Delicates – a review

Delicates is the sequel to Sheets, a cute spoopy graphic novel about sheets coming to life as ghosts in a laundromat. Our main character Marjorie has become close to one of these ghosts, a young boy called Wendell. But when she returns to school she’s finally accepted by the popular girls and is scared of spending too much time with Wendell in case her secret comes out. Everyone would think she was a freak who sees dead people!!

Delicates by Brenna Thummler

Similarly, Delicates is a lovely graphic novel which is aimed at a MG/YA(Middle Grade/Young Adult) audience to talk about difficult topics. Whilst Sheets focuses on grief, Delicates focuses on mental health and bullying.

Sadly, whilst Sheets handled the topic with grace and, ironically, delicacy, Delicates seemed a little too forceful. The message seemed to be pushed so hard that at points it was literally on the page. I’m not sure if it’s just my age not being the target demographic that meant that I found this so blatant and obvious, but it did mean that the beauty of the message was lost for me. I do, however, think that it is of course an incredibly important message for young people to receive and maybe this delivery method would work for more people.

Overall I’ve given this read a low 3 stars (6.43 on CAWPILE to be precise), and I would definitely recommend for people to pick it up. The art style, in my opinion, is gorgeous and the message positive and important. I just don’t feel that it was that well imparted, but as mentioned above I’m not the target audience and this may have paid a part in this.

Publishing tomorrow March 23rd 2021, go check this book out and pick it up if it sounds interesting!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson | A Review

I am fully aware I’m hella late to this party. This book was first published in 2010, and ten years later here I am. This book follows Lennie, a girl who loves to write down what she’s feeling, read Wuthering Heights and play the clarinet. Not gunna lie, the clarinet is what got me to pick this up! I used to play the clarinet before higher education came along (and it’s a difficult instrument to start back up when living with my parents cause it’s LOUD). Lennie’s older sister recently died, suddenly and without any warning. She should be grieving, she is grieving. But she’s also falling in love.

2/5*

A unique aspect of this book that I really enjoyed was the inclusion of mixed media. At the beginning of each chapter there’s a black and white picture of a discarded note that Lennie has written. It also tells us where it was found. Under a rock. Written on the inside of the wardrobe door. These really added an additional view into Lennie’s mindset and also tells you more about her sister Bailey without having to have multiple point of views.

There are some very… weird? plot choices in here. Of course they could happen in real life, but it was really not what I was expecting. I can’t really go into details because it would be major spoilers, but if you’ve read the book I’m sure you know exactly what I mean. I just kind of had to… pretend that it wasn’t happening… so that I could actually read the book.

A problem that I had with this book is that I felt like the portrayal of teens wasn’t the most accurate. Now of course I’m no longer a teen, and I’m also British when this book is set in California, but these kids at points really just felt incredibly cliche and both excessively childish and too grown up simultaneously. But like I said, this could simply be cultural differences.

This book is quite cute and fluffy, and despite the dips and troughs you will likely come out of this book with a little smile on your face. It can’t be denied though that this is a cliche YA contemporary at its heart. Don’t expect anything more from this book. If you do you’ll be disappointed. And bare in mind that there are problematic aspects to this book. But as a basic work of fluff it does what it promises to.

 

An overall update

Yet again I’ve had a hiatus, and I don’t think any of you would blame me for it right now. Not only have we been in unprecedented times as a planet, but on the 3rd of April my cat Tigger had to be put down. These two things combined have meant that my reading has fallen behind and therefore my book reviews are behind also.

Tigger, my family’s beautiful tortoiseshell girl, passed from kidney failure just after 6pm on the 3rd of April. She was really struggling and unable to even walk in a straight line. She looked like she had been drugged. It was the only fair thing for us to do. Our vet was so lovely and made the process as nice as it could be, especially with the social distancing that had to be put in place for everyone’s safety.

In terms of the rest of life, my mum is now at home all the time. So I’m not alone in the house so I’m not reading as much. It’s just also a struggle to read right now, I’m not entirely sure why but getting lost in a book just feels impossible.

However. I’m trying to come back. I’m trying to read. Sometimes, personally, forcing myself into it can help so that’s my next aim and we’ll see how that goes. I might go dark again, I might keep posting consistently. We’ll just have to find out. But thank you for sticking with me through all this and I hope you’re all as healthy and safe as you can be.

Stay safe, stay inside, protect the health service.

Sheets Graphic Novel, a review

This is a lovely and sweet graphic novel that covers grief, and asking for help in times of need, as well as friendship. For such a short plot arc a lot is fitted in and this graphic novel can have quite the impact.

Not only is this a very sweet and unique idea which I quickly fell in love with, with ghosts being real but living in a land apart from ours, but one ghost decides he’s going to help out a girl he’s found, but I can imagine it being very helpful to give to those from around 10/11 years old and up to help them cope with the events happening around them if they experience the loss of a parent. For those who have fortunately not experienced this loss, it is simply a beautifully illustrated graphic novel which will make you think more deeply about how you live your life. Friendship and being kind to those in your community, as well as everyone you come into contact with, are themes within this work.

Thank you to Edelweiss for a free ecopy of this book in return for an unbiased review, I look forward to seeing this on shelves!