“I have been going out with Nick Nelson since I was fourteen. He likes rugby and Formula 1, animals (especially dogs), the Marvel universe, the sound felt-tips make on paper, rain, drawing on shoes, Disneyland and minimalism. He also likes me.”
I’m an enormous fan of Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper—in fact, all three of the books have been on my year-end list of favorites. It’s a series of graphic novels featuring Nick and Charlie, two high school students who fall in love. The books chronicle the struggles of acknowledging your sexuality, dealing with bullying and other mental health issues, and follow the ups and downs of young love.
This eponymous novella finds Nick and Charlie at the end of the school year. But it’s not just any school year—Nick is set to go to university in the fall since he’s a year older than Charlie. They’re planning to stay together and hope to see each other every few weeks. Everyone thinks it'll work—they're Nick and Charlie, after all.
But the idea of being apart when they see each other ever single day now is starting to wear on Charlie in particular. He knows that Nick is excited about going to university, but what if he meets someone better or doesn’t want to be with Charlie anymore? Are all of the things he hears from people on the internet about long-distance relationships not working true? Is it better to end things before they get hurt?
I’ve been missing Nick and Charlie, since it’s been a bit of time since I read Volume 3 of Heartstopper, so this was just perfect. I love their relationship and the things each brings to the other.
The only problem after reading Nick and Charlie? Now I want more! (Volume 4 of Heartstopper doesn't come out until December!)
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