A short novella based on the beloved characters from the graphic novel Heartstopper and Alice Oseman’s debut novel Solitaire, which was praised as ‘The Catcher in the Rye for the digital age’ by The Times.

Synopsis:

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?

CHARLIE: “I have been going out with Nick Nelson for two years. He likes rugby, Formula 1, dogs, the Marvel universe, the sound felt-tips make on paper, rain and drawing on shoes. He also likes me.”

NICK: “Things me and Charlie Spring do together include: Watch films. Sit in the same room on different laptops. Text each other from different rooms. Make out. Make food. Make drinks. Get drunk. Talk. Argue. Laugh. Maybe we’re kind of boring. But that’s fine with us.”

Everyone knows that Nick and Charlie are the perfect couple – that they’re inseparable. But now Nick is leaving for university, and Charlie will be left behind at Sixth Form. Everyone’s asking if they’re staying together, which is a stupid question – they’re ‘Nick and Charlie’ for God’s sake!

But as the time to say goodbye gets inevitably closer, both Nick and Charlie question whether their love is strong enough to survive being apart. Or are they delaying the inevitable? Because everyone knows that first loves rarely last forever … 

Review: 

It’s no secret that I absolutely adore the Heartstopper graphic novels and that love didn’t end here. Nick and Charlie was a great add-on to the series and it was interesting to read about these characters from their own perspectives. You’ve never really gotten to read Nick and Charlie’s thoughts and opinions before and it was great to finally see their inner workings. 

If like myself you haven’t read Solitare yet, do not hesitate to read this. There are absolutely no spoilers and honestly, I had no idea it was Solitare 1.5 until I looked on Goodreads. 

I absolutely adore the fact that this also has pictures. It wouldn’t feel like a Nick and Charlie story if it didn’t. They were a great addition to the novel and it was great to see a slightly older Nick and Charlie. 

As Nick and Charlie are 17 and 18 in this novel it does include more mature content such as them having sex. Nothing is described in great detail, but it is mentioned often. I found it hard to remember at times that they are a few years older in this and not the 15/16-year-olds they are in the graphic novels. Obviously, it’s not that much of a difference as it’s only two years, but I was actually a little surprised when it casually mentioned them having sex. Kind of nice to see LGBTQ+ relationships being treated as casually as cis/het ones are though. Big up Alice Oseman for that. 

If you are thinking about reading Nick and Charlie I absolutely recommend that you do. It may not be for everyone, however, with such a short length you won’t really be wasting much of your time if you don’t like it. I read the entire book in under an hour and I took my time looking at the pictures. Saying this if you love the Heartstopper novels then you are for sure going to love this.

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