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emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Quick novella, of characters we know and love!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Homophobia
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
the font, line spacing, pace, pictures and length of this made it feel a lot like reading younger middle-grade books again, which was fun :)
(although the book still largely focused on the difficulties of the holidays for people with mental illnesses, so i wouldn't say the book itself is middle-grade at all.)
there was a section each from tori, charlie, and oliver's perspectives of the family's christmas. oliver's section came last and was my personal favourite :)
(although the book still largely focused on the difficulties of the holidays for people with mental illnesses, so i wouldn't say the book itself is middle-grade at all.)
there was a section each from tori, charlie, and oliver's perspectives of the family's christmas. oliver's section came last and was my personal favourite :)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder, Mental illness
Minor: Biphobia, Self harm
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Minor: Eating disorder
emotional
hopeful
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Mental illness, Self harm
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder
emotional
lighthearted
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder
emotional
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
2025 Re-Read - 4.5 stars
Despite the heavier topics in this novella, it was a joy to revisit alongside it's companion graphic novel!
2022 Original Read - 4.5 stars
This was my first introduction to Alice Oseman's "traditional" writing and I adored it just as much as their graphic novels!
It was nice to get to know the characters a little more, especially during a point in time I had already read about briefly in the graphic novel. It especially got me hyped up to read Solitaire soon - I need more Tori! (Also, Oliver's chapter was so precious & I hope farther down the road we will get a novel about him!)
I just really adore Oseman's character's and the topics that are discussed in an honest way, any generation can get something out of these stories!
Despite the heavier topics in this novella, it was a joy to revisit alongside it's companion graphic novel!
2022 Original Read - 4.5 stars
This was my first introduction to Alice Oseman's "traditional" writing and I adored it just as much as their graphic novels!
It was nice to get to know the characters a little more, especially during a point in time I had already read about briefly in the graphic novel. It especially got me hyped up to read Solitaire soon - I need more Tori! (Also, Oliver's chapter was so precious & I hope farther down the road we will get a novel about him!)
I just really adore Oseman's character's and the topics that are discussed in an honest way, any generation can get something out of these stories!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Mental illness
Moderate: Homophobia, Self harm
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is a sweet Heartstopper novella set after volume 4 on Christmas Day - we see the point of view of Tori, Charlie, and Oliver of how the day is going.
Charlie has recently been at an eating disorder facility and the primary focus of this book is to show some of the difficulties of him navigating this family-focused holiday when everything is not quite as normal.
This is a sweet slice of life book which is tiding me over until I get my hands on Heartstopper Volume 5 from my library.
Charlie has recently been at an eating disorder facility and the primary focus of this book is to show some of the difficulties of him navigating this family-focused holiday when everything is not quite as normal.
This is a sweet slice of life book which is tiding me over until I get my hands on Heartstopper Volume 5 from my library.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder, Self harm
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
No surprise that I loved this book! I absolutely ADORE the Heartstopper series and the show so any more Nick and Charlie content I can get I'm all here for. I love how we got all the siblings' perspectives in this one especially Oliver's; he's literally the cutest! Again, I absolutely adore Nick and Charlie's relationship and how healthy it is, and how they're always there for each other no matter what. I also admire how taboo mental health can be/still is through Charlie's interactions with his immediate and extended family. It tackles the people who are trying to be sincere but fail, the people who are just plain ignorant, and the people trying to help, but don't know how. I love the dynamic between Charlie's siblings and how patient Tori is with Charlie, it really pays to have siblings like that. I don't know if they tackled it in the other books and I just missed it but I hope we find out why Tori is the way she is. She seems so sad and I can't begin to fathom why. Maybe she's in other Alice Oseman books, I don't know. I haven't read all of them, but I'll most definitely be going through her backlist. I just adore her books so much!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Mental illness
Moderate: Biphobia, Homophobia