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A review by the_chaotic_witch
Solitaire by Alice Oseman
4.0
*SPOILER-FREE*
trigger warnings: discussions of a suicide attempt, eating disorder, suicidal ideation, self-harm, depression, brief mentions of OCD behaviours, brief incidents of homophobia (https://www.aliceoseman.com/content-warnings)
This is a 2014 ya contemporary novel about a girl who is incredibly unhappy. And about two boys transferring schools only to find this girl they once knew. When then a series of questionable pranks happen at their school these three must rethink what they believed to be true and try to escape the bottomless pit that life can be.
I devoured this book in two days and have thought about it almost every day since. Not only was I completely taken in by the characters, related a lot to Tori and Michael and was totally enthralled with the writing style (best experienced via audiobook for me) but there is some very interesting and important mental illness representation in this book.
But first, let's discuss the characters! There are about two Main characters and four to six main characters. We have got Tori Spring through who's eyes we experience the story and who we gradually see getting more and more hollow and sad and numb and then there is Michael Holden dorky little best-friend archetype who we discover does have his own life and own passions and who is very much our sunshine casting his own shadow. These two lead us through the story, showing us that caring and opening up to people can be hard but is important for oneself and needed within society. Michael is just this idea of a hyper-boy trying to cheer you up at all costs and while being easily overdone in this story it just felt incredibly wholesome!
Also present are Lucas Ryan, an old actual-childhood-friend of Tori whom we expect to help her out of her terribly lonely mindset but who only seems to make things worse, and Becky Allen best friend and maybe-toxic connection surprising us multiple times by what she does and there are hardly any good surprises.
Lastly, we've got two characters who are rather important in this narrative who have by now gotten their own story: Nick and Charlie (from the Heartstopper webcomic and graphic novel bind-ups). Charlie is Tori's younger brother struggling with mental illness and Nick Nelson is Charlie's boyfriend and I love these two with all of my heart.
Besides these rather important characters, there are multiple representations of people who we might or might never want to encounter in real life. Difficult parents, homophobia, violence and much more.
The message this story is spreading is so very deeply heart-felt and then again this book isn't about its message. It's about the story. Yes, you can and should take something away from this but it is also about experiencing. Falling for the immaculate characters, worrying for them and (in my case) sinking with Tori into the bottomless pit is something that needs to be spread and read.
Next to the wonderful story-telling and incredibly lovably characters, this book is filled with hilariously wholesome pop-culture references and exploration of youth-culture and the insight into the difficult situations this generation faces that is lacking in many other contemporary books coming out over the past few years.
trigger warnings: discussions of a suicide attempt, eating disorder, suicidal ideation, self-harm, depression, brief mentions of OCD behaviours, brief incidents of homophobia (https://www.aliceoseman.com/content-warnings)
This is a 2014 ya contemporary novel about a girl who is incredibly unhappy. And about two boys transferring schools only to find this girl they once knew. When then a series of questionable pranks happen at their school these three must rethink what they believed to be true and try to escape the bottomless pit that life can be.
I devoured this book in two days and have thought about it almost every day since. Not only was I completely taken in by the characters, related a lot to Tori and Michael and was totally enthralled with the writing style (best experienced via audiobook for me) but there is some very interesting and important mental illness representation in this book.
But first, let's discuss the characters! There are about two Main characters and four to six main characters. We have got Tori Spring through who's eyes we experience the story and who we gradually see getting more and more hollow and sad and numb and then there is Michael Holden dorky little best-friend archetype who we discover does have his own life and own passions and who is very much our sunshine casting his own shadow. These two lead us through the story, showing us that caring and opening up to people can be hard but is important for oneself and needed within society. Michael is just this idea of a hyper-boy trying to cheer you up at all costs and while being easily overdone in this story it just felt incredibly wholesome!
Also present are Lucas Ryan, an old actual-childhood-friend of Tori whom we expect to help her out of her terribly lonely mindset but who only seems to make things worse, and Becky Allen best friend and maybe-toxic connection surprising us multiple times by what she does and there are hardly any good surprises.
Lastly, we've got two characters who are rather important in this narrative who have by now gotten their own story: Nick and Charlie (from the Heartstopper webcomic and graphic novel bind-ups). Charlie is Tori's younger brother struggling with mental illness and Nick Nelson is Charlie's boyfriend and I love these two with all of my heart.
Besides these rather important characters, there are multiple representations of people who we might or might never want to encounter in real life. Difficult parents, homophobia, violence and much more.
The message this story is spreading is so very deeply heart-felt and then again this book isn't about its message. It's about the story. Yes, you can and should take something away from this but it is also about experiencing. Falling for the immaculate characters, worrying for them and (in my case) sinking with Tori into the bottomless pit is something that needs to be spread and read.
Next to the wonderful story-telling and incredibly lovably characters, this book is filled with hilariously wholesome pop-culture references and exploration of youth-culture and the insight into the difficult situations this generation faces that is lacking in many other contemporary books coming out over the past few years.