Lynn Johnston brings her particular talent and hilarious insights to parents' No. 1 domestic problem--having a teenager! Every parent (and every teenager) will identify with the chaosthat adolescent Michael's hormone attacks bring to the Patterson household.
Lynn Johnston CM OM is a Canadian cartoonist, well known for her comic strip For Better or For Worse, and was the first female cartoonist to win the Reuben Award.
Coming out in 1990 with strips from 89 and 90. Johnston does a sort of flash back sequence in which Elly is reminiscing with the kids about when Liz was an infant, but it just reminded me of how much better the strip is now than it was then. But she did another flash back about Elly’s own experiences with romance as a teenager that was pretty good. For the most part it’s the standard strip progression with Michael as a teenager getting lots of coverage.
This book has a story arc of Ellie remembering when Elizabeth was a baby. Uncle Phil buys a house. Ellie gets in a car accident. Mike and his friends are experiencing crushes and hormones.
One of the things I like about these is that often times the joke is in the pictures. Someone will say something and then there is just a picture that makes you laugh. I really like how the family encounters real situations and how everyone grows and learns through out.
This one's a nice collection of For Better or For Worse strips. It seems like the strips featuring the teen-aged Michael predominate, but there's also plenty featuring Elizabeth, Elly, John and the supporting cast. Some of the highlights are Phil and Georgia buying a house, Elly's day in traffic court and Michael and Gordon's adventures at the Valentine's Day dance.
I collected this series but somehow missed this one. I found it by accident in the library of my building. Lynn Johnson's "For Better or Worse" cartoons are wonderful and I cried when Farley died. In this book he is still alive. What is absolutely fabulous for me is...this book is autographed with a small drawing and a written "All the best!" A treasure that I shall keep.