| Title | : | Glister |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1506703194 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781506703190 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 304 |
| Publication | : | First published July 12, 2017 |
- All four Glister stories collected into one new edition! (Glister: The Haunted Teapot, Glister: The Family Tree, Glister: The House Hunt, and Glister: The Faerie Host)
Glister Reviews
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Hard to fathom this is intended for a middle-grade audience. The premise is great - a girl who's "a magnet for the odd and peculiar" lives in a sentient house where she tackles such obstacles as an enchanted teapot and a family tree that drops pesky relatives instead of fruit - but the diction is advanced for a young reader and the execution makes for a sleepy (translate: boring) read.
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I've had this around for a month and couldn't quite engage with it. It's probably me more than the talented Watson, who draws a strong girl character for tweens. And uses pastel colors well. Isn't a beautiful cover?
This book collects four Glister stories. Glister Butterworth lives on her family's English estate, and encounters lots of paranormal stuff like ghosts, a house walking away, a family tree with actual relatives on it. With fairies. Or faeries, as Watson would spell it. It's good, I like it and don't love it. Maybe it is that I like Mark Crilley's Akiko, operating in same age group, a bit more. Maybe I like sci fi more than fantasy, I dunno. -
A big graphic novel full of fanciful tales about Glister, a young girl living in England, who gets drawn into magical and strange adventures on a regular basis. if you're looking for quirky, this is definitely the place to be, but it's not without depth, particularly the story where Glister goes to Faerieland to find her long-missing mother. I love Watson's 1-color cartooning, especially how much emotion he gets out of such simple lines for faces. If the kiddo in your life is into the kind of fantasy that involves haunted teapots, houses that rearrange their own rooms when you're not looking, and trolls in wishing wells, give this one a whirl.
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Anyone who has a lovely of books that sit between those liminal spaces of reality and fantasy that is similar to the work of Aiken and Wynne Jones will love spending time with Watson's 'Glister' and to think that it's too high-brow for younger readers then misunderstands how clever and adept young, independent readers can be.
Collating together four stories which focus on Glister Butterworth and her life at Chilblain Hall, this series sees our eponymous hero as she seeks to understand, relate to and then save her family home which is very much like Hogwarts with regards to its ever-changing architecture and residents but, perhaps, with a touch more Trollope to it.
From teapots haunted by frustrated writers, to a literal family tree that blooms past members, to a wonderfully folkloric encounter with the fey-folk in which Glister fights for the return of her missing mother, Watson has created a rich and complex narrative, presented in clear lines and muted tones (each book is coloured in a single colour).
This graphic novel thrums with layers of meaning and it's clear that Watson is catering here to many readers who will arrive at Chilblain Hall with different levels of understanding and life experience. I think he knows that, when they return with each new read, they will find something new and exciting to catch their imagination. The sign of a very fine book. -
Glister Butterworth attracts all manner of strange things. I vividly recalled the first story from this collection, so I am guessing I must have read it as a single issue some time ago. Anyway! It was just as delightful as I remembered, and the additional stories were also lovely. The best character might be Glister's home, which renovates and relocates itself on the slightest of whims.
Andi Watson's books are always a lot of fun. -
I really think this book has stories that are perfect for little children. Still, I feel Glister would be better suited as an animated TV show. Also, due to the way the illustrations were colored, the images often became very convoluted. This made it quite difficult to enjoy the comic panels. Despite all of that, this graphic novel has some enjoyable stories, and Andi Watson is clearly a talented artist.
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"Strange things happen around Glister Butterworth..."
That is the line that keeps coming up in this book at the beginning of each story (yes, there is more than one story). I was definitely surprised (and then delighted) that this one held more than one story. While the blurb mentions various things happening I thought it was all encompassed within one story.
The stories were mostly pretty good, though I didn't like the last story.
If I have to rank the stories from good to eh it would be this:
-The Haunted Teapot (4.5 stars)
-The House Hunt (4 stars, because of the annoying man who just didn't know how to shut up)
-The Faerie Host (4 stars, only because of the ending, otherwise this would have rated higher)
-The Family Tree (1 stars)
As you can see most of the stories were quite enjoyable, it is just a shame that The Family Tree story was terrible. The idea was fun, and there were some other things that I liked in the story, but the family and how they acted (terrible), the house how it acted, how the dad didn't seem to care to listen (if only he had done it there would have been less problems), it just annoyed me, and I was not enjoying myself.
I had a laugh when, with each story, we learn more about what stuff Glister did that may have caused the strange things to happen. Like clocks struck 13 when she was born, she crossed a parade of black cats (yes, really a parade), washing clothes on New Years Day.
There are also extra bonus activities (one listed at the beginning and the rest located at the end). I definitely like that those were added. I may see if I can scan them and then print them out (because no way in hell am I going to be cutting them out of my book). I need that bookmark!
I loved that the stories each had their own colour. Starting with red in the first story to purple for the third story.
I really quite liked Glister and how she seemed to have no problem will all the weird stuff happening around her. Then again, she probably has been having weird stuff happening since she was born, so I guess she is used to it. But still, it amazed me that, no matter what came on her path, she just continued on and tried to help out when needed.
The dad also seems to have settled in the weirdness of it all. He didn't even blink when his daughter told him about the haunted teapot, instead caring if it still poured tea. :P
While I am not too sure if I would live in Glister's house should I have the chance, I do want to visit it and maybe stay for a few days. If only to see the rooms change (and I want to visit the Egypt room), the house breathe (though no pieces of ceiling in my cereal, please), and to meet Glister and see her life.
I was quite disappointed in the Fairy Host story. It was a great story, and I loved it, but the ending just ruined it for me. All that effort and it ends like this. BAH! I would have liked it more if something was done in the other stories, but I guess this is just how it is going to be forever. *sighs*
So the stories come to 4 stars, but I am adding 0.5 stars for the fun and fabulous art (it really was, the style was just so fitting with the story), the bonus activities, and the magic that made this book so fun.
All in all, I would recommend this graphic novel! I definitely had fun reading it.
Review first posted at
https://twirlingbookprincess.com/ -
This is a graphic novel consisting of multiple short stories around the same main character. While the illustrations are whimsical and quite nice, the stories themselves were not that appealing to me. I didn't even finish the whole book because I really didn't care what would happen next. I was also not a fan of how each story was drawn in one color scheme. The first story was in red tones, the second in blue tones, and my eyes did not like this. I actually stopped reading halfway though the blue because I realized I was not enjoying myself and went on to read a different book. I so wanted to like this book, but alas, the book is not for me.
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ahww heel schattig. Leuke simpele illustraties, maar niet erg diepgaande verhaallijn. wel leuke originele verhaaltjes en tof in verschillende kleuren
recensie binnenkort op myperfectbooklife -
I read this comic after a recommendation from Australian darling, NerdBurger. I didn't know what to expect from the cover, but it was a delightful surprise. The whimsy of the series was lovely to read. Some of the vocabulary and context was too British for me to understand as a confused American, but I got the gist of it. I adored the world and splendor of a special girl named Glister. From haunted teapots to fairy forests, there was an abundance of magic in Glister's enormous Victorian manor.
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What is this book. I am not sure. It's like a kids fantasy, but...Watson's not...really telling a kids story? It just was a lot of fantasy elements piled on each other with some more teen/adulty family challenges underlying them, not super well blended. That said, a lot of the fantasy elements were fun. Generally just, disorganized, but once you pushed through that, kind of got in to the world, you kind of felt like you earned your place there and wanted to stay a bit. The illustrations too, individually were often kind of cool, but as a narrative flowed clunkily. Ah well, review coppppyyyy.
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I liked this, but for some reason it took me monnnnnths to finish. I could only do a handful of pages at a time before getting a headache and I'm not sure if it's the art style (which I liked?) or the paneling or . . . I have no idea.
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Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.
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I found this easy to put down, but the book has its charm. It's cutesy and fantastical, with often no real high stakes, so some of the story concerning the mother was comparatively dark.
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was okay, review to come.
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I'm a pretty big Andi Watson fan, but I'd never read of this children's series until now. I typically love Watson's pencils (an amazing combination of cartoony caricature and scratchy detail) and his coloring (if you can call using one pastel shade per story coloring, but still he uses it sooooo effectively).
This is in the same neighborhood as
Jill Thompson's
Scary Godmother series or
Mark Crilley's Akiko works --- you have a young girl (Glister Butterworth) who is a strangeness magnet living in Chilblain Hall, a probably-sentient English mansion that consistently struggles with self-esteem issues and falling plaster. Each of the four stories is kinda like a paranormal cosy; ghosts appear, Chilblain Hall gets frustrated with the local Best Village contest, or Glister causes her relatives to appear by feeding the family tree (which is an actual tree on the property). Nothing is ever too dire, but it is quite funny, and almost always architecturally interesting (in that Chilblain Hall will warp itself about depending on its mood).
There's one story that has a greater bit of peril and one of the more terrifying visions (for a children's book) of Faerie than I've seen in awhile. It's an excellent example of Watson's imagination and graphic design and on its own makes the volume worth buying. But, really, if you like children's fantasy in graphic novel form with a cosy, familiar feel, this is a must read. -
You got to love Glister and her world of supernatural adventures!
The first thing that comes to mind when speaking about Glister is the richness of the language. Most comics have a correct English, of course, but this one goes higher than that. An aspect which makes absolute sense considering the very unique personality of this little girl, Glister! It is logic and clever. The writing style gives us a lot of clues on the character and the persona that is Glister.
From time to time I don't like the lettering which are written with a handwritten style. Expect that for Glister, it was great! I liked it even more. why is that? Simply because it reflects a part of her. You can see that the lettering belongs to someone young, just like her.
Now, about the story, it was cute, very cute! This book is a compilation of different issues. Some of them have a very surprising ending. A very good surprise !!
From a teacher point of view: it isa little bit hard to understand for ESL. Though, it can be a good way to discover new words or on the contrary be overwhelmed and lost. -
3.5 stars.
This was a very cute middle grade graphic novel. Glitter is a smart, curious, cute little girl. The story definitely follows a British-quirky-surrealist trend ala Dahl and the first Harry Potter book.
The book is essentially broken into 4 chapters or issues, each with one major arc of ~60 pages and 10 more pages of 2-3 mini tales linked to the major one. The art is monochromatic and clean, very cute and creates a great tone. Each chapter is a different colour - pink, blue, purple, and green.
The chapters sort of build on each other, to varying degrees. The second and third were far stronger than the first and fourth in my opinion. The third was the most emotionally touching for me. Chilblain Hall was my favourite character.
If you don’t like stories where the kids are clearly smarter/more observant than the adults, this isn’t for you.
This was fun and sweet, though a bit uneven and inconsistent. -
I was charmed by this book more than I thought I would be. I really liked the artistic style--there's a busy-ness about it that I think might turn off some readers, but for me it mirrored the chaotic and unpredictable life that Glister leads in a way that I thought fit perfectly. I also enjoyed the fact that each chapter was set in a different color to distinguish it as separate. I thought three of the four stories were endearing but not necessarily memorable (probably three star worthy), but the story about Glister searching for her mother hit all the right notes for me, feeling classic and familiar while still being fresh. It's kind of an odd book so I'm not sure I have a particular reader in mind for it, but I think it will circulate pretty well among middle grade graphic novel readers (maybe a read-alike for Baba Yaga's Assistant?)
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Strange things happen to Glister Butterworth. Like the time a ghost came out of her teapot to finish his book or the time her house was insulted by a realtor and went on an adventure without her.
What a strange kid.
Andi Watson’s childish humor and innocent fun make for a fantastic little graphic novel that had me giggling the whole way through. Though this is technically a younger age novel, anyone who likes a little fun will enjoy these quick witted adventures. The drawing style is not exactly refined, which also gives more fun to it. It’s as if Glister herself was just so excited to draw her adventures that she decided to do so too quickly. I am totally in love with Glister and her friends. It’s like Alice and Wonderland meets Craig Thompson. Just a great big book of YES -
Quite a lot of fun to be had. There’s not much one can say about the story without spoiling it, so I will just say this:
“Glister” is wacky, whimsical, and wonderfully weird. I’d recommend it to kids over the age of eight. One or two of the stories are a little scary for anyone younger. Overall this was a fun read, and Chilblain House is either going to be a place you’d love to go to or will have you running the other way. -
Cute art with quirky details and stories with great language that doesn’t over-explain allows you to fall into Glister’s world and explore it with her. I love it that her house is a character of its own and that she fearlessly faces whatever odd magical adventure is occurring like it ain’t no thing. Great for middle grade readers that can handle challenging vocabulary but aren’t ready for adult themes.
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it’s good! it’s just definitely for a much younger audience than me, it’s a refreshing light, paced read with four short graphic novels after having read some more intense fantasy. i really like the graphics and i’ll probably revisit it (this is my first reread) and i love love love the cover. it’s not perfect and the stories aren’t all on the same level but it’s for sure a fun, lighthearted read!
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I think it was meant for younger kids, because it was a little boring and simplistic, and maybe too long. Also, I didn't particularly like the art style as a lot of people have said. It was four short stories, but I didn't really get into any one of them.
Happy Ending rating: the endings for each story were good. DIdn't make me gasp with joy or anything though... 7/10 -
I didn’t get Glister. It wasn’t bad, and I’m sure it has its audience, but I wasn’t that audience. I liked the use of color in the art, but the story didn’t grab me. Unfortunately, I didn’t finish it.
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A collection of cute stories about Glister who lives in a magic home with her father. Weird things are always happening to Glister in the stories, which take place in a house that is somewhat sentient and can add on or remove rooms, move around, and has a personality of its own.
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love it!
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Cute and quirky. Glister is indeed a magnet to the weird and seems quite pleased by so.
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Aww, sweet, funny and adorable. Very charming.
