Just One More Hug

For Better or For Worse #4

by Lynn Johnston

“The Pattersons are not the prat-fallen Bumsteads; Johnston resists easy stereotypes, and her best moments have a gritty texture, the flavor of bittersweet.” -Toronto Globe and Mail Just One More Hug is the fourth hit collection of Lynn Johnston’s true-to-life family comic strip, For Better or For Worse. With more than 250,000 copies of For Better or For Worse collections in print, Johnston still leads the field with the most popular family strip syndicated today. A native Canadian, Lynn Johnston lives in Ontario.

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

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

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

[Marc *Dark Reader with a Thousand Young! Iä!* · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this fourth year of the strip, I'm seeing more warmness between Ellie and John (the Patterson parents), which is very welcome. There's nothing monumental going on in this portion but there's a lot of life; the kids are kids (Lizzie is still preschool age, I think Michael starts grade 3), their summer trip is to a relative's farm in Alberta. There is a slight progression of Michael's crush on Deanna Sobiesky. The biggest development is that Ellie finally gets a paid job, putting on children's programs for the public library.

Johnston's drawing style maybe gets more . . . flowy? Like there's a bit more softness in the characters.

[The other John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Number Four in a series; collect them all. What can I say about this collection? Probably the highlight is when the Patterson family take a vacation out to Manitoba to visit John's sister and her family on the farm. Not only do we get a whole mess o' farm jokes, but it's also the first time in the strip--for me, that is--that Ms. Johnston strikes a deeper chord. When I read those strips, I'm reminded of my own childhood trips out to visit my rural relatives--not in detail but rather in feeling. It's a quality of writing which takes For Better or For Worse above your typical comic strip.

[Lyndsay-ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a lot of memories in this book (as well as the next one). They were always in the upstairs bathroom at Nona's house, and I would reread them everytime I was in Ontario to visit. I've probably read this book more than a hundred times.

This book was my first introduction to Lynn Johnston's comic strip, and I really enjoy it. Some of the story lines I really enjoy and a lot have me laughing out loud, even after having read them many times.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lynn Johnston's strip starts out as a typical domestic jokey deal and slowly builds into a story.
It reads more like a really good tv show, as the humor begins to come naturally from the story, rather than obvious set up jokes.
Plus, her kids hit that perfect balance of bratty/too damn loveable that tells you she's a parent and has lived through this kind of stuff.
Great series.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lynn Johnston’s strip improved every year, at least partially due to the fact that as the kids got older the situations that they got into got more interesting. But Elly's life gets more interesting in this outing also as she makes it back into the workforce, getting a part time job at the local library.

[Mireille Duval · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and funny as usual - although I am not looking forward to giving birthday parties for my kids, haha.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are one of my "go to's" when I need to read something that is short , sweet and funny.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

a favorite

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming collection of the early years of For Better or For Worse.

[tyRonE hArDing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great. Love the Patterson Family.

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

I love to take a break with the little snippets of life that Lynn Johnston does.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are nice, family-oriented cartoons.

[Book Shark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm enjoying watching the Patterson family grow and change.

[Child960801 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The family goes out to Manitoba to the farm for a while in the summer. Elly starts working at the library. Michael has a crush on Deanna and gets a trumpet to start taking lessons with Uncle Phil.

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of early strips for this series. Back when it was funny and true.

It's a shame what happened to it.

Still, this one is recommended.

[Karolinde (Kari) · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I love the strip, the five stars is for her husband's intro!

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always, this series is never disappointing. Brings back memories of raising my family.

[Adrian Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's nice to revisit these books and derive the same level of enjoyment.