Laundry and Ghosts are Currently Tied for First

This was the last book from the pile of books I checked out from my college’s library right before break and it’s fitting that I finished it now—two days before I kick the semester into high gear.  My community college library has a fantastic graphic novel collection—thanks to some awesome librarians and one of my fellow English faculty—and this one caught my eye.

In Sheets, Brenna Thummler tells the story of two young people having a rough time.  One of them is Marjorie Glatt, a 13-year-old who is balancing the awkwardness and loneliness of middle school with the very adult responsibilities of running the family laundromat.  Majorie’s mother died the previous spring and her father, while very much alive, is doing a pretty good ghost imitation—drifting around the house and only occasionally interacting with his children.  If that all isn’t bad enough, a germ-phobic and intrusive businessman, Mr. Saubertuck, has been lurking around the laundromat, raising complaints and leaving giant racks of pamphlets promoting his new yoga retreat and spa—all to pressure Majorie and her family to give him the laundromat so he can tear it down to build his new enterprise.

The other young person is Wendell and he’s a ghost, living in the Land of Ghosts.  The Land of Ghosts is not all that different from the land of the living; there are ghost support groups and bathhouses where ghosts can wash their sheets.  However, Wendell is restless and unhappy and he manages to escape back to the living world, where he stumbles upon Glatt’s Laundry.  It’s the perfect place for a ghost to enjoy himself, make a mess, and cause trouble.  Unfortunately, his antics make even more problems for Marjorie.

In addition to an engaging story, Thummler’s artwork is excellent.  Color palettes shift as the plot moves from the land of the living to the land of the dead and from the present to the past.  There’s a lot to look at on each page but it doesn’t feel overwhelming.  I’m becoming a big fan of graphic novels and this was a great one to start the year with.