Heartstopper Volume 1 by Alice Oseman

Bibliographic Information:

Title: Heartstopper Volume 1

Author: Alice Oseman

ISBN: 9781338617443

Publisher: Graphix

Copyright Date: 2020

Format/Genre: Hardcover; Comics and graphic novels; LGBTQIA+ comics; LGBTQIA+ romances; Webcomics; Page to screen; Books for reluctant readers (Heartstopper. Volume 1: NoveList Plus - Powered by EBSCOhost, n.d.).

Awards and Honors: None

Reading Level/Interest Level: 8th Grade and up (Heartstopper. Volume 1: NoveList Plus - Powered by EBSCOhost, n.d.).

Plot Summary: Charlie is a 10th grader who was outed last year, so now he is known as the “gay kid” at school. He secretly meets up with another classmate who wants to make out but doesn’t want to be outed. One day at school, Charlie is sitting next to Nick – an 11th grader who is super cute and on the rugby team. But there’s no way Nick could be gay as well, is there? Nick convinces Charlie to go out for the rugby team, and their relationship grows tighter. It grows even tighter still when Nick sees Charlie being assaulted by his secret lover. Is there any chance that a relationship could develop between Nick and Charlie?

Author Background: Alice is the author of several YA contemporary novels about teenage disasters: SOLITAIRE (published when she was 19), RADIO SILENCE, I WAS BORN FOR THIS, and LOVELESS (a New York Times bestseller). Alice’s books have won, been shortlisted or nominated for a number of awards, including the YA Book Prize, the Inky Awards, the Carnegie Medal, and the Goodreads Choice Awards. She is also the writer, creator, and executive producer for the Netflix adaptation of Heartstoppers, which has won an Emmy award (“About,” n.d.-b).

Critical Evaluation: Before coming into this class I had not read a lot of graphic novels. Now I am a big fan! This book was easy to read, and it was recommended to me not only by my professor Lisa, but also by a couple of the young adults I work with at the library! The illustrations in this graphic novel are lovely. And while the book deals with some serious issues – sexual assault and homomisia – it does so in a way a lot of teenagers will be able to relate with.

Creative Use for a Library Program: I would want the teens to create their own short version of a graphic novel taking place at their own high school. They could make it as realistic, or as fictional, as they like. And they could share it with the group only if they wanted to – that way they could make it personal and include any issues they may be dealing with personally that they just want to get out on paper but might not want to share just yet.

Speed-Round Book Talk: Charlie is a 10th grader who is gay. Unfortunately he was outed last year, but that means he doesn’t have to hide who he is anymore. Nick is a cute rugby player in 11th grade. Charlie has a crush on him. Nick likes Charlie as a friend, but he’s not sure about the other feelings he is experiencing. Do Charlie and Nick have a chance together?

Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation: Again, this one might get challenged by the folks who simply think gay people do not exist, or think that books like this might “convert” their child to being homosexual (which is nonsense by the way). Also, this book deals with issues like homomisia, sexual assault, and bullying. If I was the librarian including this in programing, I would make sure my supervisor knew we were going to do it, and I would prepare a list of all the LGBTQIA+ books and graphic novels we have in our YA collection, and also show them a list of all the “straight” books and graphic novels we have in our YA collection, to show them the “straight” books still outpace the “gay” books by a far margin.

Reason for Inclusion: I wanted to be sure to include more graphic novels in my collection, and this one was recommended by both my professor Lisa, as well as a couple of the teens who I work with (who are big fans of graphic novels).