Family Business

For Better or For Worse #20

by Lynn Johnston

For fans who have read For Better or For Worse, the Patterson family is like their own family. Full of love and humor, the Canadian clan embodies the ups and downs of everyday family John and Elly facing the reality of being middle-aged; daughter Elizabeth becoming more independent on her own at college; son Michael secretly marrying his longtime love, Deanna; and daughter April learning how to deal with a bully. The strip expresses life at its most heartwarming and humorous. In Family Business, the Pattersons gather forces to buy and reorganize a toy store where Elly has worked for years. Through their efforts to clean out the basement, put a miniature train display in the front window, and add hobby supplies, the Pattersons learn even more about their relationships with each other. As Grandpa Jim tells April, "What, with the new business, John's model trains, Mike's love life, Elizabeth, and you, there's never a dull moment!" Over the years, Lynn Johnston has been lauded for her realistic portrayal of family life and for approaching serious subjects with honesty and compassion. Farley, the family dog, for example, died after heroically rescuing April in 1995. Elly's father, Jim, moved in with the family after his wife died, and finally started dating again. For Better or For Worse resonates with families everywhere.

Genres: Comics, Humor, Graphic Novels Comics, Cartoon, Comic Strips

144 pages, Paperback

First published August 2, 2002

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another gem in the For Better or For Worse series. This time out, the kids are immensely older with Mike freelancing as a journalist in Toronto, engaged to Deanna; Elizabeth is at Nipissing U; April is about 8 and still the 'imp' in the family along with the two dogs Edgar and Dixie and a rabbit has joined the family, too; and Elly's dad, recently widowed has moved in. Elly and John embark on being business owners, Lilliput Toys and Hobbies is now theirs! Elly worked there but the owner wanted to sell the family business, John and the kids encouraged Elly, and presto, the Pattersons are in biz. So, the fun chaos that is the For Better or for Worse drawn scripted strips carries on in fine form with bullying battles at school for April, writer's muse for Mike and wedding plans, and a new love interest for Elizabeth. Elly's dad is a bit forgetful at times but is a stellar influence on April and her musical bent; a tender cartoon has them in a duet--harmonica and guitar--at Christmas time, the best gifts are ones you don't buy thinks John...indeed. The store purchase resonated with me and took me back to when my husband and I bought a flower shop in 1985--the best 20 years spent, ever--and a couple of Elly's days had me laughing, the angst of opening the store door to biz each day. Another couple of hilarious strips feature the coming of email with Elly needing to get on board; when April bugs her mom (who has just got in from the store) when's dinner, Elly replies, check your email.
Lynn Johnston has always pulled experiences from real life and breathed life into her characters echoing those. We are all the better for enjoying and following the episodes of the Patterson family, all these years.

[Nancy Bandusky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Several cute story plot lines involving the Patterson family make up this collection. The grandpa, Elly's dad, is involved more than usual as he moves in with the family. He is a sweet guy who brings music to the house, resulting in several touching stories with him and April.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

The major development in this run is that the Pattersons buy a business for Elly to run. This solves one of the strip’s big problems – Elly’s life, and her as a character in the strip, hadn’t been very interesting lately.

[fiery_bluebird · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartwarming comic about a regular ol' suburban family that is bonded through love, trials, and celebrations. Love it!

[tyRonE hArDing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great. Love the Patterson Family.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the little snippets of life that Lynn Johnston does.

[The other John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, this was the For Better or for Worse collection where I thought the strip was supposed to start going downhill. Well, I guess I was a bit premature. April is starting to become a more interesting character, and while Michael the grown-up is less interesting than Michael the student, his relationship with Deanna is stil a bit interesting. (The twist it takes is something I still don't understand, but then, if all characters acted logically, we would be left with very few stories worth reading.) I found the biggest tale, Elly's unique solution to her employer's business woes, to be lacking. Ms. Johnston didn't manage to bring a lot of humor out of the concept. Ah, well. As I think about it, the collection itself is fine. The only reason I think of it as part of the decline, is that I now read the collected strips in light of the plot twists I know are coming. It seems like in the years to come, the Patterson clan become more like victims to various evils out there, and that trend seems to start here.

[Annie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Elly's dad is an absolute dud of a character; April is not nearly as interesting as Elizabeth was at her age; the storyline with Michael and Deanna is unrevealing and contrived; and Eric is about as interesting as dishwater.

[Child960801 · Rating 4 out of 5]

April has trouble with a bully at school. Ellie decides to purchase the book store where she's been working. John gets more involved with his train hobby. Michael and Deanna are engaged and have a secret wedding. Elizabeth starts dating Eric.

[Doris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book focuses on another shift in the lives of the Patterson family, with the Mom (Ellie) buying the bookstore she has worked at for so long, and making it a focal point of the family life.