Review: Heartstopper, Vol. 3 | Alice Oseman

This review is spoiler free.

“There’s this idea that if you’re not straight, you HAVE to tell your family and friends immediately, like you owe it to them. But you don’t. You don’t have to do anything until you’re ready.”

Series: Heartstopper
Published: 2020, by Hodder Children’s Books.
Pages: 384
Format: Paperback
Genre: Sequential Art, Graphic Novels, Romance, LGBT, Young Adult, Contempoary, Comics, Fiction
Contains: Strong Language, Anger, Mental Illness, Self Harm, Eating Disorders, Homophobia, Bullying

‘Heartstopper: Volume 3’ continues the story of the Heartstopper gang as they go on a school trip to Paris. Not only are Nick and Charlie navigating a new city, but also telling more people about their relationship and learning more about the challenges each other are facing in private. Tao and Elle face their feelings for each other, Tara and Darcy share more of their origin story, and the teachers supervising the trip are getting a little close.

After finishing the first few instalments of this story fairly quickly, I thought I’d take the time to continue it whilst it was fresh in my mind. There was so much of these characters stories left unsaid, so I knew my excitement would only grow if I didn’t continue into the next volume. Needless to say, I’m so glad that I did.

Charlie grows a lot in this volume, coming more out of his shell as he shares his struggles with his boyfriend, Nick, and they’re met with good company. We discover so much about Charlie’s history whilst in Paris, and Nick’s comfort and support drives the story forward and solidifies their relationship even more.
In this volume, we also learn a lot more about Nick’s history and his relationship with the people around him. Although, it isn’t all positive, It’s still incredibly valuable to learn so much about these characters in just under four-hundred pages. Nick’s confidence rises in this volume, finally coming out to the people around him, and is finding people who are supportive of him and his sexuality. It’s beautiful to see and I truly love these characters and wish the best for them.

The writing itself is fairly simplistic, following on from the previous volume and doing its job to drive the story forward. The illustrations that accompany the text are beautiful, being classic Oseman style and continuing to intrigue and entertain the reader.

Overall, I deeply enjoyed this volume, the story is gradually picking up pace and I cannot wait to discover where Nick and Charlie’s journey takes them next.

5/5