A review by pkc
Solitaire by Alice Oseman

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Yet another Oseman finished and honestly, she does not disappoint! The resemblance to ‘Catcher in the Rye’ is inescapable, BUT, I would say this has more of ‘Heathers’ than Holden Caulfield. I had a lot of love for the cast of characters (many from Heartstopper) and how their story is examined and expanded upon in this much darker narrative. Tori is such an elegantly executed protagonist. I find performative cynicism so dull most of the time, but Tori has a raison d’etre for her attitude and light is carefully shone on it with enough time taken to let it develop. I can’t wait to read my next Alice Oseman novel. I had one irk about the plot, but it wasn’t enough to detract from my overall feelings about the book, so I shall spoiler tag it below.

I was SO BOTHERED that Becky appeared to stay with Ben and I don’t necessarily think that Tori was wrong in being pissed off, considering that she witnessed Ben’s attack on Charlie. Internalised homophobia is probably a decent thing to look at exploring, so I’d like to maybe see that in the future using these characters. I suppose there wasn’t enough space here or it didn’t fit, but anyway. TL:DR Becky was a bad friend for going back to Ben.
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