed I found them to be great comedic relief and saw how they fit into the storyline as a whole. I also applaud the author for portraying Eliza and her mental health in such a realistic manner.
Lights did a fantastic job of balancing Wendell's flashbacks while simultaneously showing us what was happening in real time, primarily Marjorie and Eliza trying to help Wendell figure out what had happened to him. I especially loved that we were seeing bits and pieces of Wendell's memory and then shown the memory in full as he was remembering it himself.
My only complaint is that I think Wendell's relationship with his parents was a bit muddy. From what we are able to see, they were significantly absent in his life, but at the end of the novel when it's revealed by Tierney that they did love and miss him and were devastated by his passing it just felt too black and white. But maybe that was the point.
Overall, I give this book a solid 4.8/5 stars, rounded up to 5! Lights did a tremendous job of wrapping up the story of Marjorie, Eliza, and Wendell and their journey together. I'm going to miss reading their adventures!

Was this review helpful?

I loved that the final novel in this trilogy was solving a mystery! But not only that, it also dealt with friendship and being kind to one another. I loved Wendell’s backstory and how everything wrapped up with this. This is a quick read with very relevant themes that can easily be understood by a middle grade audience.

Was this review helpful?

“Lights” continues the story about a laundry mat, a friendly ghost, and a teenager trying to make connections outside of the ghost realm. This is the 3rd graphic novel in the series, but I’ve unintentionally skipped the 2nd book and the story line was easy to follow. We get the answers to some of the questions that we asked in the first book (how this little ghost died and why he can’t move on). The story also delves into how difficult it can be to combine new and old friends, especially when you're in the middle of growing up. A perfect series for Middle grades and adults alike!

Was this review helpful?

This story follows Marjorie, Eliza and Wendell again while they try to solve how Wendell died. The pictures were beautiful, the story was touching and overall it was a great way to end the series.

(I got the arc from NetGalley)

Was this review helpful?

In this sweet conclusion to the Sheets trilogy, we follow two timelines. In present day, Eliza and Marjorie are working on their friendship and trying to figure out how Wendell died. In the past, we learn more about Wendell's life and his family. All three of the books deal with heavy topics. In this book, we learn about mistakes, working on friendships, letting go of friendships, and living through grief.

Eliza is neurodivergent, and it was refreshing to see a bit of myself on the pages of a book that targets teenagers. I enjoyed her character, and I enjoyed her growth. I also appreciated Marjorie learning how to communicate her needs with Eliza and how they both learned to expand their friendship circles.

The art style is beautiful. It is dreamy and reflective. It supports the story and the dialogs. The friendships are so sweet and the ending had me in happy and sad tears. I have loved spending this time with these characters, and I will definitely pick up anything this author chooses to write.

Was this review helpful?