Saturday, December 10, 2022

REVIEW: Heartstopper (graphic novel, vol. 4) by Alice Oseman

Heartstopper is a high school romance graphic novel series. I bought my copy of this volume brand new.

Review:

While Charlie stresses over whether, when, and how to tell Nick he loves him, Nick is reading up on eating disorders because he believes Charlie has one and he's trying to figure out how to help.

This volume spent quite a bit of time on Charlie's mental health - his anxiety and problems eating. Things get a lot worse for him before they get better, but I felt like the whole thing was dealt with in a sensitive way and put more of the focus on Charlie's efforts to get better. That said, although I've dealt with anxiety for years, I don't have any personal experience dealing with eating disorders. You can take my opinion with a grain of salt.

If you've ever tried to help someone deal with mental illness or other issues, Nick's struggles will likely feel familiar. He desperately wanted to help Charlie but didn't know how. In this volume, part of his journey involved learning that he couldn't do and be everything for Charlie, and that it wasn't healthy to expect himself to. He was supportive, and he helped Charlie understand that he needed help, but "the power of love" wasn't some fix-all that could take care of everything.

Have I mentioned that I really love Nick's mom, by the way? She's great.

Anyway, I think I liked this volume the most out of all the ones in the series so far. It sounds like the next volume is the last. I'm interested in seeing how Oseman wraps this up.

Extras:

A bunch of "firsts" pages for Mr. Ajayi and Mr. Farouk (even though they're minor characters, I love that this adult couple gets to be adorable too), character profiles, Charlie and Tao's Instagram photos, a list of mental health resources, and an author's note.

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