A review by jessyhayward
Solitaire by Alice Oseman

dark emotional hopeful reflective relaxing sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Trying too hard at this point is a waste of energy that might otherwise be spent on lovely things such as sleeping and eating and illegally downloading music.

Alice Oseman’s Solitaire is an utterly poignant, relatable, and intriguing contemporary fiction novel. Like many of you, I read Heartstopper first and loved it. This is different in that it is much more serious and tense, but still heartwarming and a well done coming-of-age story. 

It features Tori Spring — Heartstopper Charlie Spring’s older sister — and her battle with mental health as she goes about her daily life/investigates a weird school group called Solitaire. Her perspective is hilarious and depressing at the same time, which I feel is fitting for her personality. She is deeply relatable, too, despite my more romantic outlook on life. Mental illness was represented very well here, both with Tori and Charlie. I absolutely loved reading about her struggles and her connection with her brother Charlie. I also like Micheal Holden who is an intriguing and loveable character. He was important to the story but not to the point where it revolved around him, which was refreshing. Tori’s character growth is amazing in this.

 Honestly, I have no criticism. I can’t wait to read the rest of the Osemanverse books! 
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