haileylouise's Reviews (167)

I wish I read this sooner! I did think the plot twist at the end was a bit rushed but overall, I loved this book and Pippa and Ravi. This book was so fun to annotate and solve the mystery of Andie Bell and Sal Singh with Pippa while adding my own theories and suspicions. 

Fairytales retold but make it queer? Yes please! 
I loved this book so much and I love the modern twist Chant put on. It’s the perfect queer, enemies to lovers, fairytale story that I wish I had read sooner and I wish there was more!

The art style is so beautiful!!! Plus anyone who's ever been in a toxic relationship whether it be with a partner or a friend can relate to this story and it hits home a lot. I wish this book had more of a plot. It was definitely all character-driven but if I were to tell someone the plot of this book, I would definitely hesitate to say it was simply about a toxic relationship when it could've been so much more than sulking and being a bad friend. 

I've had this book on my TBR pile for a while now and I honestly did not plan on reading it this year, until the movie's announcement was in preproduction, especially with well-known actors. So I knew this book had to be good, and it was. I loved seeing Ben grow over the course of six months, especially during a time when change happens a lot in their last year of high school. Having experienced coming out, getting comfortable with my labels, and the struggles of finishing school in separate parts of my life, I can't truly imagine experiencing both without the incredible support system Ben has. I can't wait to see this book be made into a movie and experience it in different media!

This book... was definitely something. Maybe it's me coming out of reading a wholesome romance work or the expectation I had after reading Heartstopper and This Winter, but this book was not for me. I understand the perspective of mental health, especially at the age Tori is. I definitely saw the manic, the pessimism, the hatred, the overall everything sucks and nothing matters perspective. I once went through all of that myself. I think what this novel lacked in was overall pacing, and having a somewhat ridiculous plot line of teenagers pulling pranks to make their boring town interesting. The first part of the book was slow to build up the idea of what solitaire was. The second part had the same pacing up until the last fifty or so pages where it was go go go and nothing was stopping or slowing down. 
I also do appreciate the deranged connections Tori and Michael made throughout the novel. I guess because its a debut novel from years ago, this was the work that started it all right? I can appreciate that from this, we got something as great as Heartstopper. I do think that This Winter was much more better in terms of depicting Tori's perspective compared to Solitaire. I think if this was made into a different form of media like a film or even graphic novel, that would speak to a more relatable voice. I may also add that while reading, I did feel so drained or tired of Tori's pessimism. Maybe if I read this when I was her age, and was overly optimistic about life, I would even feel bad that she went through all of this. Now that I'm older and understand that yeah, life sucks sometimes, but keeping good people in your life will make it better, especially with a strong support system that doesn't contain other people who want to tear you down or understand you. 
I wish her parents played a bigger role, or at least another adult that Tori could confide in to help her. Her parents just seem like they don't understand teenagers as people and would rather leave them be when they are pretty much crying for help. 
I don't know, I'm sure if this were to be rewritten today or even made into a different media, it has potential to be better than the book. I appreciate that this book basically started the whole Heartstopper graphic novels and the success that's being made from it. I hope that future works of Alice I read will be more enjoyable for  me. 

It feels so natural! People come and go and grow as you get older, especially transitioning from high school to college. And it’s a breath of fresh air for these characters to grow into their relationships outside of their family. I love these two so much and I hope to see more in the future!

I can’t believe it took me so long to finish this book because it’s amazing. Although slow at the beginning, it was essential to the world building of the cafe and introducing all of the characters we see throughout the story. Each chapter was touching and truly made me reflect on the relationships I have with the people in my life with a reminder to spend time intentionally with the people you love and don’t be petty. I can’t wait to read the next book!

Read this start to finish between my classes and wholeheartedly enjoyed it! I loved seeing Tori's POV for once in the HS universe and the added little drawings made it an even better read. I'm excited to continue reading on with Solitaire and Nick and Charlie in the future!

Adorable! I like that the bonus chapters tied up some loose ends and gave some more perspective from Saeki. I hope to see more of these two in future volumes