Charlie’s gay and crushing hard on his new classmate Nick, who’s straight - or is he? As the two become fast friends, Nick undergoes an awakening.
The blurb on the cover is very simple and yet says it all: “Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love.” Still, Alice Oseman manages to turn that succinct premise into a 260 page book - the first in a series no less! Even so, it’s by no means a drawn-out or dull read, though I do feel it’s a bit too light for my taste.
I’ve never read Oseman before but she’s certainly a talented cartoonist. Her teen romance reads realistically and, though predictable, she manages to keep you on tenterhooks by not rushing things along so you have to wait to see Nick realise his feelings for Charlie. And it turns out to be very sweet and not in a cheesy way.
There’s some mild drama in the form of Charlie’s closeted ex Ben and both Charlie and Nick are likeable characters. But I also found the story to be a bit empty too - there isn’t much else besides the romance. Charlie was bullied the year before when he came out but that’s not really explored while Nick has some quiet moments googling and that’s about it for his sexual pontificating.
Heartstopper, Volume 1 is a decent young adult contemporary romance, told well, but it’s not particularly powerful, deep or original - nor should it be for the subject matter of teen love; I suspect I’m just too old to be that moved by it. Younger readers will probably enjoy this a lot more and they could do a lot worse than this series!
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