I don’t know why I didn’t expect this to take a dark turn. Especially when I think back to being in eighth grade… this story is depressingly spot on. I suppose it’s because the first story was a little lighter and sillier.
I loved the exchange where Eliza tells her mom Tommy Prickle calls her a weirdo, and her mom says “would you rather be a weirdo or Tommy Prickle?”
And Eliza’s poor dad. I guess I empathize a hell of a lot with the parents here, which I guess shows my age a bit.
Summary
Marjorie Glatt’s life hasn’t been the same ever since she discovered a group of ghosts hiding in her family’s laundromat. Wendell, who died young and now must wander Earth as a ghost with nothing more than a sheet for a body, soon became one of Marjorie’s only friends. But when Marjorie finally gets accepted by the popular kids at school, she begins to worry that if anyone learns about her secret ghost friends, she’ll be labeled as a freak who sees dead people. With Marjorie’s insistence on keeping Wendell’s ghost identity a secret from her new friends, Wendell begins to feel even more invisible than he already is.
Eliza Duncan feels invisible too. She’s an avid photographer, and her zealous interest in finding and photographing ghosts gets her labeled as “different” by all the other kids in school. Constantly feeling on the outside, Eliza begins to feel like a ghost herself. Marjorie must soon come to terms with the price she pays to be accepted by the popular kids. Is it worth losing her friend, Wendell? Is she partially to blame for the bullying Eliza endures?
Delicates tells a powerful story about what it means to fit in, and those left on the outside. It shows what it’s like to feel invisible, and the importance of feeling seen. Above all, it is a story of asking for help when all seems dark, and bringing help and light to those who need it most.
My Book Joy 
One thought on “Mini Review: Delicates by Brenna Thummler”