Member Reviews
A charismatic graphic novel that, despite being targeted towards children, allures every reader regardless of age.
The first book in the "Sheets" trilogy takes place around Halloween. A young girl called Marjorie works at her family's laundromat, one of the two things she hates the most. The other target of her hatred is the topic of ghosts. So, it's a shock for her when these two combine. Wendell, a spirit from the Land of Ghosts, comes to the laundromat to figure out why living people are afraid of ghosts. Hence, this strange pair will develop an unusual friendship.
The book's qualities reside in each framework, where the level of detail presented is astounding within its craft. Additionally, the color scheme is wonderful and helps to immerse oneself in the atmosphere of the story.
With a unique design style, Brenna Thummler created an exceptional graphic novel with heart-warming characters such as the Dead Youth Empathetics association and a wholesome story that guides the reader through a journey of grief, loneliness, depression, love, and forgiveness. The author handles heavy topics in a funny and respectful way without changing the main plot. For instance, it's appreciable how Marjorie's family deals with their grief over the mother's death while focusing the narrative on the relationship between the main character and Wendell.
I’m grateful with NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity of letting me read this before its publication.
This was so cute! I would highly recommend this as a graphic novel to read in the fall, or as summer starts to transition to fall. Especially if you need something lighter to break up a string of spooky books. It still had a perfect autumn feel.
The art is absolutely gorgeous. I loved the color choices and style! This was a quick read, I finished it in one sitting but still took time to appreciate the art. Can’t wait to continue in this series this fall!
This is such a cute book! I love the imagery. I usually don't like bright colors like pink or yellow but those colors really suit the story here. At first, I was weirded out by the drawing style. Everyone has long faces like a rectangle. After I got used to it, I got into the story.
The story is a little bit rushed though. Some parts of it didn't make sense. <spoiler>For example, how did Wendell find his way to Marjorie? I don't think Wendell has been to her house even once. He just ended up there randomly? Doesn't make sense. It would've been better if they just meet each other for the first time. They would feel less lonely and open to NEW people in their life instead of just reminiscing of the past.
Marjorie looking up his orbituary also surprised me because from the narration, I inferred they only met once and didn't even speak properly.
Another thing is Marjorie's mom. Ghosts don't use last names? Okay. Why wouldn't she just say her mom's first name, then? Wendell and her mother died both the same way and in same year. Maybe they've met each other. Just ask.
The Swimming class teacher's storyline didn't go anywhere either. Marjorie met his whole family and then it's just... it. That's it. No mention of him again. When that lawyer guy appeared while Mr. Saubertuck was looking for his key, I thought maybe that's PE teacher because I didn't make sense that he only appeared twice for the whole story.
Mr. Saubertuck surprisingly knows that some sheets are ghost. How? Why? I mean, just put a throwaway line there. A simple "I've met them before" would suffice but no. No indication as to how he knows it. I don't really care about him but that felt like something the artist should've included.</spoiler>
Did I still give this 4 stars in spite of how much I've ranted? Yes. I really think this is aimed at children since the main characters are 11 and 13 each. I think this is cute enough but deep enough for children. It's not perfect but it's lovely.
A graphic book for 10 - 13 year olds. It is based in America. It is a book with the themes of grief, how different people and ages deal with grief, friendship and bullying, plus the limited support which is given by those who realise something is not right, how difficult it is to know what to do.
The plot is good, with illustrations which are excellent. These do compliment each other.
Sheets is a really bitter sweet graphic novel. We have Marjorie, a very young girl trying her best to survive after the loss of her mother, keeping the family business (a laundromat), with a younger brother and a drepessed father.
And then there’s Wendell, a young ghost that tries his best but can’t stop his clumsiness.
The story is melancholic, you can easily feel Marjorie grief, but also the hope for things to be better.
The artwork is really beautiful.
This graphic novel is something totally unique. Marjorie is grieving the loss of her mother, trying to fit in at school whilst also running the family laundromat. As she tries to keep everything running at home and at the laundromat she befriends a friendly ghost called Wendell. I love the purple/pink colour palette in this book and the artwork is stunning. The story is gentle but also dealing with a big topic such as grief. I really enjoyed reading this - something totally different to what I normally read and I loved getting to know the character of Marjorie. Such a lovely read for a range of ages from teen to older.
This review was made possible via an ARC on NetGalley.
This is a really cute graphic novel that explores the topic of death in a pre-teen friendly way without sugar-coating grief and what happens after a parent dies. Marjorie is a young woman who lost her mother and works in her family's laundromat while helping to care for her father and brother and Wendell is a young ghost whose trying to find a friend in his new world.
It's touching and a little heart-breaking, but it never feels overly dramatic. There's a subtlety on the page that gives credit to it's readers and I think that makes the graphic novel really special. The art style was very cute and the use of color and black and white really added to the atmosphere.
I don’t really know how to review this…. I think graphic novels just don’t work for me. This was sweet and empowering and sad and adorable, but I was just confused for most of it solely because of the delivery format. I loved the story, but it was hard for me to follow - I could see how this would appeal to middle graders, especially those who don’t like reading.
Marjorie is grieving and Wendell visits the human world. He doesn’t feel at ease with the other sheet ghosts.
This story is a short and easy read that I value. I am happy that they helped out each other again. Wendell is such a pure soul 🤍
Sheets by Brenna Thummler is a cute graphic novel, dealing with pretty intense topics. I read this in one sitting I loved this story! The artwork was beautiful and the characters amazing especially Wendell.
I absolutely flew through this!
Such a sad, but lovely story following Marjorie and her family dealing with the loss of her mother. I really enjoyed seeing Marjorie go about her day to day life, and I really felt for her.
However, Wendell absolutely stole the show. I really enjoyed seeing the ghost world, and I found it to be a lot more humorous than the human world. Wendell is on his own journey, accepting his fate as a child who died too young.
A beautiful story about loss and family.
Also, the art style is so gorgeous!
I'm not one for reading graphic novels, but having loved the Heartstopped series I thought I'd give this one a go. I read it all in one sitting and enjoyed it. The illustrations are beautiful and tell a really poignant story of loss, grief, and unexpected friendship. I'm now off to read book 2!
The author had me at the ghost in the cover and i was so surprised when i finally read it. It is a really cute story about a little girl and her ghost friend. I loved the graphics and the color palette.
I loved this story!
Such a cute graphic novel, dealing with pretty intense topics. The artwork was lovely and I really liked the characters of Marjorie and Wendell.
Thank you Netgally and the publisher for my copy!
Sheets is a strongly evocative graphic novel. Dual point of views follow a young girl struggling to keep the family business going after her mother's death and a ghost struggling to fit in. The powerful imagery and moving storyline make this a great read for older readers.
I love the art so much🤧
It's very eyepleasing. It started as something gloomy, but I love how it worked out in the end.
I love Marjorie's PE teacher family and hate basically everyone else in her class. Especially the creepy neighbour 💀💀💀
Can we hug ghost? Bcs I would definitely hug Wendell 🫶🏽✨✨✨
I love how the concept was brought for a children's book. Will definitely read the next title 🎉
Thank you to Oni Press and Brenna Thummler for making this free e-ARC available via Netgalley. MY review is not influenced by them or anyone else.
I liked the color palette, including the differentiation between the 2 places in the story. My favorite character is Wendell, but I liked the friendship that developed between them and how they came to terms with themselves and the world around them. Even though it was based on sad events and sad people, it ended up being charming and uplifting.
sheets is a beautiful graphic novel that follows marjorie, a middle school girl, who is running her family's laundromat as her dad suffers from depression the year after her mother's passing. it was a simple yet touching story! marjorie is dealing with grief from her mother's passing, trying to help take care of her younger brother, has some mean girls at school, and there is a resort developer trying to get his hands on the property their laundromat is on. but with the help of a little ghost friend, the story plays out in a very sweet way.
the colour palate of the art was beautiful! i am very excited to see where this story goes in the second and third books! 👻 🩷
The illustrations are beyond beautiful and the colors used to differentiate the worlds gave it a superb touch.
The illustrations bring the story to life.
I found myself lost in the story, but in the end it all made sense. It all connected.
Both characters felt isolated in their lives, but they are really strong.
She is doing everything she can for what she loves and he feels inadequate, so he looks for something better for himself.
It's a beloved story, about people who needed to be seen and who end up helping each other.
The premise is very unique - a budding friendship between a girl who owns a laundromat and a sheet ghost. I love the art style and i love the fact that this story takes place around the Halloween season as well! And Wendell is the cutest who deserves the entire world. All i wanna do is to wrap him with a blanket and tell him all is fine in the world :(