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…?
Charlie Spring is in Year 10 at Truham Grammar School for Boys. The past year hasn’t been too great, but at least he’s not being bullied anymore. Nick Nelson is in Year 11 and on the school rugby team. He’s heard a little about Charlie – the kid who was outed last year and bullied for a few months – but he’s never had the opportunity to talk to him.
They quickly become friends, and soon Charlie is falling hard for Nick, even though he doesn’t think he has a chance. But love works in surprising ways, and sometimes good things are waiting just around the corner…
Review:
This was my third time reading Heartstopper Volume One and I think it’s safe to say at this point that I’ll never get tired of it. I’ve never re-read something this many times before, which definitely says a lot about how much I love this series.
Now, volume one isn’t my favourite of the series, but it’s still an absolute five-star read. It’s just too cute to rate it anything less. The very first time I read Heartstopper Volume One, I knew less than halfway through that this series was going to mean a lot to me.
I’ve said this before, but I’m a complete mix of Nick and Darcy. Sadly, Darcy is only shown in passing for this volume, but she’s my absolute favourite character.
The style of Hearstopper is so iconic and just instantly recognisable. I’m not usually a huge fan of black and white graphic novels as I love finding novels with beautiful colour palettes, but Heartstopper doesn’t need colour to be beautiful. Every single page has something special about it and I love that it isn’t a classic storyboard style comic.
We all know that I adore the characters, but I don’t feel like you can comment on them too much just yet. Hearstopper Volume One is the very beginning of the story and we have so much more to learn about the characters – it’s really only scratching the surface.
I don’t know why I didn’t review the series the very first time I read it, but I’m finally getting around to doing so now. I’m not sure when I’ll review volume two, I may potentially do one a month but don’t hold me to it.
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