 On today's episode, we're gonna be taking a look at Delicates the sequel to Sheets by Brenna Thumbler. Hey everybody, welcome back to the channel, Gio here, and I have to start off by giving a huge thanks to the folks at Onipressed for making this review possible. They were gracious enough to send me a review copy so that I could talk about this wonderful book with you guys. So what the heck is Delicates all about? Well, this is the sequel to Sheets from Brenna Thumbler which stars the character of Marjorie Glatt. Delicates is set three years after Sheets and we now follow Marjorie in middle school. I think she's 15 or 16 around that age as she enters middle school and she was once worried about acquiring friends and all that stuff. She finally gets some friends in school and they just happen to be of the popular click, if you will. Problems start arising. You know, you are trying to hide certain aspects of your life out of fear of being left out, of being judged, and that is one of the central themes of Delicates when Marjorie is completely ignoring the fact that she knows Wendell and she knows about the existence of ghosts because she is afraid of what people might think. They would probably categorize her as an oddball freak so she doesn't want to risk this new friendship that she's acquired with the popular girls and a potential love interest. An on and off boyfriend, if you will. You also have Marjorie's relation with her family and how that keeps evolving from the first book in Sheets where she was taking charge of the family's laundry service and her dad was dealing with depression over the loss of his wife, Marjorie's little brother as well as feeling the impact of this and that huge missing element of their mom in their life. So you continue, I'm so happy that the book exists because you're able to continue that story and see how the characters have progressed. That's one thing that I really loved, that you don't have stagnant characters. After the incident in the first book where the whole company and house, if you will, was in jeopardy of being lost, now we see a completely different family dynamic. Yes, things are sort of still the same, but they're much more relaxed. That problem has passed and now they're dealing with, you know, basic real life issues. Obviously, if you ignore the fact that Wendell and a whole bunch of ghosts are living in that house and partying every night, yeah, mostly everything is fine. Now the key component of Delicates is the fact that we are introduced to a secondary main character in Eliza Duncan. Eliza is this young girl who is super smart. She's kind of shy and introverted and she has an avid fascination with photography and she wants to capture spirits or ghosts in actual film to prove their existence to the world and all that stuff. So naturally, she's going to be labeled as one of those oddballs, kind of ostracized from the community and school and all that stuff. And that presents one of the other central themes of the book about trying to fit in and social life and school and all these elements mixed together because at that age, you don't really know life beyond, you know, your interaction with friends, family and school and you don't know that there's a larger world out there with endless possibilities. And I think it's safe to say we've all experienced moments where we think we're worried about fitting in, about not being left out, if you will. That is important on the social upbringing of kids nowadays. A third element, of course, is Wendell, the figure that will this friendly Casper-like ghost that will unite the character of Marjorie and Eliza due to the fact that, you know, Marjorie went through the things that Eliza's going through and now she has friends but also is neglecting one of her own in favor of this new click that she's found. And that happens, unfortunately, in life. You find and then you befriend new people and sometimes, unfortunately, some fall through the cracks and it may not be your fault. You're just going through the motions and wanting to be friendly with everybody. So I totally understand Marjorie's thinking. Obviously, she's in the wrong for neglecting what is essentially her best friend in Wendell. Whereas with Eliza, there's a similarity with Wendell because the two of them feel invisible. They feel they're not being seen by people closest to them and are being ignored. And that can lead to some dangerous thoughts which the book expertly crafts the story around and the power of seeking help when you think things aren't going as well as they should. This book is such a breath of fresh air. It's such a wholesome, fun, gorgeous read. One of the best things about it, like I mentioned with sheets, is the art and the aesthetic and the color palette. Everything about this just oozes personality and it's so beautifully drawn. The landscapes just blew me away and I kept staring at those splash pages just admiring the scenery, whether it's by a lighthouse or whether it's the main household or if it's just a shot of the school and even the characters interacting in those backgrounds and all that stuff. Obviously, the character designs are heavily stylized but they're quite charming and definitely fit in in this beautiful world that Brenna has created. Delicates is a short yet powerful, beautiful read and I highly recommend it. I think it is an exceptionally well done graphic novel, a worthy sequel with sheets. I love that book and highly recommend it. And now with Delicates it's equally and if not even more satisfying to read and more powerful and the message that is being told for the audience is a spectacular, much needed message especially in today's age where kids go through so much in school unlike when I was growing up. It's such a different ball game nowadays that I want more books like this for people to read and realize that just because somebody might seem okay doesn't mean they are and it's okay to reach out to them and for the people that are suffering it's okay to ask for help and it's okay to let your voice be heard and you're not alone and that's a beautiful powerful thing and I cannot recommend Delicates enough. If I remember correctly the book comes out in a couple months on you know sites like Amazon or IST or cheap graphic novels I don't know but you can probably pre-order it right now. Delicates is a fantastic read, great story, wonderful message, wonderful characters. I love that even though if you haven't read Sheets you're okay just reading this although I would seriously you got to check out Sheets because it'll make the experience that much greater in my honest opinion but overall it's a fun read. It's an easy reader-friendly book with a great message and wonderful beautiful art and Brenna Thunler just knocked it out of the park I think it's fantastic. So that in a nutshell is my spoiler-free review there's a whole lot of elements here at play but I want you guys to figure that out and read that wonderful story when you're able to. So that's about it for me thank you everybody for tuning in thank you for liking commenting subscribing and being a part of a We Can Geek them if you're new here please consider subscribing I do videos like this where I go over anime manga and comics as well thank you everybody and of course a massive shout out to the folks at Onipressed for making this video possible I am eternally grateful thank you so much for the opportunity to review such a wonderful beautiful book thank you everybody I've got to go I will catch all of you on our next episode