Heartstopper (Volume 1)

SYNOPSIS:

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...?

REVIEW:

(3 STARS)

The hype was too big, so the fall was too high. I was expecting that type of romance that swipes you of your feet, but Oseman only managed to entertain me slightly.

I'm glad I read it online (shout-out to Webtoon for being such a wonderful platform) and not after spending 9€ on a physical copy. Don't get me wrong, the story is cute and we all need more non-heteronormative characters. I love a good romance, but I felt like this story lacked plot. There's not much going on besides seeing Charlie and Nick's relationship flourish and grow. Yes, it's lovely but at the same time, very bland. The pace is too quick and it feels like the time jumps leave many important things out, like the narrator is telling a story she has a hard time remembering.

The subjects Oseman discusses (such as abuse and bullying) are of extreme importance, but she did so very swiftly. Her main focus is the love story between our boys, which leads me to another issue: love stories and romance are colourful, bright and sweet. This comic is black and white. I honestly feel that this was the type of story that deserved hours of colouring and would've won with that - it hit me while reading one of the interludes ('Moments').

I am going to keep on reading it on Webtoon, and I'll probably even give Alice Oseman's prose a try. I enjoyed her art and the romance in general, but I don't think I'll buy the comics once they're finished on Webtoon.