graphic fiction series (issues 49-52): follows three friends through British Uni and after.

Chapter 49: Esther struggles to write her dissertation while home for Easter break and runs into old boyfriend Boyce at a pub. 50: back at Sheffield, McGraw's pub cricket team gets sick right before a championship match and Susan volunteers herself and 7 more players to fill in; Daisy is really good but is distracted by a pretty player on the opposing team; they manage to win but McGraw receives bad news when he gets home -- his dad has died. 51: Esther wins an essay contest with a 2000-pound prize; Susan worries about how McGraw is coping, or not coping; Esther uses her winnings to rent a cottage in the country near Bamford to help him (Ed and Nina also come along), where she tries out a new look and is pleased to find out she's got a job interview for a bank job. 52: Esther stays with her friend Shelley in London where she interviews for the job, but decides it's not to her liking; meanshile, Susan and Daisy enjoy a spa day. Esther wants to help Shelley get into the publishing business, so they attend a party hosted by her former professor to network; in Sheffield, Kieran, Mungo and Coralie are plotting something? ( )

This volume of my favourite ongoing comic began with an accurate (I checked with my daughter who recently went through the very same thing) depiction of a distracted graduate student (Esther) attempting to complete her dissertation. She goes home to try and accomplish this task, and ends up distracted with "you can never go home again" adulting-type sentiments. She eventually ends up in London, trying for a totally inappropriate job, and ending up with a totally different one (which is pure Esther). We also get a detailed description of a cricket match with a team of misfits assembled to help McGraw out of a food-poisoning-induced jam, which includes Daisy lusting over the other team's circle chucker (best description of a pitcher ever). I still have no idea how to understand cricket. Then, Susan tries to help McGraw overcome the grief of a sudden loss, and finds both him and herself totally ill-equipped for the task. I love these girls, and I'm thrilled to see them moving away from school and into life, but keeping all the best parts of themselves. This continues to be an awesomely conceived, written, and delivered comix. ( )

Mostly light fun this time around, but there was one very sad storyline. The funniest part was Susan’s explanation of cricket, which probably would have been even funnier to me if I knew anything about cricket.
As the gang ventures further into their adult lives, I hope Allison continues to write the series. I could hang out with this group of pals for many more volumes. ( )

Esther grapples to write her English dissertation and also figure out what she's doing after uni. McGraw's cricket team needs to recruit a bunch of players on short notice before the pub cup match. He and Susan struggle to communicate after he loses someone close to him. Esther goes on a job interview in London and figures out her first steps after school ends.

Fun as always and it managed to explain cricket in a way that I mostly understood! There's sweetness and pathos here and as always I loved it. ( )

Top form for the series as we have humorous bits with writer's block and a game of cricket and heavier topics like grief and life after the bubble of college. The middle chapters are best, with the core gang hanging out together. The first and last chapters are still fun, with Esther having team-up adventures with characters from writer John Allison's other series: Charlotte "Lottie" Grote of Bad Machinery and Shelley Endeavour Winters of Scary Go Round. ( )