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A review by readerette
Solitaire by Alice Oseman
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Well written, and some genuinely funny and sweet moments. While the characters came to life decently, they ended up feeling too much like teenage tropes to me, particularly Tori.
I'm not sure I would suggest that someone going through depression/suicidal tendencies read this book because Tori has shockingly few resources and hardly anyone looking out for her, which is not exactly realistic, nor would it be encouraging to someone in a dark place.
I also wouldn't recommend it to someone currently successfully managing their depression or who had never experienced it. It paints a bleak picture of the common stereotypes of both teenagers and people with depression, where characters' internal processes vacillate between selfishness, sheer nothingness, and melodrama. I do not enjoy stories that reinforce stereotypes.
I wish this book had been more about Tori and Charlie and how they figured things out together. There were some moments of this, and those moments represented most of the high points of the story.
I could also really have done without the Solitaire pranks and blog, which were quite over-the-top and transparent, and served no purpose in the plot or character development. Also, though the book is advertised as Michael and Tori figuring out the Solitaire mystery together, this particular aspect of their partnership hardly comes up except in the last few chapters.
There's character overlap with Heartstoppers, but Tori (thankfully) gets retconned in that series to be a much more well-rounded, believable, and relatable version of what's in this book. This book did not add anything I needed or wanted to the Heartstoppers universe, which deals with mental health challenges and coming of age far more realistically and touchingly than Solitaire.
I'm not sure I would suggest that someone going through depression/suicidal tendencies read this book because Tori has shockingly few resources and hardly anyone looking out for her, which is not exactly realistic, nor would it be encouraging to someone in a dark place.
I also wouldn't recommend it to someone currently successfully managing their depression or who had never experienced it. It paints a bleak picture of the common stereotypes of both teenagers and people with depression, where characters' internal processes vacillate between selfishness, sheer nothingness, and melodrama. I do not enjoy stories that reinforce stereotypes.
I wish this book had been more about Tori and Charlie and how they figured things out together. There were some moments of this, and those moments represented most of the high points of the story.
I could also really have done without the Solitaire pranks and blog, which were quite over-the-top and transparent, and served no purpose in the plot or character development. Also, though the book is advertised as Michael and Tori figuring out the Solitaire mystery together, this particular aspect of their partnership hardly comes up except in the last few chapters.
There's character overlap with Heartstoppers, but Tori (thankfully) gets retconned in that series to be a much more well-rounded, believable, and relatable version of what's in this book. This book did not add anything I needed or wanted to the Heartstoppers universe, which deals with mental health challenges and coming of age far more realistically and touchingly than Solitaire.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship