Heartstopper (2016)

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…?

From: Heartstopper

Notes on This Title

The author provides the following content warnings for the series:

• Emotionally abusive relationship
• One incident of a non-consensual kiss
• Brief references to past homophobia, scenes involving homophobia, including uses of homophobic slurs
• Brief references to past bullying
• Anorexia – portrayals of restrictive eating behaviour, other discussions around eating disorders, with a focus on anorexia, and one scene in which a character passes out
• Self-harm – references to incidents of self-harm (though there is no on-page self-harm)
• Psychiatric ward – a character stays briefly in a psychiatric ward and has an overall positive experience there.
• OCD – brief discussions of OCD symptoms.
• Therapy, including a brief discussion of trauma.

Awards

2023 Eisner Award for Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17) - Nominee
35th Annual GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Original Graphic Novel/Anthology - Nominee
2019 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Graphic Novels & Comics - Nominee
2020 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Graphic Novels & Comics
2020 British Book Award for Children's Illustrated and Non-Fiction - Nominee
2022 Books Are My Bag Readers' Award - Readers; Choice
2022 Waterstones Book of the Year - Nominated
2012 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Graphic Novels & Comics
2023 British Book Award for Children's Illustrated Book of the Year - Nominee
2023 TikTok Book Award for Best Book I Wish I Could Read Again for the First Time
2024 British Book Award for Children's Illustrated Book of the Year - Nominee

Reviews

“Oseman’s work is best defined by its kindness both to the characters and the reader. That isn’t to say there are no problems; the main characters are two teenage boys who fall in love and struggle with bullying and mental health issues. Oseman treats each individual character’s identity with respect, and the difficulties that they each face are not sugar-coated or dismissed as being particular to their age. Heartstopper may be a YA comic, but it’s filled with moments that will resonate with adults, too, especially the kind of sweet affection that’s often missing from comics aimed at adults. Fans of Giant Daysand Rainbow Rowell should check out Heartstopper.” (Source: A.V. Club)

Interviews

Gay Times: “Heartstopper is the queer graphic novel we wished we had at high school”

Readable Life: “Author Interview: Alice Oseman”

The Reading Realm: “Heartstopper: An interview with Alice Oseman”

YA Shelf: “Interview with Alice Oseman, author of Heartstopper”