I was sucked into the story right away! Courtney's parents, living well beyond their means, jump at the chance to live rent free at Great Uncle Aloysius's creepy old mansion that happens to be in the rich area of town. Having use of the lower floors but strictly forbidden to enter his upper domain the parents settle in. Courtney can't make friends at school due to her association with the Crumrin house and she hears things in the night. This leads to her snooping around and finding an old book with very strange recipes in it that she starts to experiment with and she meets some very strange creatures both in and out of the house which mostly want to do harm to her or someone. I loved this. Done in black and white it suits the gothic, creepy atmosphere. Courtney is a girl with an attitude but likable all the same. Can't wait to read book two and find out where the story is going to go. ( )

Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things is a kids' graphic novel. It has a classic plot--girl moves to creepy old uncle's house and creepy stuff happens--but this is a model example of Tropes Are Not Bad.

There are three main things that keep this book amazing:

A) It knows its tropes, loves them, and uses them well. This is the kind of story kids like.

B) It's funny, in a biting way. It's SMART humor. The characters and dialoge are just off-beat enough to make everything seem shiny and new.

C) It's a graphic novel with gorgeous, quirky, dark art that sets the mood and lets us create a little more of the story in our own heads while giving us something pretty to look at. I love fantasy art in general, and this art adds humor to dark scenes and a sense of creepy to the funny scenes.

I will warn that the characters are not paragons, and this is not a morality play. The characters are good, but they aren't above being vindictive and conniving. It's a little creepy sometimes because it's unexpected, but it's realistic and would promote discussion.

I highly recommend this series to kids (of all ages ;) ) who like this sort of quirky fantasy/gothic horror trend that's happening right now in fiction. Fans of Lemony Snicket, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Skulduggery Pleasant, Zorgamazoo, that whole vein. ( )

Courtney is a snarky girl, and seems to dislike her parents. But what kid of her age doesn't think that their parents are idiots most of the time. Methinks that her uncle is looking for a heir if he is really as old as he claims. I haven't read any of the other ones yet,( I have this OCD thing about reading the first book first) but I do hope the cat and Butterworm come back. All in all I enjoyed it. ( )

The stories were derivative and predictable, and the art was unpleasant. The most frightening thing about this was the heroine's lack of nose.
I wouldn't recommend this to readers. ( )

I loved this book. It had illustrations like in the first Gloomcookie book that I read and it was funny. Full of fantasy and horror elements, Courtney is a loner and would like to keep it that way. She has moved in with her supposedly crazy uncle whom she has found has an obsession with things that go bump in the night. They end up getting along famously, her parents oblivious to everything going on around them. Can't wait to read more of these! ( )

Clever, immersive, and visually daring. May not immediately appeal to those who don't already enjoy graphic novels, but will certainly appeal to horror fans for its Tim Burton-esque sensibilities. The lead character, Courtney, is spunky and likeable, if not exactly touchy-feely. ( )

A deliciously creepy story of a young girl whose family moves into her great uncle's spooky house. Courtney struggles to fit in at school. As she explores the house she discovers strangle beings, and magic books in her uncle's library. Courtney is a determined and strong character. Should appeal to Coraline fans. ( )

This was recommended under the heading "stories with strong female characters" and sure enough, Courtney is smart and good at adapting to the creepy world she inhabits. I really enjoyed the stories, although I found the art at times distracting because people looked rather more zombie-like than I think was intended. But then again, it is a creepy little book, so who knows? I'll be picking up the next in the series anyhow. ( )

Very well written and illustrated. Really does give a very dark and creepy vibe. May be a tad too scary for the the little guys.
(no gore but people do die off panel)
MIDDLE SCHOOL ( )

Dark, beautiful stories about little Courtney who doesn't get on well with the rich kids from school but does scarily well with the things that go bump in the night. Rating them up with Neil Gaimen's Coraline and some of the creepier Roald Dahls. The illustrations are magical. ( )

Courtney Crumrim thinks her parents are social climbing fools. After they’ve maxed-out their credit cards and have to move in with weird old Uncle Aloysius, her suspicions are confirmed. They are as oblivious to the vicious social snobbery and cruelty in their wealthy new neighborhood as they are to the goblins that skulk around the old mansion in the dark of the night. Courtney, unable to fit in with her new schoolmates and unwilling to conform, finds an unlikely mentor in Uncle Aloysius and new comrades among the night things. ( )

COurtney Crumrin is my hero. If she and Daria Morgendorfer were real people, I would have the coolest friends on the block. ( )

I didn't think I would like this till more than one person mentioned it was pretty decent. While aimed at kids, it has enough to interest the older reader.

Courtney and family move in with a wealthy and quite odd uncle. It is only the kid that finds out what is really strange about the town, the places surrounding it, and what her other relative really gets up to.

She gets in over her heard more than once.

http://graphicsf.blogspot.com/2007/01... ( )

I got turned on to Courtney Crumrin a couple of years ago by a friend. The stories, artwork, characters, everything is engaging. Courtney struggles not only with supernatural forces, but her own hormones and changing view of the world. There is very little angst in Courtney's world, just a resignation to the fact that somebody has to get the job done and that somebody is Courtney. This is definitely a series I'll be sharing with my daughter when she's older. ( )