Howdy partner! Welcome back to Queeries for the second to last post of the semester. I’ll do my best to make sure these last couple are good ones. I hope you’re doing lovely, but if not, I hope I can bring a much needed and well-deserved break to your schedule today.
I’ll be talking all about Heartstopper in this post, if that wasn’t evident by the drawing above. Heartstopper is an ongoing webcomic written by the incredible Alice Oseman. It has been turned into several graphic novels so far, and it is also being turned into a TV show on Netflix!
My friend Kate has been talking about it quite a lot since we met at the beginning of the school year, and I had been meaning to read it for awhile. I never got around to doing so until recently. With the Heartstopper TV show coming to Netflix very soon on April 22 (this month now, eeek), Kate and McKenna have been talking about it a lot more, and I decided that it was time for me to get on board and see what all the hype is about.
On the night of Saturday March 20, I began reading Heartstopper for the first time, and let me tell you, I immediately fell in love with the characters and the writing/drawing style. I couldn’t get myself to stop reading it until about 6 AM Sunday morning when I decided I should probably get to sleep already. I’m not sure what exactly prompted me to do the following, but as I read that first night, I kept a little note in my phone of my thoughts as the story unfolded. This allowed me to share my exact thoughts with Kate, but also, I was just having so much fun expressing my excitement through a bunch of comments as I read.
Since then, I have already read up until the start of chapter 7, which is the chapter that is currently in progress. It was just so immaculate and I loved every second of it. I’ll give you a brief introduction to what it’s about while being very careful not to give too much away, since you should absolutely go read this and enjoy it for yourself.
Heartstopper centers around two British boys named Nick and Charlie in high school as they navigate their lives. Since I’m writing about this for my blog, and since you’ve seen the covers of the books, I think it’s not much of a surprise that this story is pretty queer. When it starts, Charlie is already out as gay, and over the course of the story, Nick works on figuring out his identity. We see Nick and Charlie’s relationship develop over time, and we also start to see more about their friends, families, experiences, and struggles.
Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper is an absolute masterpiece, and I can’t wait to continue reading it as more is created and released. I also am beyond excited for the show coming out soon, and I’m so glad I decided to read it before watching it so I can appreciate it to the fullest extent. As I said, I love it so much and it already means so much to me. Nick and Charlie (and Alice Oseman of course) have my whole heart. I highly highly recommend that you go read the webcomic (with new updates coming out on the 1, 11, and 22 of every month), and support the show when it comes out too! I’m sure you’ll love it.
I think that just about wraps up this week’s post. Come back next week for the last one of the semester. I love you and I’m proud of you for existing and being such a cool person. I hope you’re managing to take care of yourself and take breaks through all of this stress. Treat yourself to a little Heartstopper this week. You won’t regret it.
With love,
PJ <3
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Hi! I just want to let you know that your posts are amazing and I love the little note to the readers at the bottom of the post. You do such an amazing job describing the premise of a book/show/movie and I’m really excited to start reading this too! I thought your idea of saving your thoughts in notes was so smart. I also love graphic novels and their art so I’ll be sure to look up Heartbreaker. Keep up the amazing job!!
This sounds like such a great webcomic! I am a sucker for romance stories and I’m always looking for new ones to read and watch. I was becoming interested in the story as I read your post, but I as soon as I saw the black and white drawings of the characters, I realized that I had actually seen a couple strips of this comic a while ago on TikTok! Now I will definitely be checking out the show on Netflix when it comes out.
I loved your take on Heartstopper! I’m so glad you ended up reading it (much to the influence of Kate and me). We definitely need to have a watch party when the TV show comes(hehe) out, an Atherton basement party! Best way to celebrate PSU Pride Month.
I love the relaxed introduction to the blog post and how you direct attention to the audience’s feelings. I am appreciative of the little break that you provided with this blog.
This is the first time I have visited your blog site, so I was super excited to see what it was about. I enjoy that you kept exact notes as you read to share with Kate later. I like the authenticity of it, and I often will type comments out as I read in the same manner. It’s fun to reflect back on times when you thought one thing, but then it did not happen. But in the moment you felt like you could predict the story.
It sounds like an amazing comic. I hope the 22 comes fast enough, so you can rate the show and have your excitement satisfied. I always am fascinated on how TV shows reflect books and the accuracy.
I got so excited when I saw the covers of heartstopper when I clicked on your blog! I myself had a similar experience reading it over the break. I had just binged at least three romance novels and I wanted to find something new to read while I was staying with my Grandpa and family in Florida. Because I took the liberty of declaring the couch and living room mine, I was granted the freedom of staying up until all hours of the morning reading and I did just that when I first started Heartstopper, beginning at 10 pm and only growing tired at 6 in the morning. It is one of the sweetest webtoons I’ve ever read and their depiction of struggles with mental illness also hit a deep part of my heart. I will definitely be watching the show on the 22nd.