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kirsten_marie 's review for:
Solitaire
by Alice Oseman
In Solitaire Alice Oseman explores the mind of a troubled teenage girl Tori Spring, a character known from the Heartstopper universe.
First of all, I need to say that this book is an impressive debut coming from such a young person. That being said, I found the writing reflected their young age in the way that it felt immature and even awkward from time to time. I also kept finding myself zoning out and finding it very hard to motivate myself to keep reading through the main part. There were no spurts of excitement for me until the ending chapters, despite some fairly dramatic scenes. I am not sure how critical a point I am gonna make of the story being kinda grey, numb, and sometimes boring because it can reflect the emotional life of the depressed Tori. How aware Oseman was of this when writing I do not know, but I know that it is a risky game to play because there is the possibility of not getting one's point across because too many readers didn't manage to keep themselves reading until the end.
On the more positive side, it did have some good aspects of relatableness to a few of the many thoughts of the protagonist, as well as interesting notes on mental illness and the school system from a modern teenager's pov. I also enjoyed the sub-plot mystery of the solitaire blog terrorizing the school.
This book was the beginning of, and a darker side to the Heartstopper universe (which I have become quite fond of). A young Alice Oseman did write a brave story about a teenager when being only a teenager themselves. And as a way into an aspiring writing career, this story was truly not all that bad. I intend to read more of their works and follow them in their future projects.
Patience kills
It's funny because it's true...
First of all, I need to say that this book is an impressive debut coming from such a young person. That being said, I found the writing reflected their young age in the way that it felt immature and even awkward from time to time. I also kept finding myself zoning out and finding it very hard to motivate myself to keep reading through the main part. There were no spurts of excitement for me until the ending chapters, despite some fairly dramatic scenes. I am not sure how critical a point I am gonna make of the story being kinda grey, numb, and sometimes boring because it can reflect the emotional life of the depressed Tori. How aware Oseman was of this when writing I do not know, but I know that it is a risky game to play because there is the possibility of not getting one's point across because too many readers didn't manage to keep themselves reading until the end.
On the more positive side, it did have some good aspects of relatableness to a few of the many thoughts of the protagonist, as well as interesting notes on mental illness and the school system from a modern teenager's pov. I also enjoyed the sub-plot mystery of the solitaire blog terrorizing the school.
This book was the beginning of, and a darker side to the Heartstopper universe (which I have become quite fond of). A young Alice Oseman did write a brave story about a teenager when being only a teenager themselves. And as a way into an aspiring writing career, this story was truly not all that bad. I intend to read more of their works and follow them in their future projects.
Patience kills
It's funny because it's true...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury