In 2021, a subscriber and now friend suggested that I read the Heartstopper graphic novel series by Alice Oseman. So I read it and this way, found one of my favorite series of all time. In hindsight, 2021 was a great year for finding favorites. This one especially touched a part of my heart and filled it with warmth and goodness. When the TV adaptation came out earlier this year, I knew I had to watch it, but I couldn’t at the time. Months went by and plans of rereading the series and watching the show were razed to the ground because of our move to Sydney.
But Sydney saw me getting the paperback copies of these graphic novels, a matter of utter pride for me that I own them now. So I decided to go ahead and reread them and watch the show while making a whole reading vlog out of it. The video went up today on my YouTube channel: Rereading Heartstopper and Watching the TV Adaptation.
The first time around, reading Heartstopper was a fantastic experience. I don’t think I’ve ever seen kindness, compassion, and support the way Alice Oseman depicted it in these books. It was something, them telling us stories of characters coming to terms with their sexuality. And it’s not just the main characters. We see the side characters grow and develop as well, something that lends to the wholesomeness of the story.
The story, as Alice Oseman says in their author’s notes, is about ‘support, healing, and recovery’. It’s about acceptance, about safe spaces, about being there for each other, about extending the same compassion to others what you expect from them, and so much more. If we were to be the kind of supportive, loving people that are the characters in these books, the world would be such a nice place to live in!
Nick and Charlie are teenagers figuring out their identities and sexualities. It’s heartwarming to see but it also plucks at your heart. Because if the world didn’t put so much pressure on queer people, things would have been so much easier. Alice Oseman handles this with such maturity and compassion that it leaves you with the thought that maybe the world isn’t heading to a bad place. Maybe there’s hope for it, after all.
Having felt so much while reading the books, I knew I had to give my full attention when I was watching the show. It deserves nothing less than that and I know that if I had watched the show earlier this year when it came out, I wouldn’t have been able to give it the love and adoration it deserved. So I’m glad that I watched the show when I did because I appreciate it even more now.
The actors have brought the characters to life, portraying Nick and Charlie’s problems and their chemistry with so much panache. It doesn’t just focus on the main characters, though. It also talks about the stories and histories of the side characters from the mini comics that Alice Oseman has added at the end of these books. It adds more depth to Nick and Charlie’s storyline, too, since we see that the support they’re getting from around them is out of love and understanding in addition to empathy.
Of course, adaptations always need to make changes due to different reasons. Many-a-times, the settings in which events occur need to be changed. Many other times, the events itself need to be changed. Acknowledging this, and the fact that Alice Oseman was personally involved in the show, has made me fall in love with the series even more. Be it how Nick comes out or where Charlie reveals his secrets to Tao, things change and sometimes (many times), change is good.
Plus, the soundtrack! Oh, the music is so good! I think it was in episode 2 that I noticed that the songs that accompanied the story were SO GOOD. But I’m not someone who can remember a song the first time I hear it, so be sure I’m heading to Spotify to check in on the playlist and get obsessed with it pronto!
On the whole, the show is everything I expected it to be – sweet, warm, kind, gentle, heartwarming, and loving. If you haven’t read the books or watched the show, do so immediately. You won’t regret it, I promise. ❤
So that was me talking about rereading the Heartstopper graphic novels by Alice Oseman and watching the show. The reading vlog for this went up today. If you’d like to watch it, here’s the link: Rereading Heartstopper and Watching the Show.
What did you think of the blog post (or video)? Have you read and watched Heartstopper already? Let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you! 😊
I’ll see you in tomorrow’s Blogtober post.
Until next time, keep reading, keep watching, and add melodrama to your life! ❤
The Melodramatic Bookworm 
I haven’t read the books or seen the series but it is on my watch list for this coming winter
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Oh, please do! Both are so wholesome ❤️
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Reblogged this on keyboardcritic.
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