Courtney Crumrin Vol. 1 The Night Things

Courtney gets her hands dirty. Reminds me a bit of The Cats of Tanglewood Forest by Charles de Lint

Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things by Ted Naifeh is the first in a YA paranormal graphic novel series. Although published originally in 2003, it's been reissued in color. The book opens with Courtney and her family moving in with a great uncle. He's basically a hermit, shacked up in his dilapidated mansion on the edge of a wealthy but severely dysfunctional (think Stepford Wives) town. At home Courtney faces all sorts of strange night creatures invading the house and her room. At school she faces alienation and bullying. Courtney, though, quickly grows sick of both bad situations and takes manners into her own hands. Now while The Stepford Wives had a manmade problem, this town is at the mercy of something completely paranormal. Fans of The Replacement or The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making will probably like the Courtney Crumrin series. My only minor complaint is the artwork. I'm not a fan of the claw like fingers that Naifeh's characters usually have. Here though, I got so wrapped up in the story that I began to neglect the artwork.

Well, um... I feel confused, enamoured, and slightly repulsed. The novel opens with Courtney moving to a new house, and having to make new friends. And yes, the kids all hate her a bully her from the start. (view spoiler)[Then, she finds a way to make them all love her, and the most popular boy in school wants to go on a date with her. She accepts, and eventually realizes that A. He and al the other kids are horrible people and/or B. Their affections would mean a lot more if they were real. (hide spoiler)] Sound like any average teen movie/book yet? However, Courtney realizes this a lot faster than most heroines, and spunkily manoeuvres her way through the situation, (view spoiler)[with a bit of help from her awesome warlock Great Uncle. Also, side note, the little romance that there is was written in a very nice way, with Courtney not quite understanding what a crush is yet, and only becoming enamoured with the boy for about two pages, before she quickly realizes that he's rude and makes her escape, all without really becoming a stereotypical boy-crazy teen! Go Courtney! (hide spoiler)] On the subject of Courtney... Courtney: I do like the way she deals with some situations, as she never lets herself become a victim and is strong enough to fight back (view spoiler)[and win. (hide spoiler)] However, both her character and the overall tone of the novel is almost nihilistic, and I don't really like that. (view spoiler)[Especially as it's seen in the children who are eaten/sold into slavery, and nobody even notices that they're missing. I do understand that this sort of feeds into the whole children are unfiltered and have no morals idea that the author is putting out, but it still seems a little... off-putting, I guess. Although these deaths really do add to the sense of creepiness and nightmare the story has, so I'm not really sure how I feel about them at the end of the day. (hide spoiler)] Still, Courtney has backbone and spunk, and captured my heart with it in a way Anya from Anya's Ghost didn't. I read both books in quick succession today, and have to say I enjoyed this one more. Anya was lazy, and cruel for no reason. Courtney was capable, and when she was cruel it was still slightly off-putting, but more in a slightly disturbing way. Courtney is cruel because she has not yet developed the filter of adulthood that tells us to care about others and take care of the weak. She lives based on her base instincts and it's rather chilling. You are warned about this in a perturbing note from the author at the beginning of the novel, and it really comes across in tone and certain situations throughout the novel. I feel like now is a good time to mention that the novel really does deliver on a child's nightmare, and while it is separated into separate issues within the book (each with a pretty grey and white beginning drawing), it still feels like a rather connected, if slightly choppy, story of a little girl who fights monsters. Recommended for a quick, chilling read, especially for the awesomely drawn and creepy "Night Things," the kick-butt heroine, and the overall chilling tone of a childhood darkness. 4.5/5.

The second volume in this series was much better than the first. Courtney just seemed to be written better, and the world of Night Things expanded and got some depth. Her adventures were both entertaining and had emotional punch to them. All in all a good book to read if you're in the mood for spooky and a sassy, old-man-stuck-in-a-middle-schooler's-body kinda character.

So, first I was like, meh. But then, about half way through it started to get more interesting. And by chapter four I was liking this a lot. Courtney is a sassy, foul-tempered kid (middle school aged), smart kid. She is my peoples. And the creatures were creepy and interesting (though not too creepy). A good October spooky-ish read. P.S. my library has this as YA and I think it would fit much better in the Juvenile section.

Courtney was still an awesome character in this book, but her "friends" we're, gah, so annoying.

Oh my gawwwwwwwd. This one was good but the side character, Holly, was annoying as all get out. And Courtney ended up looking like the bad guy because dumb Holly didn't like being told that she is biting way more than she can chew. Like damn. Courtney just wanted a friend, but that friend had to end up being a selfish brat and Courtney had to save her, and then she gets in trouble! The INJUSTICE of it all. Gah! But besides Holly, this was another great book in this series. In this book we also learn more about Uncle A's history and what kind of dilemmas he is and will be facing in the next book.