Volume One (Heartstopper, #1)

by Alice Oseman

Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love. An LGBTQ+ graphic novel about life, love, and everything that happens in between - for fans of The Art of Being Normal, Holly Bourne and Love, Simon.

Charlie and Nick are at the same school, but they've never met ... until one day when they're made to sit together. They quickly become friends, and soon Charlie is falling hard for Nick, even though he doesn't think he has a chance.

But love works in surprising ways, and Nick is more interested in Charlie than either of them realised.

Heartstopper is about love, friendship, loyalty and mental illness. It encompasses all the small stories of Nick and Charlie's lives that together make up something larger, which speaks to all of us.

'The queer graphic novel we wished we had at high school.' Gay Times

• ISBN13: 9781527225336
• Publish Date: 1 October 2018
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 10 April 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Alice Oseman
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 288
• Language: English

Reviews

[booksandcats]

cutest thing I have read in a looooooong time. amazing. 3

[Quirky Cat]

Book Summary:

Charlie Spring is in Year 10 and one of the only guys in his school to come out as gay. That puts a lot of pressure on such a young soul. He survived the bullying, but now he has a different problem – he wants to walk from a "relationship" that isn't healthy for him.

Meeting Nick gave him the courage to walk away. But Nick has done more than that, quickly becoming Charlie's new best friend. Is there a chance that this could be more than friendship? Charlie can only hope.

My Review:

Oh, my goodness. Heartstopper Vol. 1 is such a sweet and endearing story, guys; I'm in love. So are our two leads (I hope!). I'll admit that I had no idea this series had been adapted into a Netflix show until after I read volume one. That said, I think I will finish reading the series before checking it out – just in case there are spoilers.

The romance between Charlie and Nick is incredibly gentle – much like Nick (unless you're threatening somebody he cares about). It's the sort of romance most people dream of, full of dedication and slow-burn.

I was initially hesitant to read Heartstopper Vol. 1 because of the rugby subplot. Sports aren't my thing, and I was worried I couldn't follow along. That said, I had zero issues! It doesn't delve too much into rugby or require readers to have an extensive knowledge of the sport. So don't let that stop you from checking out this lovely read.

Highlights:
LGBT
M/M Romance
Endearing
Adapted into a Netflix show

Trigger Warnings:
Homophobia
Assault/Bullying

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[chrssym]

Oh my little heart

[Sam@WLABB]

I had to find out why everyone was gushing about this graphic novel, and I have to agree, it was so sweet and adorable. I was rather impressed with how much emotion Oseman was able to make me feel , and I look forward to continuing this story.

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[celinenyx]

Really wanted to like this more than I did. It was cute, but the characterization was so thin that I didn't feel invested in their romance. Charlie is good at running and plays the drums and has anxiety, but Nick is extremely flat. All I know is that he plays rugby and likes his dog? This could have been established in 2 pages, not a full volume. Nor does the book pass a reverse Bechdell test (nor an actual one for that matter) - every "friend" of Charlie is just there to talk to him about Nick. There are sweet scenes of hanging out and hand holding, which is lovely, but compared to the other queer graphic novels I've been reading lately, Heartstopper falls short. I thought it was a huge missed opportunity that the family members only appear in a background sort of way; having genuine non-romance related interactions with them would have helped flesh out the characters beyond their stereotypes.

This book probably works better for people who grew up with a US/UK education system, as it'll be more familiar to them.

[kiracanread]

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee All the feels, all the stars.

[alindstadtcorbeax]

5 Stars f*cking brilliant!
I LOVED THIS SO MUCH IT HURTS OMG OMG OMG abt to start #2 RTC!

[moraa]

Utterly loved this. It was sweet and fluffy and everything I needed to read tonight. Beautiful.

[leahrosereads]

OMG, this was just the cutest freaking story! I loved Charlie and Nick and just honestly everything about this. It was the perfect end of Summer read with just the most sweetest love story I think I've read this year so far.

[bookperson]

I love them 😍😍😍