Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsI am obsessed
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 April 2021
I've never read a graphic novel before, I've owned a couple but never really read them. That is, until now. I ordered this last year during the first lockdown because quite literally everyone and their mothers were raving about how great it is. I put off reading it as I was worried it wouldn't live up to the hype. But this month started with a glorious four day weekend, two of those day I had on my own so I had to make the most of it.
This book met ALL my expectations, lived up to and surpassed the hype and has nestled itself into my stoney heart. As this is a Graphic Novel I can't make any comments on the writing style. But the conversation exchanges between characters just felt so genuine and real.
Like, this is the book that all Young Adults need to be reading, I love that there is representation in this book, I love that it shows two different young men figuring themselves and life out. Showing the struggles young people can go through as they grow to understand their sexuality. This to me, is one of those important reads, and because it's not continuous pros but a graphic novel it can be so much more easily received and digested. I read this in the space of a couple of hours and instantly order Volume 2.
Charlie and Nick are beyond adorable, from two different "cliques" and two different year groups. You could easily imagine these being people you went to school with.
All the drawings throughout this book were spot on and it was really clear what was happening and when. Also, what the characters were feeling/experiencing.
I will say this until I'm blue in the face. This is a book everyone needs to read. It's a book that can start conversations and a book to normalise different sexualities to the YA audience as having a book with non-straight characters can still be a rare thing to see. I think books like Heartstoppers, gives YA members of the LGBTQ+ a place in the reading world, it gives them representation. And my personal opinion is that there needs to be more representation, more reality that these YA face. One of the gifts of reading a book is being able to see yourself in some characters, I think this book allows everyone the chance to see themselves whether they are straight or a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
I definitely give this 5 stars, probably more if I could just on the sheer cuteness of the characters.
