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greatexpectations77's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I can't remember the last time that I read a book that made me want to kick my little feeties in the air with how tickled I was. Being pretty new to graphic novels/comics, when I read Rainbow Rowell's blurb on the book cover that said that it was "beautifully paced," I wondered what that could mean, since wasn't it up to me how fast I went through the illustrations? But I GET IT NOW. There's such beautiful tension in this art that summons SO clearly that terrible, amazing, gnawing, glorious stress of having a really significant crush. It's an incredible will-they-won't-they, and I put a hold on the next book right after finishing this. The ending kept me up for like an hour afterwards because I was SO excited and then SO heartbroken and dang it, Alice Osman, you really did stop my heart. What gorgeous handwriting. What beautiful leaves. A masterclass in learning the rules before you break them. I think I might have to buy these???
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying and Homophobia
Minor: Infidelity and Grief
david_slack110507's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was my first graphic novel and I actually really liked it and its formatting which was something I was not expecting and I also have watched the first two seasons of the show that is based off of these books, which I also really enjoyed and feel affected the ways in which I see this book, both good and bad.
I really enjoyed the core story here of Nick and Charlie's blossoming romance and Nick beginning his quest of self-discovery and understanding, particularly towards the end of the novel. I found their 'friendship' to be really well written, heartwarming, and including elements of suspending your disbelief as well as managing to be somewhat realistic at the same time. I really liked their characterisations and even in this short novel, they went through development and had clear characters by the end of it. I will say that besides from Nick and Charlie, this was not true of any other characters sadly as any other characters introduced doesn't really get any time to be developed as it's solely focused on Nick and Charlie which is where my watching of the show may have steered me into a direction of bad expectations for this book.
Going in having watched the show, in particular season 1, I assumed that volume 1 would be covering most if not all of season 1's content but it turns out to only be about 3 or 4 episodes worth which leaves it on a cliffhanger that, while I know the resolution of, still took me by surprise. The second thing of note is that season 1 has a much more expanded view of the world of Heartstopper than volume 1 does, with season one featuring Elle and Issac who are not in the book (at least to my knowledge with Elle as I don't recall her being mentioned or seen briefly), Tara and Darcy having a much more in-depth and detailed story as well as being much bigger and developed characters, as well as Tao actually being Charlie's best friend and having much more screentime and character to him. I hope that this is rectified in volume 2 as those were some of my favourite aspects of the show, getting to see beyond just the central romance and seeing all these other stories unfolding at the same time.
However, I do feel like watching the show helped as well as it made me much more excited for the rest of the series and seeing where it goes as I do feel like I will at the very least read volume 2 to end off the current chapter of the story and then go from there but overall, while my enjoyment of the book was hindered slightly by having expectations that the books would be exactly the same as the show, I did really have a fun time reading this as it was different from what I normally read both in formatting and in genre and it was successful in both of those differences. I'm interested in seeing where the next books go and if there will be many differences to the adapted material/the show.
I really enjoyed the core story here of Nick and Charlie's blossoming romance and Nick beginning his quest of self-discovery and understanding, particularly towards the end of the novel. I found their 'friendship' to be really well written, heartwarming, and including elements of suspending your disbelief as well as managing to be somewhat realistic at the same time. I really liked their characterisations and even in this short novel, they went through development and had clear characters by the end of it. I will say that besides from Nick and Charlie, this was not true of any other characters sadly as any other characters introduced doesn't really get any time to be developed as it's solely focused on Nick and Charlie which is where my watching of the show may have steered me into a direction of bad expectations for this book.
Going in having watched the show, in particular season 1, I assumed that volume 1 would be covering most if not all of season 1's content but it turns out to only be about 3 or 4 episodes worth which leaves it on a cliffhanger that, while I know the resolution of, still took me by surprise. The second thing of note is that season 1 has a much more expanded view of the world of Heartstopper than volume 1 does, with season one featuring Elle and Issac who are not in the book (at least to my knowledge with Elle as I don't recall her being mentioned or seen briefly), Tara and Darcy having a much more in-depth and detailed story as well as being much bigger and developed characters, as well as Tao actually being Charlie's best friend and having much more screentime and character to him. I hope that this is rectified in volume 2 as those were some of my favourite aspects of the show, getting to see beyond just the central romance and seeing all these other stories unfolding at the same time.
However, I do feel like watching the show helped as well as it made me much more excited for the rest of the series and seeing where it goes as I do feel like I will at the very least read volume 2 to end off the current chapter of the story and then go from there but overall, while my enjoyment of the book was hindered slightly by having expectations that the books would be exactly the same as the show, I did really have a fun time reading this as it was different from what I normally read both in formatting and in genre and it was successful in both of those differences. I'm interested in seeing where the next books go and if there will be many differences to the adapted material/the show.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Outing, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Biphobia, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Misogyny, Grief, and Gaslighting
bailey_bean's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I absolutely love the style of the characters. Alice Oseman designed them perfectly. The book is pretty emotional, but not in a bad way. The next books are really funny, and I recommend this series to everyone. Especially since the 5th book came out 4 days ago 😂 Anyways thanks for reading my review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, and Outing
Minor: Bullying and Grief
mills_g's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The most adorable lgbt book i’ve ever read, i loved it will all my heart and i hope you love nick and charlie as much as i did :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment