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A review by bianchibooks
Nick and Charlie by Alice Oseman
2.0
content warnings (from the author's website): brief mention of disordered eating behavior, mentions of previous bullying and homophobia, underage drinking, references to time spent in a psychiatric ward
this felt really... abrupt and it was uncomfortable to read at moments because of how sudden everything was as a reader, but i guess relationships are like that (especially when you are a teenager) so i can't really complain.
there were moments where the characters felt super out of character. the most egregious example of this is Spoilerduring the fight scene between nick and charlie at harry's party. i know fights bring out the worst in people, but nick dropped a few too many "fuck you's" for me to believe it was really him.
a lot of nick and charlie fans find the whole "why are we like this?" dynamic to be part of what makes their relationship special except i find it nothing besides annoying. this was present in the graphic novels, but not enough for me to mention it until now because my GOD, it is everywhere in this novella. the "not like other teenagers" vibe is absolutely killing me. stop it.
some moments i found endearing still though, Spoilerlike when charlie is going through each of the photographs from nick's disposable camera alone on the train and looking back on their relationship, but this did not have the same charm for me as the graphic novels. in my opinion, nick and charlie work better in the graphic novel format (maybe because it's more familiar??? i'm not sure why), but i applaud oseman for still attempting a novella of them as i do not think it was a failure.
the peek into the future was nice as well, and when the writing slowed down to focus on a single moment, there was beauty to be seen. overall, this was unnecessary in my opinion but i guess i can see why people enjoy it??? just kidding, i can't.
this felt really... abrupt and it was uncomfortable to read at moments because of how sudden everything was as a reader, but i guess relationships are like that (especially when you are a teenager) so i can't really complain.
there were moments where the characters felt super out of character. the most egregious example of this is Spoilerduring the fight scene between nick and charlie at harry's party. i know fights bring out the worst in people, but nick dropped a few too many "fuck you's" for me to believe it was really him.
a lot of nick and charlie fans find the whole "why are we like this?" dynamic to be part of what makes their relationship special except i find it nothing besides annoying. this was present in the graphic novels, but not enough for me to mention it until now because my GOD, it is everywhere in this novella. the "not like other teenagers" vibe is absolutely killing me. stop it.
some moments i found endearing still though, Spoilerlike when charlie is going through each of the photographs from nick's disposable camera alone on the train and looking back on their relationship, but this did not have the same charm for me as the graphic novels. in my opinion, nick and charlie work better in the graphic novel format (maybe because it's more familiar??? i'm not sure why), but i applaud oseman for still attempting a novella of them as i do not think it was a failure.
the peek into the future was nice as well, and when the writing slowed down to focus on a single moment, there was beauty to be seen. overall, this was unnecessary in my opinion but i guess i can see why people enjoy it??? just kidding, i can't.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Minor: Eating disorder