Scan barcode
david_slack110507's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was my first graphic novel and I actually really liked it and its formatting which was something I was not expecting and I also have watched the first two seasons of the show that is based off of these books, which I also really enjoyed and feel affected the ways in which I see this book, both good and bad.
I really enjoyed the core story here of Nick and Charlie's blossoming romance and Nick beginning his quest of self-discovery and understanding, particularly towards the end of the novel. I found their 'friendship' to be really well written, heartwarming, and including elements of suspending your disbelief as well as managing to be somewhat realistic at the same time. I really liked their characterisations and even in this short novel, they went through development and had clear characters by the end of it. I will say that besides from Nick and Charlie, this was not true of any other characters sadly as any other characters introduced doesn't really get any time to be developed as it's solely focused on Nick and Charlie which is where my watching of the show may have steered me into a direction of bad expectations for this book.
Going in having watched the show, in particular season 1, I assumed that volume 1 would be covering most if not all of season 1's content but it turns out to only be about 3 or 4 episodes worth which leaves it on a cliffhanger that, while I know the resolution of, still took me by surprise. The second thing of note is that season 1 has a much more expanded view of the world of Heartstopper than volume 1 does, with season one featuring Elle and Issac who are not in the book (at least to my knowledge with Elle as I don't recall her being mentioned or seen briefly), Tara and Darcy having a much more in-depth and detailed story as well as being much bigger and developed characters, as well as Tao actually being Charlie's best friend and having much more screentime and character to him. I hope that this is rectified in volume 2 as those were some of my favourite aspects of the show, getting to see beyond just the central romance and seeing all these other stories unfolding at the same time.
However, I do feel like watching the show helped as well as it made me much more excited for the rest of the series and seeing where it goes as I do feel like I will at the very least read volume 2 to end off the current chapter of the story and then go from there but overall, while my enjoyment of the book was hindered slightly by having expectations that the books would be exactly the same as the show, I did really have a fun time reading this as it was different from what I normally read both in formatting and in genre and it was successful in both of those differences. I'm interested in seeing where the next books go and if there will be many differences to the adapted material/the show.
I really enjoyed the core story here of Nick and Charlie's blossoming romance and Nick beginning his quest of self-discovery and understanding, particularly towards the end of the novel. I found their 'friendship' to be really well written, heartwarming, and including elements of suspending your disbelief as well as managing to be somewhat realistic at the same time. I really liked their characterisations and even in this short novel, they went through development and had clear characters by the end of it. I will say that besides from Nick and Charlie, this was not true of any other characters sadly as any other characters introduced doesn't really get any time to be developed as it's solely focused on Nick and Charlie which is where my watching of the show may have steered me into a direction of bad expectations for this book.
Going in having watched the show, in particular season 1, I assumed that volume 1 would be covering most if not all of season 1's content but it turns out to only be about 3 or 4 episodes worth which leaves it on a cliffhanger that, while I know the resolution of, still took me by surprise. The second thing of note is that season 1 has a much more expanded view of the world of Heartstopper than volume 1 does, with season one featuring Elle and Issac who are not in the book (at least to my knowledge with Elle as I don't recall her being mentioned or seen briefly), Tara and Darcy having a much more in-depth and detailed story as well as being much bigger and developed characters, as well as Tao actually being Charlie's best friend and having much more screentime and character to him. I hope that this is rectified in volume 2 as those were some of my favourite aspects of the show, getting to see beyond just the central romance and seeing all these other stories unfolding at the same time.
However, I do feel like watching the show helped as well as it made me much more excited for the rest of the series and seeing where it goes as I do feel like I will at the very least read volume 2 to end off the current chapter of the story and then go from there but overall, while my enjoyment of the book was hindered slightly by having expectations that the books would be exactly the same as the show, I did really have a fun time reading this as it was different from what I normally read both in formatting and in genre and it was successful in both of those differences. I'm interested in seeing where the next books go and if there will be many differences to the adapted material/the show.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Homophobia, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Outing, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Biphobia, Misogyny, and Eating disorder
kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
An adorable story about two boys falling for one another. It was a quick read as it’s a graphic novel, but I can’t wait to read the other three!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Homophobia, Outing, Physical abuse, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship
mydiverse_bookshelf's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Bullying, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Homophobia, Mental illness, and Eating disorder
melpond10's review
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Homophobia, and Biphobia
There’s not much anyone needs to worry about and anything hard to handle is extremely brief, but as it is a gay romance there’s bound to be something
More...