Heartstopper volume 5: A Graphic Novel by Alice Oseman is more of the same with the characters Nick, Charlie, their family and their friends. While we focus on Nick and Charlie (as the other volumes have done) Oseman has added a few areas that are “outside” of the boy’s knowledge (such as there is a flashback with Charlie’s mom and one with a teacher), and there are a few areas that are just “Nick focused” or just “Charlie focused” as usual. There are some sexual images, but nothing to “scandalize” or be gratuitous. The overall feeling was more as if it was a story arc on TV. (However, not having watched the show, I am not sure how close it would be , but it had that feeling of being television ready). Overall, it is good if you like the book series, but won’t convert you into an avid fan if you are currently a casual one.
One of the interesting parts of the book includes when we follow Nick and a couple of the female friends head off on a college tour. The three of them are dealing with the idea of long distant relationships with their boyfriends or girlfriend, as well as doing what is the best thing for them and not for their partner. Another part that was interesting was having the Brother-Sister moment with Charlie and Tori (the character that actually started it all and I have yet to read their book) and how Tori is trying to come to terms with her own sexuality, or lack thereof as she thinks she is the type of asexual that does not like to have relations with a partner, but probably wants a partner, but also does not want to label things.
These pieces are new to volume five and help keep the familiar feelings as if I had read it before away. Volume four and five are just the same story with a new point of view and a few new things.
The illustrations are what you have come to expect from Oseman. They are simple, the colors are there to hold space and you just float along with the text. The sex scenes are all “dreamy” and “cloudy” so we don’t see “the good stuff” (which is fine by me) but I almost think it’s not needed at the same as it is a nice way of not seeing the “bits and pieces” of things.
