So much has happened since we discovered Nick and Charlie in Solitaire, Alice Oseman’s first novel, back in 2014. Neither had more than a few lines, but they made room for themselves in the hearts of the author’s most devoted readers. Since then, not only has Oseman written two e-novellas about them—which, by the way, will be released in paperback form this year, matching the covers of the rest of her books—but she also started a comic about this gorgeous couple in 2016. What started as a webcomic is now a published graphic novel that is taking the world by storm. With this new volume, Nick and Charlie’s lovely blooming relationship gets under the spotlight for the third time, so if you need a little help refreshing your memory of what Nick and Charlie have been up to, check out our recap before continuing with this review.
It seemed like the wait had lasted for ages, even though volume 2 came out only six months ago. Despite the comic being available online, it is pretty obvious that we readers cannot get our hands on the physical copies of Heartstopper soon enough. With such a generous display of additional content—this third volume, for instance, includes an adorable short comic about Tao and Elle—and such gorgeous covers, who could resist? A lovely pastel apple-green spine, Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper Vol. 3 is here to delight us with some more adorable Nick and Charlie action; this time in Paris!
Continuing with her simple, yet charming drawing style, Oseman follows Nick and Charlie through the first stages of their relationship. Now, our favourite boyfriends are FINALLY official and they are head over heels for each other. Brace yourselves for a pretty strong case of feels, because they have entered the honeymoon phase in full force and hearts are melting everywhere. They can’t stop kissing, they can’t stop saying cute stuff to each other, and we definitely can’t stop ourselves from going down with the ship. Had the engineer who designed the Titanic taken some notes on Nick and Charlie’s ship, the cruise would have been iceberg-proof.
Realistically enough, since it’s not all a bed of roses, Alice Oseman also portrays the struggles of newfound love, especially for young queer couples. First and foremost, the most recurrent topic in this volume of Heartstopper is the constant battle of coming out. Contrarily to common misconception, as Oseman very poignantly highlights, coming out is a very tiring process which queer people have to go through time and time again: with relatives, friends, potential partners, and—the worst of all—nosy acquaintances.
In opposition to this struggle, Alice Oseman also shines a light on the positive fact that, more often than not, these moments will be faced with unconditional support. Either from older LGBT+ people who have been through the same endeavour as the younger members of the community or the people who most care about them. Throughout the entire volume, there is a powerful array of moments of acceptance. In the figure of Nick and Charlie’s coach, Nick’s friends —who apologise for not defending him against Harry Greene—, their parents, and, most importantly, Charlie’s friends. Tao, Aled, Elle, Tara, and Darcy get a little bit more attention in this volume and become the backbone of Nick and Charlie’s relationship, offering support and valuable advice whenever they need it.
Of course, despite the very much needed positivity, Oseman does not forget about the latent fear of not being accepted and how hard it is to accept oneself, even if you are comfortable in your own skin. As she portrays in the figure of Charlie, bullying can leave an ugly trail of insecurities and doubt in a person. Regardless of how happy he is to finally be with Nick, Charlie cannot stop himself from worrying about the repercussions of their relationship. Plagued by the havoc classmates wreaked on his mental health, Charlie becomes an example of the unstoppable damage that bullying can entail. Even though Charlie is comfortable with his sexuality, he is still afraid of Nick experiencing the same harassment he went through. Regardless, in the end, instead of letting it get to him, Charlie powers through his fear and decides to not let what other people say get him down. Hand in hand with this breakthrough, Alice Oseman also offers two valuable pieces of food for thought: One is that the best way to tell the world about yourself is to stop hiding; and two is that, sometimes, not accepting apologies is okay if it helps you heal.
There is no doubt that Alice Oseman’s works always manage to stir some majorly strong emotions with narratives that lend a strong voice and shed a light on the struggles of teenagers with utmost and tactful care. Yet, these feelings are heightened to exorbitant levels in Heartstopper, for Alice Oseman makes the most of her masterful handling of non-verbal stylistic devices. Her use of the shape and organisation of panels to express feelings without words, along with their dynamic organisation help in keeping the story going and rising emotional responses that words would have probably left unattended. And who has noticed the curious little details Oseman includes in her comics? Have you noticed that Radio Silence—one of her previous works—appears a couple of times throughout this volume? Does Aled know that there is a book written about him? Metafiction at its finest!
All in all, Heartstopper Vol. 3 is a magnificent continuation to a comic series that is not running out of steam any time soon. It’s full of raw emotion, passion, and adorable moments in equal shares, along with incorporating mental health, diversity, and love. Her works are a safe haven for those who just want to feel understood. By now, it is certainly clear that everything Alice Oseman touches with her words and art style becomes a work of art. We are so ready to see what Alice Oseman has in mind for Nick, Charlie and her readers next. In the meantime, we will be waiting eagerly for her new novel, Loveless, which will be out this year.
Heartstopper: Vol 3. is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
Will you be picking up Heartstopper? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
In this volume we’ll see the Heartstopper gang go on a school trip to Paris! Not only are Nick and Charlie navigating a new city, but also telling more people about their relationship AND learning more about the challenges each other are facing in private…
Meanwhile Tao and Elle will face their feelings for each other, Tara and Darcy share more about their relationship origin story, and the teachers supervising the trip seem… rather close…?
