A review by samugranjo
Solitaire by Alice Oseman

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Teenage me would have loved this book. I still enjoyed it a lot. Its weak part is mostly the ending, and the writing is not a masterpiece. But the characters feel real and raw and incredibly lovable amidst their flaws.

Now, in honour of Tori's blog fever I am gonna finish this review with some emotionally vunerability.
I am going through a depressive episode and it was nice to have something that meant enough for me to go around a bookstore looking for the physical copy, while not stopping the audiobook because I just had to know what happened next. I see myself in Michael in a way younger me would not, and relate to Charlie in ways my younger self was not ready to admit.
Also, the relationship between Michael and Tori was something I wish I had read at a younger age, when I lacked the vocabulary to understand why no matter how many people i dated nothing clicked. I can't take back the choices made along the way trying to yield the assexual feelings away, but I can appreciate how far I have come.
I don't think my mental health will ever stop being something I struggle with, but I also know that things are constantly changing. Just as the bad times keep coming back, so do the goods, and sometimes all you can do is reach out to a friend and just exist. Without any pressures to be happy but also without forgetting that you won't fight depression away from standing in the same place.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings