Striking a Chord: A For Better or For Worse Collection

For Better or For Worse #23

by Lynn Johnston

For Better or For Worse appears in more than 2,000 newspapers worldwide in 20 countries and eight languages. Loyal fans turn to Lynn Johnston's creation daily to enjoy her stories and artwork that bring the Patterson family to life. It's no wonder that readership polls frequently rate the strip as number-one overall favorite.

For 25 years, award-winning cartoonist Lynn Johnston has attracted new readers and intrigued longtime fans with her uniquely humorous stories and drawings in For Better or For Worse . During that time, more than 30 books based on the daily comic strip have sold in excess of 1.6 million copies. Striking a Chord continues that impressive record, delivering the latest For Better or For Worse collection just in time for spring.

Johnston's acclaimed strip centers on the everyday life of a Canadian family, humorously portraying both the good and the not-so-good events that are shared by the Patterson clan and their extended family of friends and neighbors. Parents Elly and John; children Michael and his wife, Deanna, Elizabeth, and April; Grandpa Jim; and dogs Edgar and Dixie all live out the joys and complexities of modern life. From parents apprehensively facing their fifties and a young couple tackling new parenthood to a young woman confronting career choices and a girl's loss of a beloved pet, Striking a Chord brings compassion, understanding, and a lighthearted touch to every human interaction.

This collection includes cartoons from November 2002 through July 2003.

Genres: Comics, Humor, Comedy, Cartoon

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

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

[Jeremiah Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this collection, we get to see Elly give her daughter in law Deanna some advice about being a parent. I'm going to start crying now! The strip has these moments where parents give advice to someone who's not their child, and I just love these. Because, I lost my dad around a year and half ago these moments of surrogate parenting in the strip, help me deal with having one less parent in my life. If your parents aren't around, sometimes someone else (or fictional characters) can fill in for a few minutes--that type of thing. It's reassuring to see the love.

I didn't laugh at much with this collection, but come on, it's Lynn Johnston so I enjoyed it. I felt a lot of the strips went for sentiment instead of a joke. Johnston is skilled at blending those two elements, but this collection didn't have the punch others do. Don't get me wrong, lots of funny stuff though.

There was a robbery in this collection, just like the last one. Only this one was surprisingly violent. I enjoy when Johnston let's us see that the Patterson's live in a dangerous world just like the rest of us--but I wanted more from this moment. More what? I don't know, I wanted to see the characters deal with it more. I also want to know who these robbers are. Like in the previous book, they're just villains-I guess that's true to life. But in stories, I always want to know why criminals do what they do. This is a common complaint I have when reading my kids the A to Z Mysteries.

Towards the end of the collection, Johnston writes how she put together some strips where Michael goes to Tokyo--I liked that behind the scenes stuff.

Johnston is always worth reading, I just didn't laugh as much. I look forward to reading more!

I also cried during the bunny part.

[Audrey Ettinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread of the collection, plus of course I’ve read the individual strips on many occasions. So different to re-read as a parent of older kids (with older parents of my own) than as a parent of babies or a teenager myself! Great writing!

[Stasia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The later years are harder to read for fun.. there's still humor, but often the storylines are so serious.

[Nancy Bandusky · Rating 2 out of 5]

This collection was a little disappointing as the stories seemed dull with a lot of whining from the characters. It had its good moments but nothing really to hold it all together.

[The other John · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one's okay, I guess. It's pretty much the era where For Better or For Worse gets boring. I mean the rabbit dies, but not much else... um, let me rephrase that. Mr. B--April's pet bunny--croaks. That's the big plot development in the world of the Patterson clan. Oh, sure Michael and Deanna deal with their new baby and Elizabeth does college things and April does junior high things and Grandpa does old man things, but those are just so... mundane. I mean, Ms. Johnston has just made the strip too real.

[Adrian Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always thought of the Pattersons as the neighbors. I started reading the strip when I was a kid and was faithful to the end. I have the entire collection and I read it every few years. It's a classic!

[Rivkah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is one of my favorite for better or for worse boks. I like being able to see everyone grow up and prgress through out the series.

[Rain ((A 1,000 yrs of nothing, it’s a heartbeat, I’ve never been ready.)) · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best!

[Child960801 · Rating 4 out of 5]

April and some friends start a band. Michael goes on a business trip to Japan. Elizabeth thinks more about her future in the North. Deanna struggles with motherhood.