Member Reviews

Glad I finally got to read this!
So good and it had me tearing up a few times.

Loved the art style and gorgeous colour palette.

A melancholic graphic novel that includes emotional topics like death and grief.

I will definitely be reading more of the series.

Thanks NetGalley and Oni Press.

5/5 ⭐️

Was this review helpful?

Starting off the trilogy, Sheets follows Marjorie who deals with the loss of a parent and tries to hold her family and their laundry business together. She takes on responsibilities of an adult, without the help of adults who choose not to see her day-to-day struggle. In this book, Marjorie meets and befriends Wendell, a ghost of a young boy who is looking for answers pertaining to his identity in the human world, where he is not supposed to be as a ghost.

The color palette and art style are very unique, with soft pastel colors and purple outlines, and the drawing style that is both juvenile and sophisticated in the way it handles shapes and proportions.

Looking back on the series having finished the third volume, I am now able to appreciate the wider scope of the trilogy, and how much foreshadowing and planning Brenna Thummler did before releasing Sheets. This book deals with a lot of heavy topics. I would recommend it to middle-grade readers who have had experience with bullying, loss of a loved one, loneliness, or growing up too quickly. I think the book captures a lot of authentic moments and types of personalities in middle school. without giving up on the characters and giving them room to grow and improve.

Was this review helpful?

Sheets shows a situation that hurts but it's real, there are infants with adult obligations, victims of bullying, those who doesn't feel safe to open up, but still many can fight (thanks goodness!)

Heart eyes on the style of the illustrations, the characters' faces look like the animation that went on TV during my childhood, and something reminds me of Charlie & Lola.

Sheets had my heart at first page, because I love how pleasant pink and blue are together, the landscapes are so beautiful! Many of them could be a wallpaper on your cell phone, or just a big frame in the wall, Wendell's world is less colorful, but the details are so cute

Sheets is a melancholy graphic novel that deals with harsh themes but with the most incredible colors I have ever seen in sequential art.

Was this review helpful?

Sheets shows a situation that hurts but it's real, there are infants with adult obligations, victims of bullying, those who doesn't feel safe to open up, but still many can fight (thanks goodness!)

Heart eyes on the style of the illustrations, the characters' faces look like the animation that went on TV during my childhood, and something reminds me of Charlie & Lola.

Sheets had my heart at first page, because I love how pleasant pink and blue are together, the landscapes are so beautiful! Many of them could be a wallpaper on your cell phone, or just a big frame in the wall, Wendell's world is less colorful, but the details are so cute

Sheets is a melancholy graphic novel that deals with harsh themes but with the most incredible colors I have ever seen in sequential art.

Was this review helpful?

thank you to net galley this is a cute story, not something i would usually read but was an easy read for a young teenage audience

Was this review helpful?

“Humans have hidden darkness, too, like secrets and sadness.”

I absolutely adore the artistic style of this book. Everything from the drawings to the color palette was perfect in my eyes. I think that this is a really cute but also emotional story that would be perfect to feature in a school library as I think a lot of students would love Marjorie and Wendell as much as I did.

Was this review helpful?

Melancholy.
This graphic novel embodies the feeling of melancholia that is left in people after grief. The grief of the protagonist is shown clearly in the colour palette and illustrations of the graphic novel, it is also presented in the protagonist's grief clouded actions which means that she is left having to run her mother's laundromat and helping raise her little brother as her father disappears into his own grief.
Not only is the this a brilliant take on the stereotype that ghosts live in sheets of laundry but it creates some history behind this pop culture routed in easy costumes for little kids. I would would also recommend this graphic novel for anyone who wants to truly understand how someone may feel if they have had a parent die, especially as a child/teenager. The book also attempts to explore how those who have passed on may react to the world of the living. Though this is meant for young adults readers it would be enjoyed by adults as well.

Was this review helpful?

What a fantastic book!
It took me on an emotional rollercoaster and the illustrations are phenomenal!

Was this review helpful?

I know a bit of Brenna Thummler's work from her illustrated graphic novel adaptation of "Anne of Green Gables" and I love the way she draws her characters and backgrounds. Whenever there's a double page illustration, I know I'm in for a treat! I do like "Sheets," which I find perhaps a little less well developed character wise (but I just found out it's part of a series, so that might explain it). It makes you feel all kinds of different feels and it's somewhat relatable to an extent. It's a good story overall, and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series soon.

Was this review helpful?

I loved this so much I tore through it in a single sitting, and finished with my heart full to bursting. Everything about it is executed beautifully: the characters are lifelike, and Wendel and Marjorie so sympathetic you just want to hug them; the conflict simple but profound; the tension and pacing spot on; the thematic material effortlessly interwoven; the art just beautiful. The technical aspects of the GN format were also wonderfully done: the panel blocking and composition were lovely, and I particularly loved the way the artist used colour.

Overall this was a gorgeous and heartwarming story; a perfect MG read which I'll be thinking about for a long time.

Was this review helpful?

I really liked how Wendell and Marjorie's stories intermingled, but I was hoping there would be a bit more of it. I also really liked the art style and color way of this graphic novel.

Was this review helpful?

This was the cutest graphic novel that I didn't know I needed to read today. As someone who is missing her mother who died in 2017, I found this story to be so comforting in such a light-hearted way. There were some pages where I could relate and feel exactly what Marjorie was feeling in that moment. I loved the illustrations and the book layout was beautiful. The full page art was beautiful. Wendell is an adorable and lovable character. Such a fun way to sit with and look at death and grief (an odd way to be talking about death and grief, huh? fun?) When you lose a parent, or anyone close to you, you have to find ways to smile and laugh. I really appreciate what the book offered me in this season.

Was this review helpful?

I love the graphic novel format, it's always a high interest area in my classroom. The illustrations are vibrant and engaging, it begs for readers to choose this book of the shelf. The storyline is unique and interesting; keeps you wanting to turn page after page until you're finished!

Was this review helpful?

Sheets by Brenna Thummler has great illustrations and cozy plotline around a girl, Marjorie Glatt and a ghost, Wendell and their friendship. Marjorie has already many problems in her life to deal with when a ghost brings additional crisis in her life.

This book is like a cold breeze on a hot summer. Refreshing, short and fun to read!

Was this review helpful?

3.8 "Sheets" is an incredibly original take on a friendly ghost story. Marjorie Glatt is a young girl who is tasked with running the laundromat her family owns and lives above after her mother dies tragically. Her father is removed due to his own grief and her younger brother is seemingly unaffected. Marjie, above all else, is alone. Enter the small town villain, Mr. Saubertuck, to threaten what life she has managed to hold onto. On the other side of the universe is Wendell the ghost who is coming to terms with his death and is looking for something more in his afterlife.

What ensues is an impeccably illustrated story that is relatable, including themes such as a child with too much responsibility, dealing with loss, finding friends in the abyss that is loneliness, and late 80s/90s nostalgia. There is whimsy galore in a ghost world covered in perfectly laundered sheets.

As a reader, I am deducting a few points because I felt that the character development could have been stronger. Marjorie is the focus in the living world part of the story, and her entire personality seems to be "quiet" and "lonely." She doesn't have much to offer as a character, and the visual storytelling does little to alleviate that. Her face and body language throughout remain pretty much the same.

I would definitely recommend this book to my students, but I don't find enough material here for a whole-class study.

Thank you to NetGalley for access to this amazing text!

Was this review helpful?

Sheets is the first volume in a series of MG/YA graphic novels, and it's absolutely adorable. The story deals with some heavy themes, like the loss of a parent and the resulting grief, another parent who's disappeared into their own grief, bullies, and a struggling family business. Ironically, the color palette is full of pastels, especially pinks and blues, and I am in love with this choice.

The art in this graphic novel is brilliant. Aside from the perfect color choices, the style itself is also spot on. Whimsical and cute, it helps to lighten the mood and combat the undercurrent of sadness and grief.

I also want to note that I really loved the ending. I honestly don't know where the series will go, as the end was satisfying and provided closure, but I look forward to finding out.

Sadly, while I did really enjoy this, it fails the smell test in one very big way: fatphobia. Every character with even a hint of being negative are drawn as bigger characters. They are also the only characters drawn as such. Admittedly, this book is a few years old, so the author/illustrator may have (hopefully has!) improved in this regard, but that doesn't prevent this book from being blatantly fatphobic. Oddly, even with this issue, there's no actual fat shaming, so there's at least that. Without this issue, I would have given this full marks. With it, I can only give it 3 stars. I truly hope the further volumes, the third of which is due out in September, have done away with this harmful, dehumanizing, and frankly lazy trope.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and Oni Press for the early copy. This has been my honest review.

Content Warnings for: fatphobia, death of a parent, death of a child, drowning, neglectful parent, parentification of a child, gaslighting, sabotage.

Was this review helpful?

My heart went out to Marjorie in this touching story about a 13 year old girl, and the ghost of a young boy named Wendell. This beautiful graphic novel deals with difficult themes: grief, loss and loneliness. You can see it in Marjorie’s face in every panel.

You see Marjorie’s mother has died. She takes care of her little brother because her father has checked out most days wallowing in his grief. She spends her days running the family laundromat and dealing with problematic customers and the villain, Mr Saubertuck. Life is tough for her, and she has no one to turn to.

Wendell is the ghost of a young boy who drowned at age eleven. He appears to Marjorie as a sheet in our human world, and is creating havoc in the laundromat with his refusal to stay away from the forbidden world of the living.

This is a a really good read, despite the rather sad situation and the fact that the story ended very abruptly.

Was this review helpful?

I beautiful story of mourning that will make friendship the answer to pain.

Marjorie Glatt is a teenager dealing with not only the sudden loss of her mother but broken father and an struggling laundromat. Wendell is a sad and lonely ghost that wants to feel alive once more.

This two unlikely characters with meetup and forge a friendship that will help them face their odds and add meaning to an empty existence.

An amazingly graphic novel that would warm your heart and grace your senses with an exceptional execution of designs and colour pallet.

A recommended read for those dealing with hard emotional times, grief and loneliness, or those who want to give a hand to the needed.

A copy of this book was provided freely by Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I loved every single thing about this graphic novel and I can't wait to actually buy it to add to my collection. I already downloaded volume 2, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42969318-delicates">Delicates</a>.

From the beginning I related to Marjorie, while I haven't lost a parent, I do know what it's like to feel like nothing goes right. The dynamic between Wendell and Marjorie was adorable and I enjoyed their interaction with each other. It seemed like they were brother and sister the way they fought due to the constant miscommunication. Marjorie's father needed to get his life together. His daughter is doing everything at the laundromat, trying to save it while going to school AND trying to grieve as well? Hopefully in the next installment they all get some therapy.





I really liked the dynamic between Wendell and Marjorie.
-

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Such a lovely graphic novel! I loved the illustration style and some of the spreads are so impactful! The plot was a bit surreal at points, specially with a thirteen year old running the business by herself with an adult constantly breaking in and boycotting her, but the rest of the plot makes it all worth it!

Was this review helpful?