A review by ninilovesnat
Heartstopper Volume 1 by Alice Oseman

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

Heartstopper is a graphic novel divided into five volumes, originally published in 2016 on online platforms such as Tumblr, Webtoon and Tapas by Alice Oseman and then by publishers in 2019, taking place approximately eight months before the events of the novel. Solitaire”, written by the same author, recounting how Charles “Charlie' Spring and Nicholas “Nick” Nelson met. They both attend Truham Grammar School for Boys in London, England and are seatmates in one class. Little by little they begin to know each other, becoming close and very friendly, but Charlie has a crush on Nick, and he knows that he would never give him a chance since he knows that Nelson is straight... or so they both thought.
Heartstopper Volume One focuses on the beginnings of this LGBTQ+ love story, showing the ups and downs of falling in love and being attracted to another person of the same gender, in this case male-male. It also demonstrates the process of personal questioning of sexual orientation, what it is like to live in a forced relationship, love without consent, etcetera.
I really liked that this story was told as a graphic novel, making it a fairly light and quick read. I also really liked the LGBTQ+ representation of this work, not only Nick and Charlie's relationship but also the bullying, contempt and homophobia towards the community and the fact that, unfortunately, in the society we live in today many people are annoyed and/or it disgusts them to love who you want to love, be who you want to be, express yourself however you’d like to. I was very intrigued by Charlie and Nick's story and would like to start the next volume as soon as possible because I don't know how long I can go without knowing what happens next. I really liked the art and drama in Heartstopper and I congratulate the author for her great work and dedication to this novel. This book stole my heart in a very easy and fast way, bringing me a lot of happiness and tenderness. I’d read it a thousand more times knowing I’d never get bored. Since I found out about the existence of the novel, it was clear that I was going to love it and, although I had very high expectations, it did not disappoint and exceeded my expectations. As a queer person myself, I related with Charlie a lot; what it is to feel attracted to another person of your different gender and the way people treat you with hate and disgust for loving who you want to love. As I progressed through the book and read that Nick was doubting his heterosexuality, I felt quite identified with my 2017-self, who thought I could only fall in love with men or women but not both, oppressing my bisexuality for years and convincing myself that being queer is a crime, convincing myself I was straight since I didn't know anyone who felt the same way. Seeing and reading Nick and Charlie blushing to each other, made my heart explode with love into a thousand pieces. I really am very happy and content with this reading, since I've been looking for a short book with LGBTQ+ representation for a long time and I'm glad this was the first of many. I'd give it a thousand stars if I could, but I'll settle for five stars out of five and recommend it to those looking for a quick, engaging, LGBTQ+-friendly read, sweet romance, currently questioning their sexual or gender orientation, and to those who feel alone and haven’t been able to come out of the closet. Trigger warnings: abusive relationship, forced love and mentions of bullying. 

*Review writter for a school grade lolz

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