Marjorie has been running the family laundromat since her mom died and her dad slipped into a deep depression. She's being sabotaged by a cartoony villain who wants to convert the laundromat into a spa and yoga resort. She must rely on a new friend, Wendell, to turn things around.

This was cute, but the characters were very cartoony and over the top. I had to suspend my disbelief to really enjoy this.

I kind of wanted more... it's a pretty quick read. I enjoyed it though.
Trying to figure out the target audience.... seems easy reading for middle school but conceptually maybe a bit much for elementary. I may have some of my kids read through it and see what they think.

This was a story that I would call OK, but unfortunately not something that intrigued me enough. However, i really loved the ending, which was my favourite part of the story. My favourite character was the father, who was shattered after his wife's death, and seemed absolutely realistic. There were a lot of hidden messages in the story as well that i appreciated, such as altruism, the value of friendship, but also the evilness of some people we meet throughout our lives.

Rating: 2/5

What a delightful book! I felt the story was more geared towards the younger audience, but the art style has a nostalgic vibe to it that I think will apple to all ages. I was a big fan of the color palette and linework in particular.

As for the story, the main characters are young and troubled but they're facing their troubles the best way they can, which is not always very good. Very relatable, tbh. Pacing at the start felt a bit slow, but overall it was a very pleasant read.

Sheets is a middle-grade graphic novel that follows two characters — Marjorie, a thirteen year old girl who’s in charge of running the family laundry business, and Wendell, a ghost. Neither character has it easy. Marjorie is forced to deal with the loss of her mother, a very depressed father, and Mr. Saubertauk, a man who’s determined to destroy the laundry business, so he can open up a yoga & spa resort. Wendell is a boy who lost his life entirely too young, and finds himself seeking purpose in the human world. When the two characters collide, things become a mess, but things end in an unlikely friendship.

Holy heck, I’m so amazed at how cute Sheets was! What originally dragged me in was the gorgeous art work & the absolutely beautiful color aesthetic. The art felt very fitting for the story.

Another aspect that jumped out at me was Brenna Thummler playing with the idea of ghosts being sheets. Wendell, our ghost character, even gets a massage from an iron. That’s so stinkin’ cute. And the connection between the characters: a girl working at a laundomat & a sheet-ghost? Sheets. get. washed. at. a. laundromat. Gosh, I’m so in awe at how cute this entire thing was. It’s probably ridiculous at how excited I am that I read this, but dang it, I loved it.

Honestly, if you need a cute lil’ read (it took me probably a half-hour to read it) pick up Sheets by Brenna Thummler. It’ll be released on August 28th!

Marjorie's life isn't exactly fun and games. In fact, it is very much the opposite. Her mom died not that long ago, her dad has trouble coping with the loss, her younger brother is just a kid and there's the family laundry business to run and business ain't all that good. If that isn't too much to handle for a 13 year old who still goes to school, there's this weird, creepy, pushy guy trying to convince Marjorie to give him the family business so he can build his 5 star luxury spa & hotel.
Then there's Wendell. Wendell is 11 years old, or at least he was 11 years old on the day he died. He's a ghost now and lives in a ghost land where he isn't exactly happy. Just like Marjorie he doesn't really have any friends and he is struggling to find his place.

The artwork in this graphic novel is great. Especially the colors! The color scheme is completely on point. All happy blues and pinks and teals. The storyline isn't that happy at all and the contrast between the two adds to the bleakness of it all. I have to admit that I was a bit confused at first about the Ghost storyline. I wasn't sure if this was "real" or Marjorie's imagination at first. It all became clear when the two storylines came together. At that point the pace also picks up a bit.

All in all I liked getting to know Marjorie and Wendell. It is a story that could potentially make you feel all the feels. I liked the story, I liked the artwork. It didn't however surprise or wow me enough to give it 5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Diamond Book Distributors for this arc.

The illustrations were nicely done, but the story was overly melodramatic and somewhat schizophrenic. I wanted to feel more for the girl, but she obviously felt sorry enough for herself as it was. For a children's book, the "evil entrepreneur" was a sour note. The romance didn't belong to this reading level either.

Thanks to Netgalley and Diamond Book Distributors for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

CW: Depression, Anxiety, Bullying, mention of Death

This is such a wonderfully illustrated book with a story that is both sad and hopeful. The story is following a young girl, Marjorie, that is running a laundry business that was passed on her by her late mother. Marjorie lives with her brother and father that, as Marjorie said, is more dead than alive. Just like Marjorie he is suffering with depression because of the loss of his wife and is drinking his pain away. He spends most of his time locked in his room. I liked how the author showed Ghosts in a different way, as he was trying to help her, deal with all the grief, pain and struggles she was going through. The end was rather touching. I enjoyed reading this graphic novel a lot.

The art and colours are amazing throughout the whole graphic novel. Unique style and beautiful, detailed illustrations. I would highly recommend this for young adults.

Thanks to the publisher, Lion Forge and Brenna Thummler for this ARC. This book has a parallel narrative that eventually collides (I love those! Who doesn’t?!). The introduction to both main characters is done perfectly, unfolding details and characteristics about them in masterful storytelling techniques. The art is also beautiful, I should add. Marj is holding down a ton for her family, who is struggling, and could really use a friend. The friend she ends up finding is not who she ever would have expected! I love the way this appeals to middle grade readers all the way to high schoolers. I can see the entry points to talk about class/ SES, mental health, loss/death, and friendship. I’ve read a lot of graphic novels and this one is solid, sweet, thoughtful, and original.

Brenna Thummler's debut graphic novel is the unique and beautiful story of Marjorie Glatt, a teen who has recently lost her mother. The illustrations are simply gorgeous! Issues of grief, loneliness, forgiveness, and second chances are woven into this one-of-kind tale set within a haunted laundromat. Highly recommended!

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.

#Sheets #NetGalley

3.5✪'s
Cutesy tale about friendship with a ghost. A little funny, a little sad, with a sweet & happy end.
♡ Loved the retro-style art & colour palette.

Would recommend if you are looking for a fun, quick comic.

This was such a cute and sweet read. I enjoyed reading this book

Basic plot:
Marjorie is a thirteen year old girl who runs a laundry after her mother dies and her father shuts himself due to grief. One day she encounters a ghost called Wendell and things start taking an interesting turn.

What I liked:
Everything. The plot is fast paced . The story is cute, sweet and sad at times. The characters are interesting. But the best part about the book are the illustrations. It's downright gorgeous!

What I disliked:
I can't think of anything except wanting to read this book in print because I can't imagine how gorgeous the illustrations would look on print.

Final Thoughts:
I'm so glad I read this book. A very cute graphic novel that I'd surely recommend to others.

I had the pleasure of reading Sheets. It is a graphic novel, unlike any I have read before. Why? You might be asking. Let me tell you, when your reading this book, it makes you feel like you are right there experiencing everything Thummler is talking about. You can feel the pain and sadness of both Marjorie and Wendell. While Marjorie has things going on in her world, Wendell , in the same world dealing with the same issues. Nobody liking them, always being picked on. Wendell can be seen by Marjorie, because he is wearing a sheet.
On a particularly bad day Wendell finds Marjoie's family business, a laundromat and destroys the place. Turns out he was just trying to protect her. Wendell and Marjorie become friends. She asks him what it is like to be dead, and how much she misses her mom who is dead because she drowned. Then she asks how Wendell dies and it turns out he drown too. After he tells his story we find that Marjorie knew Wendell when he was live and they shared a pumpkin cookie, his favorite right before he died.
All and all this was a great read and I look forward to reading more from Thummler. Weather it is a sequel or another total different book.

This was so charming! The art was adorable, and I liked the story, it does really well with dealing with grief and responsibility and it just wonderful. It's so enchanting and of course, haunting (!!) and it's easily one of my favourite graphic novel releases of the year so far. It was slow, which did work for the story overall in its favour, but that's the only reason it's not quite a 5*.

This was a wonderfully written, heart warming tale - It deals with grief and loss but also, has a touching story about life in the centre of it all.

Marjorie is trying to cope with school, running a business and she has a younger brother and a father who is also trying to cope.

On top of the grief she knows life has to go on and she's willing to keep trying to continue her mother's business. The book begins with her barely keeping her head above water and then help comes in the most unexpected way.

I had a few moments where it wasn't clear that Marjorie was so young, and I had trouble connecting the dots, but I just loved how the story came together.

The conclusion was just so surprising and I loved it, 3.5 stars.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for sending me a digital advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
I want to start by saying that I love graphic novels because the pictures help me immerse myself in the story and this story definitely brings me to its world. I love Marjorie and Wendell both for different reasons. Marjorie tries to stand up for herself while running a laundromat by herself at such a young age and Wendell, a ghost, wants to help her and be her friend. This is such a cute story about fears and overcoming them and obviously friendship. I adore this graphic novel and its art style very much.

Release Date: August 28, 2018
Lion Forge
My Thoughts:
I wrote about this graphic novel, Sheets, before and put it on my TBR wish list. Sometimes wanting something and then getting it is disappointing, but this story did not disappoint. My husband cries over children's books about dogs dying and moms getting older. It is the combination of the illustrations and the simple words.

This graphic novel does the same thing. Marjorie speaks to the teen/tween/child in all of us who wants to disappear, who holds their little family together when the adults are too sad, who longs for something they will not have again, and who finds solace and comfort in unexpected encounters.

At the laundromat this morning, I caught myself staring at the dryer and feeling like a ghost spa would be the most indulgent idea ever. This is one to own, just so you have it on hand when someone needs it.


*An advanced digital copy provided by Net Galley and the Publisher for an honest review.

An extremely adorable story, that was slow to start but overall still an enjoyable read. The art style and colouring were the elements I enjoyed about this graphic novel. I would definitely be interested in checking out Thummler's future work.

*thank you to Netgalley and Diamond Book Distributors for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

4 stars.

This was a beautiful story. It's the second graphic novel I've seen from this author, and while she only illustrated the first one, she has gone and written this aswell as illustrated it. Wtritten for middle grade readers, this story is both sad but also beautifully told. I really felt for the man character Marjorie and her family situation. Please be aware that this story involves the death of a parent and how the daughter tries to still live day by day while running the family owned business laundromat. While there is quite a bit of sadness in this, there is also positives like the kindness of some people and friendship. The illustrations are amazing and the use of colour is pretty stop on. Once again, this author has done an amazing job and I can not wait for her next book. Highly recommended.

This book brought some feels to it. A young girl, Marjorie, coping with the loss of her mother, feeling unaccepted and running the family laundromat. Her dad is also suffering and kind of locks himself away since the death. We also have a ghost, Wendell, who died young and also feels unaccepted in his own after life among other ghosts. On top of it all, some slimeball is trying to sabotage the laundromat for his own scheme.

This graphic novel made me think of the saying a picture is worth a thousand words, because a lot of the panels were just images showing how the characters were feeling, yet speaking volumes. I truly felt for the characters when they were down, worried, depressed, and happy anytime they expressed joy. Outside of the ridiculous scheme the slimey character had, most of this book does a great job looking in to the hardships of a family after a death, of not feeling accepted in school or by peers.

I definitely have to recommend this one. Now I need to go hug a ghost!