Last week, Netflix released their newest show Heartstopper, a queer teen romcom based on the graphic novels by Alice Oseman. And the show has taken the world by storm since. From the rare 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating, high Metacritic and iMDB ratings and the constant talk and flood of tweets from the comic-readers to show-watchers, the Heartstopper hype will not be stopping anytime soon.
And while the show is the perfect queer escapism everyone needed, the graphic novels, which served as the basis of the series, have long been a solace for the LGBTQIA+ community. Published in 2016 as a web comic, Oseman's story of these two teenage boys, Nick and Charlie, meeting and being friends and finding romance somewhere along the way was later adapted to physical-copy volumes from 2018 to 2021, with the last and final volume expected to be released this year.
As a preparation for the series, at the start of the month, I did read all the Heartstopper novels, consuming two volumes in a day. It's honestly one of the best decisions I've made. And to create traffic and ride on the clout the show has been getting (honest much?) (I'm mostly kidding; but it's because I do love these novels!) I've decided to consolidate my reviews of Volumes One through Four in one blog post. And anyway, it's been a really long while since I've posted something in here. So here it is!
Beware: spoilers will be everywhere!
Heartstopper Vol. 1 (Chapter One: “Meet” & Chapter Two: “Crush”)
Plot Summary
Charlie, a highly-strung, openly gay over-thinker, and Nick, a cheerful, soft-hearted rugby player, meet at a British all-boys grammar school. Friendship blooms quickly, but could there be something more...?
Charlie Spring is in Year 10 at Truham Grammar School for Boys. The past year hasn't been too great, but at least he's not being bullied anymore. Nick Nelson is in Year 11 and on the school rugby team. He's heard a little about Charlie - the kid who was outed last year and bullied for a few months - but he's never had the opportunity to talk to him.
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 sometimes good things are waiting just around the corner...
Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5⭐
Review
Just like with every story, Heartstopper began with a change. A letter was shown at the very beginning telling every student of Truham Grammar School for Boys that a new vertical form group was being introduced that year. For Charlie Spring, that simple, small change would signal a much greater development in his life. And to Nick Nelson's too, who was as typical as English boys can be. He was a straight, easy-going, rugby-playing lad who became Charlie's seatmate. After which became a friend.
Oseman tried not to settle on the common formula of a (queer) young adult romcom story and its characters. Charlie, as sullen and shy as he can be, was considered popular among the school. And although he was bullied overtly, his openness to being gay was a matter of public information (for which he still experienced a more covert, yet much more sinister form of intimidation). And he played rugby. At one point, the actual breaking off from the stereotype became on the nose when Nick defended Charlie's inclusion to the rugby team (“Mate, I don't actually think being gay makes you bad at sports”). This conscious choice to not make Nick and Charlie as formulaic as possible made their characters more realistic, despite some of their dialogues being a bit stilted and unnatural. But the story was still a familiar one, though drawn with a newer stroke. And Oseman's sketch mirrored the overall lightheartedness of the story. A lot of irregularly shaped panels made the whole thing more fun to read.
Although the general feel for the whole comic was lighthearted, Oseman touched on serious and heavy themes like consent and sexual assault, sexuality, and bullying. And these were all included well, neither trivializing nor romanticizing anything. And this indicated that although she intended to make Nick and Charlie's tale as lovable and charming as possible, real-life issues of the world they lived in (and ours, for that matter) would play a part on their story, just as these play a part on our real lives.
In the end, this meet-cute between these two boys was adorable. Nick and Charlie could be considered as polar opposites, but their interests merged as they met in the middle. And through this clash, this movement, this change, events of great emotional confusion and chaos happened. At 14 and 16, this could be overwhelming and our tendency to unintentionally hurt other people's feelings were at their most frequent during this time. And that's exactly what happened at the end of this volume. It's a nice cliffhanger for a very nice, sweet, and cute introductory volume.
Heartstopper Vol. 2 (Chapter Three: “Kiss”)
Plot Summary
Nick and Charlie are best friends. Nick knows Charlie's gay, and Charlie is sure that Nick isn't.
But love works in surprising ways, and Nick is discovering all kinds of things about his friends, his family ... and himself.
Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5⭐
Review
Volume 2 opened with the aftermath of what happened at the end of Volume 1. Nick and Charlie kissed and Nick ran away. But this seemingly tragic introduction made way to a better storyline for these two boys, with a much more confident Oseman holding the writing pen.
Volume 1 was messy, emotion-wise, but also as a whole. But with Volume 2 focused on Nick and Charlie's struggle as a new couple who were keeping it secret for now, the narrative became sharper and keener, and as a result, the emotions became more potent, as well.
I really enjoyed the inclusion of Nick's struggling with his sexuality and Charlie's utmost support of him during this. The story was beautifully paced this time. It began with a heartbreaking aftermath and it ended with a heartwarming moment.
I got to learn more about Nick's and Charlie's characters and how, in just a span of months, they've grown as individuals and as a unit, as a couple. This was a Nick-centric volume and I'm not really mad about it. Nick is easily one of the most lovable guys in fiction.
Heartstopper Vol. 3 (Chapter Four: “Out”)
Plot Summary
In this volume we’ll see the Heartstopper gang go on a school trip to Paris! Not only are Nick and Charlie navigating a new city, but also telling more people about their relationship AND learning more about the challenges each other are facing in private…
Meanwhile Tao and Elle will face their feelings for each other, Tara and Darcy share more about their relationship origin story, and the teachers supervising the trip seem… rather close…?
Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5⭐
Review
Trigger warnings for this Volume: Self-harming and eating disorder.
In Paris, the City of Love, everyone in Alice Oseman's Heartstopper universe is feeling the romance.
The boys were still dealing with how and when and should Nick come out as bisexual and as Charlie's boyfriend. That and with the exams, everyone was stressed, but not as much as Charlie was, who found himself as the main focus for this Volume.
This Volume should've come up with a trigger warning because Charlie's confession to Nick on how he was utterly affected by last year's bullying to the point of self-harm was unannounced and came as a shock. That and Charlie manifesting symptoms of eating disorder which gave us that incredibly heartbreaking last panels.
However, it should be commended that Oseman didn't shy away on the reality of these disorders. I liked it so much when after confessing, Charlie told Nick that he would never accept him being treated as something fragile just because he had harmed himself before. Aside from that, a lot of issues on LGBTQIA+ individuals and relationships were discussed in this Volume and these were all written in the story cohesively and smartly.
One of the things I did enjoy was the inclusion of not having young gay teenage moments for someone who had come out late in their lives and the assurance that the whole gay, romantic experiences are not only applicable to the youngs. It reminded me of that thinkpiece of how gay men experience a second, more real puberty after coming out, for most of them—most of us—have been robbed of an actual and safe and honest self-exploration that usually happen during this period, because self-preservation became the much more urgent matter at hand.
Another topic I enjoyed, which was actually the main conflict for this volume, was the fact that coming out is never a one-time thing; instead, as queer people, we constantly have to come out—first, to ourselves; then to our closest friends; and then to our other friends; and then to our families; and then to most people. Not saying that coming out really is a requirement, but it is a conscious choice and decision. And books and films do tend to paint coming out moment as this one-time big-time event, but it's also about the smaller things like telling our a handful of friends, or accepting it ourselves.
This is indeed the most serious and the best volume yet. But it's also still funny and lighthearted and sweet and romantic. They went to Paris and a lot of these kids (and adults) were feeling the love in the air! In the end, Oseman's story of these two queer boys exploring love and themselves together is essential.
Heartstopper Vol. 4 (Chapter Five: “Love” & Chapter Six: “Journey”)
Plot Summary
Charlie didn't think Nick could ever like him back, but now they're officially boyfriends. Charlie's beginning to feel ready to say those three little words: I love you.
Nick's been feeling the same, but he's got a lot on his mind - not least coming out to his dad, and the fact that Charlie might have an eating disorder.
As summer turns to autumn and a new school year begins, Charlie and Nick are about to learn a lot about what love means.
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.
Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5⭐
Review
Love can be a lot of things, but sometimes, it cannot be the thing that we needed the most, like a cure or a protection or a spell to stop the hardships of the world. Nick sadly discovered this when he tried so hard to cure and aid Charlie of his struggles, but failed to do so. Not because he's inadequate, but because some other people are more fit for the job.
I know I've said this about Volume 3, but this volume is the best one yet by a mile. Focusing on Charlie's struggle with his mental health, Oseman poignantly and beautifully continued the story of these two lovable boys as they went through such a hard time in their lives. For real love is more than just its sweet romance. This could have been just a great, ideal fantasy for queer readers where there is only rainbows and sunshines. But Oseman grounded Charlie and Nick and their love for each other in real world, where mental health disorders exist, along with shitty siblings and parents and friends.
I like the approach Oseman did for this volume, especially for the latter chapter, where it is written through a journal kept by the two boys. It felt much more personal and intimate to actually hear their thoughts about the other and about their hardships lately. And it made their love more affecting. I cried multiple times reading this. It's really that good.
Charlie and Nick's story will end in the last volume that will come out this year. I love what Oseman gave us, this brilliant book of love and coming of age. I'm sad and excited to see how it will conclude.
I think the last chapters, Seven and Eight, are already available online, but my Virgo ass can't be bothered. I'll wait for the Hodder & Hodder physical copy of Volume 5. And until then, I'll reread the books, rewatch the show, relive the magic, and fall in love with Nick and Charlie, Tao and Elle, Tara and Darcy, Tori and Ben, Mr. Ajayi and Mr. Farouk all over again.
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