"For days after reading Brenna Thummler's Sheets
I have been wandering my neighborhood, haunted, enchanted, and in need of
freshly pressed clothing." -Lemony
Snicket
Marjorie Glatt feels like a ghost. A
practical thirteen-year-old in charge of the family laundry business, her daily
routine features unforgiving customers, unbearable P.E. classes, and the
fastidious Mr. Saubertuck who is committed to destroying everything she's worked
for.
Wendell is a ghost. A boy who lost his
life much too young, his daily routine features ineffective death therapy, a
sheet-dependent identity, and a dangerous need to seek purpose in the forbidden
human world.
When their worlds collide,
Marjorie is confronted by unexplainable disasters as Wendell transforms Glatt's
Laundry into his midnight playground, appearing as a mere sheet during the day.
While Wendell attempts to create a new afterlife for himself, he unknowingly
sabotages the life that Marjorie is struggling to
maintain.
Sheets illustrates the
determination of a young girl to fight, even when all parts of her world seem to
be conspiring against her. It proves that second chances are possible whether
life feels over or life is over. But above all, it is a story of the forgiveness
and unlikely friendship that can only transpire inside a haunted
laundromat.
"Brenna Thummler's first original
graphic novel is a reason to celebrate. She announced herself as an artist to
reckon with when she illustrated Mariah Marsden's adaptation of Anne of Green
Gables. Now she's illustrated her own story of ghosts and family, loneliness and
laundromats. I'm sure you'll be captivated, and as eager as I am to see what
comes next!"-Brian Selznick, author of Wonderstruck and The Invention
of Hugo Cabret
"Sweet, sad, funny, warm, and beautiful. If I can be
forgiven for using this word, this is one that will haunt me, in the best
way."-Dana Simpson
Industry Reviews
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY -- Marjorie Glatt, 13, pulls triple
duty in her life. She navigates the cliques and challenges of school, takes care
of her brother and deeply depressed father, and runs Glatt's Laundry, her
deceased mother's business. But her balancing act wavers thanks to two arrivals:
Mr. Saubertuck, who is scheming to acquire the laundry's building for his new
spa, and Wendell, a ghost clad in traditional white sheets. Wendell seeks
friendship, but he fouls up Marjorie's work each night, making difficult
customers even more unbearable and perhaps necessitating the sale to Saubertuck.
To make things right with Marjorie, Wendell may need to reveal himself and the
ways of ghosts, which could land him in deeper trouble. With washed-out
coloring, many wordless panel sequences of Marjorie alone, and simply drawn
facial expressions, the artwork effectively illustrates Marjorie's sense of
isolation. Thummler's debut graphic novel tempers references to Marjorie's
adult-size responsibilities with a lighter splash of the supernatural to create
a smart story about friendship and grit. Ages 9-12.
