Heartstopper Volume 4

From my school's library.

Title: Heartstopper
Issue: Volume 4
Publisher: Scholastic / Graphix
Date: 2021
Writer: Alice Oseman
Artist: Alice Oseman

Nick and Charlie are on Summer break, and Charlie is trying to figure out how to say "I love you" to Nick for the first time. Nick is trying to find a way to help Charlie with his mental health issues.

Charlie's mental health journey becomes the major plotline for this volume, and it's handled with a good balance of realism and hope. There is also more emphasis on family relationships, after the focus for the last two books have been more on friends. The friendships are still there, and the author is very good at keeping us caught up on relationships with minor characters through small, quiet moments.

The parallel journal-based approach to narration which takes up much of the middle of this book can sometimes feel a bit clinical, although the messages are good ones and well-handled. The is some very effective family drama to end things, and a couple of bonus features at the end are charming, particularly a one-panel-per-page minicomic on the relationship between two teacher characters.

This was a good treatment of serious issues that still kept the delightful character interactions that have made this series stand out.

Rating: 8.5/10

Heartstopper Volume 3

From my school library.

Title: Heartstopper
Issue: Volume 3
Publisher: Scholastic / Graphix
Date: 2021
Writer: Alice Oseman
Artist: Alice Oseman

I really liked the idea that formed one of the major themes in this volume: Coming out isn't something that just happens once. Charlie and Nick are now dating, but they need to figure out who to tell and how to do it. As exams bring an end to the school year, they find themselves off to Paris on a school trip with classmates, some of whom are in on their semi-secret and some who are not.

Lots of school-trip things happen, including the beginning/deepening of some new romances among their friends group, and we get some good character development in the supporting cast, along with some more revelations about Nick's family.

There are also some revelations about Charlie's mental health struggles. as well as the continuing progress of he and Nick's relationship.

As has been the case through the series, the author does a great job of giving the scenes the time and space they need, and the positive support that the main characters receive from friends is a welcome element of the story.

Rating: 8/10

Heartstopper Volume 2

From my school library.

Title: Heartstopper
Issue: Volume 2
Publisher: Scholastic / Graphix
Date: 2020
Writer: Alice Oseman
Artist: Alice Oseman

The second volume of Alice Oseman's high school romance focuses first on the fallout of the end of the first issue, and then to Nick's growing understanding of his identity and the beginning of his coming out. As with the first volume, the dialogue is great, and the whole story just has a warm and comfortable vibe to it. There is some conflict involving Nick's friends, but the romance continues to be front and center.

The second volume continues the great use of art and layout, and the excellent pacing of the first volume.

Rating: 8.5/10

Heartstopper Volume 1

Bought at my school's book fair in Winter of 2024.

Title: Heartstopper
Issue: Volume 1
Publisher: Scholastic / Graphix
Date: 2020
Writer: Alice Oseman
Artist: Alice Oseman

Romance, or rather, the beginnings of romance, between two boys at a British high school. This is one of the most wholesome love stories I've read, not that there aren't complications and things that go wrong, but just that the author does such a great job of getting the reader cheering for the couple to come together.

And while the supporting cast is small, the author manages to give us an amazing character in rugby coach Mrs. Singh, who shines in spite of only getting a couple of quick scenes.

The pacing is great, allowing for small moments and dialogue while still moving things along. The cliffhanger ending does feel like a bit of an arbitrary place to cut things, but it did it's job of leaving me wanting to read more.

9/10