Reviews with content warning for Toxic friendship - Solitaire

Tori has fascinated me for a while and I was excited to get her story. While Tori was definitely very relatable at times (the depression and loneliness and struggling to fit in) I do think Oseman has become a stronger writer since so I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book over others. I was also a little confused by the ending. While this was an enjoyable read for the most part I probably won't be revisiting this one. I do, however, hope that Oseman will be writing more about her in the future!

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andrewhatesham's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This hooked me in easily! I was really into the first quarter or so. As a fan of Heartstopper (the books and the show), I was excited to read another book that takes place in the same universe, especially when I realized it centers on Tori and Michael, two characters from Heartstopper who I have been curious to know more about. Tori is a character I can identify with, as a former-angsty-teen, and as an adult who still struggles with mental health. As for Michael, I can relate to being seen as socially obtuse 🤷🏻

At first, I was a bit annoyed by the pop culture references, I'd rather read something that feels timeless; but it sort of started to make sense as I read on. In addition to contemporary pop culture, Solitaire also references classic literature a lot, both in text and subtext. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it heavily references The Catcher in the Rye – it's like a modern retelling of it. Tori seems like your typical melodramatic teen on the outside, but once you start to peel back the layers, you find that there's more to her than meets the eye. She's a caring and sensitive person who deeply struggles to express herself and connect with others, as does Holden in TCitR. Also, Micheal's last name is literally Holden! Pride and Prejudice is referenced a lot too, but I'm less familiar with P&P as I've only seen the movie.

Around the halfway point, I began to lose interest a bit. The writing started to get redundant. I felt like it hit on the same few beats multiple times, messing with the pacing and plot structure. The tone had a bit of a strange shift as well. Things kind of fell apart in the last act. I'm still not a fan of the ending, but what I didn't know until afterwards, is that Oseman wrote this as a teenager! I didn't know going into this that it was her first publication. It's understandable that her first book isn't her best. I'm glad it exists, because without Solitaire, there would be no Heartstopper. I didn't realize that either, that Heartstopper is technically a spin-off of Solitaire, which is very interesting! And explains the timeline. I assumed Solitaire was a prequel but it actually starts not far from where Heartstopper does, so you're seeing some of the same events but from Tori's perspective.

So, while this has notable flaws, I still think this is worthwhile and would recommend it to Heartstopper/Oseman fans.

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