Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - Solitaire

It was really easy to dive into this, both with the simple writing style (after all, Oseman wrote this in her teens) and having prior knowledge of many (not all) of its characters from the Heartstopper comics.

One thing I guess I didn't love was how much different I found Tori. In Heartstopper, she's confident (introverted & mysterious, sure, but...) and bold enough to talk back to people & tell off, say, David. In Solitaire though, she can barely speak up to her friends, let alone the acquaintances/strangers she encounters.

I did enjoy the discussions of life, the reality of introverts in daily experiences, even the crazy anonymous hacker plotline (for the mosf part).
I LOVED Tori's battle with "Pride & Prejudice' and how she reflects on her own self & emotions through analysing it in her schooling.

I'm not too fond of the ending, with the 180 of certain personalities and lack of accountability/justice. But hey, it's a happy ending for an otherwise depressing book.

Depressing, particularly for me, because I'm an optimist - So reading a book that containe triggering content through the eyes of a pessimistic perspective wasn't always thrilling.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed it - & you HAVE to know what kind of book it is before you decide to read it - because I was ready and it was fun to revisit some Heartstopper characters.

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gucciglub30's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad 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

4.5

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drewnianykredens's review

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fast-paced

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

oh lord

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micaaaahh's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

up until the very last minute of this audiobook, i was struggling to decide how i felt about it. i love alice oseman’s work. the first book i read of hers was radio silence which i thoroughly enjoyed and rated 5 stars. and then of course i read the heartstopper graphic novels which are also 5 star reads for me.

while im still not too sure how exactly i feel about solitaire, i think the fact i this is the case means its definitely not a 5 star read for me. which is okay because i did still enjoy it! because of my fondness of heartstopper, i liked how charlie still had an important role to play in the novel in tori’s character arc. i also did love michael as a character and i think the way his and tori’s relationship was very engaging – albeit a little frustrating at times but ultimately rewarding. becky’s character did annoy me and although she kinda got a redemption (a pretty funny one at that) idk it didn’t feel like enough for the level of betrayal that took place.

the ending was buck wild tbh, but i guess the whole concept of solitaire was to begin with (it being lucas was not surprising at all though). i think the main problem for me was that tori’s character just doesn’t feel as grounded oseman’s other protagonists. sometimes the things she would say just felt so “im not like other girls” but then again this is a teenage girl so perhaps thats on purpose.

however all that being said, i do think that at the centre of this book is a story about friendship and love and being able to accept those things despite not thinking one deserves it, and that is a very beautiful and important message.

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