Omg so cute! The wiring was so cute and realistic (albeit about ghosts) and I love the cute humor in addressing questions about ghosts. Unexpectedly love the illustrations, too. Very nicely done all around. ( )

Thanks to Caroline’s recent review of the third and final book in this series, I was inspired to reread this book and then read the other two books. I read this book over 5 years ago and gave it only 3 stars. I think that it was too hard for me to suspend disbelief about the ghost story and that I felt traumatized by the villain to enjoy the book any more than I did. I didn’t write a review at the time.

This time I experienced the humor and the pathos and the warmth and the sadness. I thoroughly enjoyed the pictures that tell so much of the story. Marjorie is relatable and so is Wendell, and so are Marjorie’s brother and father, and many of the characters (adult and children) from Marjorie’s school.

Last time I read this was on 10/26/18.

I don’t have a lot of say about this book but I’m going to be reading the second book as my next book.

I’m glad that I gave this book and this series another chance! This one is probably 3-1/2 stars rounded up but last time it got barely 3 stars so it’s a huge improvement. ( )

The cover of Sheets has been calling to me for some time. The artwork and the concept of that artwork finally got me to pick it up and flip through it and when I saw the art throughout the book— I promptly checked it out, went home, and read it. I will have to say that the art is still my favorite part. It really is beautiful. I love the colors used, the mirrored effects on linoleum floors, and the full page spreads were particularly lovely. I think if this illustration were a font type, it would be one of the really bubbly, rounded looking ones you’d want to put in pastel with shiny marks.

The story was good, but there was one thing that just really threw me off and made me not like it as much as I could have. That one thing would be the villain of the story: Mr. Saubertuck. I just feel like he was one of those villains from a cheesy kids movie that would have the “evil laugh” and all. He was very quirky, which would have been fine, but he was so overtly quirky that it wasn’t. And I don’t understand why the dad would have even thought to agree with him at that one point of the story when what he was asking for was so ridiculous (which coincidentally, is the perfect word to also describe his character as a whole).

Outside of this character, the other characters were likable enough, though you never really get to know any of them outside of Marj, the main character. I would have liked to learn more about some of the other prominent characters too though.

The story was told in alternating perspectives between Marjorie and Wendell for most of the book, unless they were together of course. Both characters would also occasionally have flash backs, which were really interesting. Marjorie Glatt is a young girl still in high school who is running her family’s laundromat, which they live above. Her mother has passed away and her father seems very despondent in his grief, leaving Marj to not only look after the business but also in a lot of cases her younger brother and him.

Wendell is the ghost of a 11 year old boy who starts out in his ghost town, but takes the train back to the living world and eventually end ups in the laundromat after hours. Laundromats are like heaven for ghosts because they wear sheets with eye holes in order to give themselves some sort of physical presence and identity after leaving behind their bodies. This location also happens to put Wendell in the perfect position to spy on Mr. Saubertuck as the man gets up to no good while plotting his take-over of the laundromat. But he doesn’t want to buy the laundromat, he just wants the Glatts to give it to him. And he doesn’t want it because it’s a laundromat— he has his own ideas for it.

Overall there were a lot of aspects I enjoyed about this book like the illustrations, the setting of a laundromat, the main character Marj, the theme of overcoming those people that want to kick you while you’re down essentially. The main part I disliked was Mr. Saubertuck and his childish plots and unfortunately since that took up a fairly large portion of the book it kind of threw the whole thing off for me. I also didn’t find the romance side story very necessary and feel like those pages could have been devoted to something that would have developed the rest of the story more. I suppose it could have been used as a way to show that Marj was gaining more confidence in herself? But honestly the way the interactions played out never really showed much from Marj’s side and seemed all rather one sided on the part of the guy. I honestly would have preferred to see more of her with her brother and dad or more about Wendell.

My rating for Sheets by Brenna Thumler is a 3/5 stars. If the author makes another graphic novel, I would be happy to pick it up for the illustration quality alone and see if I may like her next story better. In the meantime, I may check out the one other graphic novel she has illustrated: Anne of Green Gables.

★★★☆☆ ( )

Sheets
Sheets, Book 1

I Picked Up This Book Because: #Scarathlon.

Media Type: eBook
Source: Hoopla via H Public Library
Dates Read: 10/15/23 - 10/19/23
Stars: DNF - No Rating

The Characters:

Majorie

The Story:

I had to tap out. All of the characters are terrible except Marjorie, and she seems to be a doormat. I know she is a child and dealing with unbearable grief so I can’t blame her, but these adults? Ridiculous. I can’t hold out for redemption. I’m running away.

The Random Thoughts: ( )

Wendell, the ghost, can't seem to find a way to fit in with the other ghosts in The Land of Ghosts, so he goes into the human world looking for a friend. Marjorie's mother has died and she is trying to keep her family and their business afloat, but her younger brother and grieving father aren't any help. When Nigel Saubertuck tries to take their property away, Marjorie must find a way to to hang on, but Wendell's presence isn't helping.

Sheets expertly tackles heavy themes such as, grief and belonging using the setting of a laundromat and characters that include ghosts. We feel for Marjorie as she tries to deal with the loss of her mother and a father who can't handle his heartbreak. The characters in this story are well developed and the plot is skillfully paced. Overall Sheets effectively handles difficult subjects in an entertaining way. ( )