I honestly did not expect this from a Heartstopper story, so it's very fun that this was written first. Tori is too relatable, which is good bad. I enjoyed trying to figure out who was behind Solitaire and was SO close. It had some very real and raw emotions which were a bit hard at times. I loved this book even more than I thought I would.

TW: ED, Depression, Self harm/suicide discussions

I am not quite sure what I was expecting when I picked up this Novella, two stars seems quite harsh but when you only have 5 stars to give, you have to give them sparingly. And unfortunately I just don’t think this book lived up to its predecessors (even if it may have been written before Heartstopper, I read that first). It’s hard when it’s a novella (and when the previous writings have been in graphic form). But I do truly think Oseman’s work really deserves to not just be read but to also be SEEN. Because of this lack of visual aid I felt as if the character development was lacking, mostly propped up by the characters we have had built for us in visual/written format.

This certainly is not a bad thing, as a companion to the original Heartstopper books; this Novella is wonderful and certainly carries its own stories for the characters. It is wonderfully interesting to see Tori’s perspective and I found myself relating to the feelings she has regarding being the older sibling, it was very raw and true. I believe this rawness of emotion and feeling is what Oseman does best, and she certainly did not hold back for this book.

The toll that mental health issues take on an individual, and those around them is heavily explored in this edition and I thoroughly enjoyed the very honest discussions it allowed. Again, the feelings Tori has of her guilt and responsibility for Charlie, her dismissal of her own feelings are all (I feel) very often unexplored sibling tropes and I really appreciated reading words that felt so familiar.

One thing I think was marred about this book was the way it was compared to being a modern day Catcher in the Rye, and I could see that. Many would say that’s a good thing, but unfortunately for me, I HATE that book. And oftentimes I could find Tori’s inner monologue repetitive and as if it contributed to slowing the story’s pacing.

However, overall it was a great insight into Tori, and gave a different side of Nick and Charlie- but I give it two stars because I liked it more as background to Heartstopper than as a book of it’s own.