Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.47 AVERAGE
4.47 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-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
emotional
funny
hopeful
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:
No
Ok I'm all caught up - impossible to get to the very end of Heartstopper yet as it's not yet out. But I will be moving on to finally read the Nick and Charlie novella because I'm on my "read the things in order" quest and I'm not waiting until end of 2025 to continue.
If we're going to get into discourse about "it's weird for female readers/viewers to enjoy boys falling in love" like sure, it's a bit awkward sometimes to read about teenagers well in my 30s but it's not weirder because of their gender or sexuality. It's not weird to be like "awww this would have been nice to have had when I was a teen". There's plenty of stuff in here that is not weird. We don't need to shame people for liking a story. I am fully prepared to be laughed at just because I found the whole "visiting Leeds on an open day" the most relatable part. Googling how far away it is because I would miss my friends and my boyfriend at the time.
We watched Sex Education well in our 30s as well and I feel similar about the Heartstopper series tbh: it's much needed representation and if it wasn't around when I was 15 then I'm going to enjoy it at 35 - bye. Long review under the spoiler, tl;dr if you've read 1-4 then nothing should surprise you, don't read this when you're 12, I LIKED WHEN I SAW LEEDS UNI DRAWN IN A TINY PICTURE
I read a 1 star review that was by a parent who was like "whahhh my 12 year old wants to read it but I don't want her to because MENTAL ILLNESS whahh SEX whahhh" so there's your content warnings, don't read this if you're 12.
THAT SAID - the mental illness topics didn't come out of nowhere though? They've always been part of Heartstopper so if you've read Volumes 1 to 4 it's not going to shock you. Also Oseman really goes out of the way to make nothing explicit so eh. It's just mentioned but not sensationalised.
Apparently Oseman said from the beginning that HS was always meant to be lighthearted and wholesome and there would never be really explicit things (so that lumps self-harm and disordered eating together with "hanky panky"). I think this was because Solitaire was pretty dark and a bit more descriptive on the si/sh + ed topic (and by extension, This Winter, but it's so short it doesn't even have time to really get into it AND the most explicit things have been scrubbed in the 2020 version anyway. There's no mention of even the words "razor blades" for example in This Winter anymore, just "the self-harm got real bad"). I think maybe Oseman realised Tori was a v v v depressed teenager and seeing things in a very specific way, and that the story of Charlie & Nick didn't need all that angst *all the time* so made that promise to self to keep it wholesome. Not skipping over things, but also not going into the gory detail. Which I think is fine. It's often really well done, the mental health topics are discussed and dealt with, but not sensationalised or particularly triggering. I appreciate reading things from the perspectives of outsiders, them also struggling with how to help a loved one.
Buuuuuttttt (heh) with regards to the sexy times it's kind of like Oseman pulled a turn and was like "well, it has to come up in a teenage love story, right?" and trust me it's NOWHERE NEAR super scandalous that this 1* reviewer wants people to believe. We don't see ANYTHING, everything is implied, everyone calm downnnnn.
Here's a thought though: it's basically the entire plotline for the comic ("omd Nick and Charlie want to do IT", HOW will they do it, WHEN can they do it, ARGHGH HORMONES) and if that's not your thing I can see how that is off-putting. I think it's pretty realistic though, because higher year teenagers in school will exactly have those conversations and feelings and anxieties so it's nice to touch on that from the queer perspective. Sex education is woefully inadequate and that's a very current theme. I was told Oseman got into a little bit of controversy after saying some things in 2017. So my wild speculation is that since then there's been some sort of attempt at trying to rectify past beliefs about being "better than other teenage love stories" and trying to be more inclusive and at the same time still wanting to keep it "wholesome". So maybe it got a little bit more attention than would have been necessary? (Overcorrection, so to speak?) Meh. I didn't mind the amount of 'sexual' content at all, nor the way it was included. And yeah, sure, there's a lot of kissing but honestly all of HS has been 2-3 panels of kissing AT LEAST per page for ages so if that's something new to you then where have you been???
MY FAVOURITE PART WAS WHEN NICK AND TARA AND ELLE WENT TO LEEDS
AND THEN NICK FELL IN LOVE WITH LEEDS
IT MADE ME MISS LEEDS
IT ALSO MADE ME EXCITED TO READ/SEE MORE OF LEEDS
LEEDS
Sappy mode: I wish I could have read this as a teenager. I think it would have made me feel really nice to see a loving friendgroup of LGBTQIA+ characters, honest and open conversations.
Yeah, maybe, the topic of si would have been triggering, especially as a teenager, but on the other hand it could also have been inspiring. tbh I specifically searched for books on the topic in hopes for a bit of understanding or support, and I didn't really find it in some of the books I read (just an aversion to drugs lol) so that could have also been comforting?? who knows
I also liked when the parents were a lot more supportive in this chapter and I also liked that Charlie & Nick didn't *need* to constantly depend on each other. It's kind of funny the way Oseman has always said that they are ending up together forever, because you read their story with the expectation that everything will be fine anyway. Like nothing is super high stakes or anything. Like aww one character will be sad but two seconds later it will be fine because there will be plenty of hugs and kisses.
Now on to the rest of the 'universe' and a return to this series whenever Oseman feels better. I can't really update that on goodreads if I read as a webcomic in the time it gets uploaded so I expect another reread around 2025/2026 when this all comes to a close.
If we're going to get into discourse about "it's weird for female readers/viewers to enjoy boys falling in love" like sure, it's a bit awkward sometimes to read about teenagers well in my 30s but it's not weirder because of their gender or sexuality. It's not weird to be like "awww this would have been nice to have had when I was a teen". There's plenty of stuff in here that is not weird. We don't need to shame people for liking a story. I am fully prepared to be laughed at just because I found the whole "visiting Leeds on an open day" the most relatable part. Googling how far away it is because I would miss my friends and my boyfriend at the time.
We watched Sex Education well in our 30s as well and I feel similar about the Heartstopper series tbh: it's much needed representation and if it wasn't around when I was 15 then I'm going to enjoy it at 35 - bye. Long review under the spoiler, tl;dr if you've read 1-4 then nothing should surprise you, don't read this when you're 12, I LIKED WHEN I SAW LEEDS UNI DRAWN IN A TINY PICTURE
Spoiler
ok here's an actual review.I read a 1 star review that was by a parent who was like "whahhh my 12 year old wants to read it but I don't want her to because MENTAL ILLNESS whahh SEX whahhh" so there's your content warnings, don't read this if you're 12.
THAT SAID - the mental illness topics didn't come out of nowhere though? They've always been part of Heartstopper so if you've read Volumes 1 to 4 it's not going to shock you. Also Oseman really goes out of the way to make nothing explicit so eh. It's just mentioned but not sensationalised.
Apparently Oseman said from the beginning that HS was always meant to be lighthearted and wholesome and there would never be really explicit things (so that lumps self-harm and disordered eating together with "hanky panky"). I think this was because Solitaire was pretty dark and a bit more descriptive on the si/sh + ed topic (and by extension, This Winter, but it's so short it doesn't even have time to really get into it AND the most explicit things have been scrubbed in the 2020 version anyway. There's no mention of even the words "razor blades" for example in This Winter anymore, just "the self-harm got real bad"). I think maybe Oseman realised Tori was a v v v depressed teenager and seeing things in a very specific way, and that the story of Charlie & Nick didn't need all that angst *all the time* so made that promise to self to keep it wholesome. Not skipping over things, but also not going into the gory detail. Which I think is fine. It's often really well done, the mental health topics are discussed and dealt with, but not sensationalised or particularly triggering. I appreciate reading things from the perspectives of outsiders, them also struggling with how to help a loved one.
Buuuuuttttt (heh) with regards to the sexy times it's kind of like Oseman pulled a turn and was like "well, it has to come up in a teenage love story, right?" and trust me it's NOWHERE NEAR super scandalous that this 1* reviewer wants people to believe. We don't see ANYTHING, everything is implied, everyone calm downnnnn.
Here's a thought though: it's basically the entire plotline for the comic ("omd Nick and Charlie want to do IT", HOW will they do it, WHEN can they do it, ARGHGH HORMONES) and if that's not your thing I can see how that is off-putting. I think it's pretty realistic though, because higher year teenagers in school will exactly have those conversations and feelings and anxieties so it's nice to touch on that from the queer perspective. Sex education is woefully inadequate and that's a very current theme. I was told Oseman got into a little bit of controversy after saying some things in 2017. So my wild speculation is that since then there's been some sort of attempt at trying to rectify past beliefs about being "better than other teenage love stories" and trying to be more inclusive and at the same time still wanting to keep it "wholesome". So maybe it got a little bit more attention than would have been necessary? (Overcorrection, so to speak?) Meh. I didn't mind the amount of 'sexual' content at all, nor the way it was included. And yeah, sure, there's a lot of kissing but honestly all of HS has been 2-3 panels of kissing AT LEAST per page for ages so if that's something new to you then where have you been???
MY FAVOURITE PART WAS WHEN NICK AND TARA AND ELLE WENT TO LEEDS
AND THEN NICK FELL IN LOVE WITH LEEDS
IT MADE ME MISS LEEDS
IT ALSO MADE ME EXCITED TO READ/SEE MORE OF LEEDS
LEEDS
Sappy mode: I wish I could have read this as a teenager. I think it would have made me feel really nice to see a loving friendgroup of LGBTQIA+ characters, honest and open conversations.
Yeah, maybe, the topic of si would have been triggering, especially as a teenager, but on the other hand it could also have been inspiring. tbh I specifically searched for books on the topic in hopes for a bit of understanding or support, and I didn't really find it in some of the books I read (just an aversion to drugs lol) so that could have also been comforting?? who knows
I also liked when the parents were a lot more supportive in this chapter and I also liked that Charlie & Nick didn't *need* to constantly depend on each other. It's kind of funny the way Oseman has always said that they are ending up together forever, because you read their story with the expectation that everything will be fine anyway. Like nothing is super high stakes or anything. Like aww one character will be sad but two seconds later it will be fine because there will be plenty of hugs and kisses.
Now on to the rest of the 'universe' and a return to this series whenever Oseman feels better. I can't really update that on goodreads if I read as a webcomic in the time it gets uploaded so I expect another reread around 2025/2026 when this all comes to a close.
Es que Nick y Charlie son todo lo que está bien en la vida.
La mejor novela gráfica del mundo!!!
La mejor novela gráfica del mundo!!!
fast-paced
*squeals, kicks feet, sweats profusely* god this was so adorable and sweet and cute and amazing
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Self harm, Sexual content
I love all things Heartstopper, and TBH this one took me FOREVER to finally read.
I liked this one, but you should know it's basically about them deciding how intimate they want to be, and what uni is right for them. It's less 'fun and fluffy' and more 'real life adulting'. Nick and Charlie (and Alice) never fail though and through stunning art, compelling true to life story and an abundance of teen angst, Heartstopper Volume 5 is totally entertaining and worth a read.
I liked this one, but you should know it's basically about them deciding how intimate they want to be, and what uni is right for them. It's less 'fun and fluffy' and more 'real life adulting'. Nick and Charlie (and Alice) never fail though and through stunning art, compelling true to life story and an abundance of teen angst, Heartstopper Volume 5 is totally entertaining and worth a read.