A review by 12dejamoo
Solitaire by Alice Oseman

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I finished this three days ago and I still can't work out how I felt about it. I kind of hate to admit it, but I think I prefer Heartstopper Tori to Solitaire Tori. I thought I'd enjoy getting more about her, and to some extent I really did. Especially seeing the way she thinks about Charlie. That's probably the eldest sister in me. But then some of me was disappointed because the story I had created for her in my head wasn't this. Which is not on Alice Oseman, but worth noting.

It's difficult sometimes to read books with characters who don't seem to feel anything. And I know in this case the whole point is her apathy and her rocky mental health. But it's just frustrating to read sometimes. Her self-sabotaging also falls into this category.

I'm also really struggling to imagine reading this book having no idea of the story of Heartstopper and I can't quite, which is probably just because I do know the story and therefore fill in the blanks as needed.

There are lots of great things about this book, there really are. I think the characters were actually pretty compelling for the most part, and some of the language was really delightful to read. I like the book as an expansion of the Heartstopper universe and will absolutely be reading Oseman's other novels.
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