1) Solitaire ★★★½
*) Heartstopper: Volume One ★★★★★
*) Heartstopper: Volume Two ★★★★★
*) Heartstopper: Volume Three ★★★★★

content warnings: underage drinking, mentions of homophobia and disordered eating
representation: gay main character with anorexia, bisexual main character, main m/m relationship, side demisexual character, side Asian character

“I have been going out with Nick Nelson since I was fourteen. He likes rugby and Formula 1, animals (especially dogs), the Marvel universe, the sound felt-tips make on paper, rain, drawing on shoes, Disneyland and minimalism. He also likes me.”

I love my children so much :') This is a novella that takes place after Heartstopper and Solitaire that follows Nick and Charlie as they deal with Nick going to uni while Charlie has another year of high school.

Alice Oseman excels at writing dumb teens, and this is no exception. There are so many moments when I want to shake these boys and demand that they use their brains for five seconds (I say as a nineteen year old). But that's what makes Oseman's writing of young people feel so authentic because guess what: teenagers are stupid. We are. We couldn't make a logical choice to save our life, especially when it comes to personal stuff. So even if Nick and Charlie frustrated me, I can't fault the book for that; if anything, it's something worthy of high praise!

I was a little disappointed at the lack of Elle, Darcy and Tara, but it's understandable because they didn't really exist when the novella was originally published and retroactively including them probably would have felt clunky. But we still got Tao, Aled and Nellie, so you win some you lose some.

If you love Solitaire and/or Heartstopper (or even if you just love their characters) then you're sure to like this. It's cute and heartwarming and has great art!