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emilyyjjean's review against another edition
5.0
This was really good! I'm really glad that Courtney and Uncle A are building more of a relationship, so much better than Courtney's parents.
slipperbunny's review against another edition
4.0
I love Courtney Crumrin and this one of the best volumes I think. Courtney is a very smart girl and I love her honesty and bluntness.
mackle13's review against another edition
3.0
This book is a combination of two previously released short stories, which are connected in that they both happen while Courtney is on holiday with Uncle A.
Ted Naifeh brings his usual style and fun creepiness to the stories, and I was glad to see some more inner thoughts of Courtney as she's getting older, but the stories themselves seemed a little rushed and disjointed. Perhaps they could each have been complete tales in their own rights, and we could've seen even more development of the two main characters. That would've been nice.
Ted Naifeh brings his usual style and fun creepiness to the stories, and I was glad to see some more inner thoughts of Courtney as she's getting older, but the stories themselves seemed a little rushed and disjointed. Perhaps they could each have been complete tales in their own rights, and we could've seen even more development of the two main characters. That would've been nice.
mackle13's review against another edition
4.0
3.5
I may have mentioned once or twice (or thrice) how much I love these new editions of the Crumrin books with color. The color really adds depth to Neifah's illustrations - even when the story itself is in the dark, so we're mostly dealing with various shades of greys and blues and purples.
Anyway -
This story was definitely on the sad side. It combines two short stories which are, as the title suggests, episodes which happen during the course of holidays that Courtney takes with Uncle A. But more than the specifics of the story, they really deal a lot with Courtney's loneliness and her relationship with Aloysius - the way these two strange individuals rub along together, sometimes together but often at odds.
Poor Courtney wants so much from Uncle A - a family and friend and mentor - and he, being so closed off for so long, just doesn't really know how to be what she needs.
My favorite part, by far, is when another character sort of takes A to task for expecting too much of Courtney. ^_^
***
My only real complaint with the stories is that the second seems rushed, especially the end. A lot seems to happen very quickly, and I think some of the emotional punch is lost in its brevity.
That said, it left me wanting more - and I'm happy to know that more's coming. For the longest time I thought this was mostly the end of the series, aside from some stand alones about A when he was younger, but there's another coming out in trade soon, and I'm very excited. :>
I may have mentioned once or twice (or thrice) how much I love these new editions of the Crumrin books with color. The color really adds depth to Neifah's illustrations - even when the story itself is in the dark, so we're mostly dealing with various shades of greys and blues and purples.
Anyway -
This story was definitely on the sad side. It combines two short stories which are, as the title suggests, episodes which happen during the course of holidays that Courtney takes with Uncle A. But more than the specifics of the story, they really deal a lot with Courtney's loneliness and her relationship with Aloysius - the way these two strange individuals rub along together, sometimes together but often at odds.
Poor Courtney wants so much from Uncle A - a family and friend and mentor - and he, being so closed off for so long, just doesn't really know how to be what she needs.
My favorite part, by far, is when another character sort of takes A to task for expecting too much of Courtney. ^_^
***
My only real complaint with the stories is that the second seems rushed, especially the end. A lot seems to happen very quickly, and I think some of the emotional punch is lost in its brevity.
That said, it left me wanting more - and I'm happy to know that more's coming. For the longest time I thought this was mostly the end of the series, aside from some stand alones about A when he was younger, but there's another coming out in trade soon, and I'm very excited. :>
daphne2000's review against another edition
2.0
This one was so disappointing! It was so much worse than the last three volumes. Hopefully the next volume will be better.
quinnster's review against another edition
4.0
I love Courtney. Tho most of this edition was sad, I felt like Courtney was growing and there were some big reveals here.
ghostbusterwhit's review against another edition
3.0
Not my favorite Courtney Crumrin, but a nice chance to continue reading a series for which I hold a lot of fondness. The art is great and the stories are good, but not the best.
library_brandy's review against another edition
3.0
I know I complained about the last Courtney Crumrin book I picked up feeling unfinished, and that's because it was--that one was the first half of this fourth official volume of the series. The story is good, and engrossing, but part of what makes Courtney who she is seems missing here. The story is interesting but Courtney is a little flat. Whether this is a blip or if Naifeh is just done with the character remains to be seen.
The second part of this book does continue the "love sucks" theme of the first half, though.
The second part of this book does continue the "love sucks" theme of the first half, though.
undertheteacup's review against another edition
3.0
I was very pleasantly surprised, probably because I had 0 expectations going in so it was very easy for this little graphic novel to surpass them. I found the art immersive, gloriously moody and compelling, and I loved tiny, abrasive Courtney who really wanted to believe in love.
I think the first story was meant to represent Roma in a positive light, and again I was pleasantly surprised to see Roma characters at all, but I suspect a lot of the tropes employed were very harmful, including a Roma village as werewolves .
As much as I loved the depth of feeling and theme of disillusionment, the narrative ended up using Roma characters as a means for the white main character's development. [Also CW for the use of the G-slur, which is corrected in-text, but does come up a bunch even from sympathetic characters].
I think the first story was meant to represent Roma in a positive light, and again I was pleasantly surprised to see Roma characters at all, but I suspect a lot of the tropes employed were very harmful, including
As much as I loved the depth of feeling and theme of disillusionment, the narrative ended up using Roma characters as a means for the white main character's development. [Also CW for the use of the G-slur, which is corrected in-text, but does come up a bunch even from sympathetic characters].