hollyslittlelibrary

[hollyslittlelibrary]

Books I’ve bought and/or read since June 2022, simply because I have nothing else to post on here, haha.

(As of November 21, 2022)

1. Heartstopper Volume 1 - Netflix Cover Edition - Alice Oseman - Read

2. Heartstopper Volume 1 - Regular Edition - Alice Oseman - Read

3. Heartstopper Volume 2 - Alice Oseman - Read

4. Heartstopper Volume 3 - Alice Oseman - Read

5. Heartstopper Volume 4 - Alice Oseman - Read

6. Radio Silence - Alice Oseman - Read

7. Solitaire - Alice Oseman - Read

8. Loveless - Alice Oseman - Read

9. I Was Born For This - Alice Oseman - Read

10. This Winter - Alice Oseman - Read

11. Nick & Charlie - Alice Oseman - Read

12. The Heartstopper Yearbook - Alice Oseman - Read

13. How To Kill Your Family - Bella Mackie - Read

14. A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder - Holly Jackson - Read

15. TommyInnit Says…The Quote Book - TommyInnit/Wilbur Soot - Read

16. If This Gets out - Sophie Gonzales/Cale Dietrich - Read

17. Red, White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston - Read

18. Call Me By Your Name - André Aciman - Currently Reading

19. The Perks Of Being A Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky - Bought/To Read

20. The Song Of Achilles - Madeline Miller - Bought/To Read

21. The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid - Bought/To Read

22. Dark World - Zak Bagans - Bought (at his museum while on my Vegas trip a couple weeks ago)/To Read

23. Savage Rivals - Becca Steele - Bought/To Read

24. Maurice - E. M. Forster - Bought/To Read

I’m hoping to get ‘round to reading all of these by the end of the year (probably will at this rate, haha), so let me know if you lot want a ranking of my top 10 books at the end of next month!

[hollyslittlelibrary]

Since I have read all of Alice Oseman’s books/graphic novels/novellas, I thought I’d do a little ranking of them all.

(Please note that this is in no way meant to insult Alice or her work. I love all of these books and these rankings are simply my opinion).

If any mistakes have been made (spelling, plotlines, main themes, etc.), please let me know and I’ll correct it/then as soon as possible.

Books:

1) Radio Silence - the whole plot just interested me so much. The way the story told us a lot more about Aled without making him the main character was so incredible to me. I love how Alice brought representation to the demisexual community without alienating everyone involved - it was such a beautiful thing to see. I could honestly read this again and again without getting bored - I love it.

2) I Was Born For This - I love how this books had not only a trans main character, but a Muslim one as well. It brought representation to two different types of people in the best way possible. While it did make me cry a couple times, I loved every second I spent reading it.

3) Solitaire - Tori is (and always will be) one of my favourite Heartstopper characters, and writing a book revolves around her was such a power move on Alice’s part. I love the whole concept of trusting someone only to find out they’ve been doing something horrific. I could also go on forever about how much I love Michael Holden but we can save that rant for another day.

4) Loveless - don’t get me wrong, I love the book endlessly, but I have to admit that the whole storyline didn’t peak my interest until about a third of the way through. Books about life at university never really interested me that much. I know Radio Silence is also quite big on the topic of university, but it wasn’t it’s main premise. However, after a little while, I did start to really enjoy the book and also how Alice once again have representation to a lesser known community. I honestly think this is the first book I’ve read with an asexual main character and, while that fact saddens me a drastic amount, it makes me so happy to see some good, accurate representation.

Graphic Novels:

1) Heartstopper Volume 3 - the Paris trip is not only the most adorable thing I’ve ever witnessed (while also being very sad due to the issues of Nick’s dad and Charlie’s anorexia coming to light), but it is also relatable to a lot of British teens. A lot of schools in the UK take trips to Paris and a lot of the things that happened in Volume 3 actually happen in real life. The parties, the games of spin the bottle, the whole “one student sneaks in alcohol and gets too carried away, making themselves sick”. All of it is just so accurate and makes me so happy, for some reason.

2) Heartstopper Volume 1 - I love the way it shows both a queer teen love story, and the whole process of a teenager figuring themselves out and realising that who they are is nothing to be ashamed of. The way Nick and Charlie met so randomly (Charlie didn’t even want to be near Nick in the beginning) but went on to become best friends, and then boyfriends makes me feel so warm and bubbly. It’s honestly such a beautiful story.

3) Heartstopper Volume 4 - this whole book broke my heart into millions of tiny pieces. Seeing Charlie go through so much was such a horrible experience for everyone but, at the end of the day, it is so, so important for EDs to be talked about nowadays. They are so common in both men and women, and are especially common in teenagers. I love the way Alice didn’t sugarcoat anything. She showed a real, raw outlook on eating disorders and it’s been so influential, it’s incredible to see.

4) Heartstopper Volume 2 - honestly, the only thing I can remember from volume 2, is the cinema fight and the fact that Nick has his beautiful coming out scene at the end of it. That scene made me so happy and also made me realise that there are people in the world that will be there for you, even if you don’t know it yet. However, if you asked me to give you the whole plot line, I wouldn’t be able to give you anything more than “Harry was being a dick to Charlie at the cinema, Nick punched him, took Charlie on a date and then came out to his mum”. Still amazing though, nothing will stop it from being an incredible read.

Novellas:

1) Nick and Charlie - I love the way it shows a raw, authentic teenage relationship. While it did make me cry at one point, it made me laugh a lot. For example, the way Nick spoke about the pillow fort scenario like we wouldn’t believe him is one of my all time favourite book moments. It’s like the characters are actually talking to you and no-one else, which I found really interesting.

2) This Winter - I love how it took place between Heartstopper Volume 4 and Solitaire, almost like a prequel to foreshadowing events. I love how it tells the story from Tori, Charlie and Oliver’s POVs because it shows that Charlie’s ED affected everyone in his family. I also love how it shows the Spring’s grandparents being against the LGBTQ+ community. Now, that sounds like a really terrible sentence, but hear me out. It’s so important for everyone to read this to realise that there will always be people who don’t like others for something they can’t control. It shows that sometimes you have to keep something hidden from others, just so the life you’ve spent with them doesn’t turn to shit. It’s also so important for young queer people to realise that, while there will be a few people who don’t accept them for who the are, the amount of people who do accept them will always outweigh those who don’t. It’s such an important topic nowadays and it was honestly shown so amazingly.

Final Ranking (with no explanations as you’ve already seen them - I’m sure you’ll be pleased to see that haha):

1) Heartstopper Volume 3

2) Radio Silence

3) Nick and Charlie

4) I Was Born For This

5) Heartstopper Volume 1

6) Heartstopper Volume 4

7) Solitaire

8) This Winter

9) Heartstopper Volume 3

10) Loveless

Ok, I have to admit, this was very fun to make. If you read the whole thing, congratulations. You, like myself, have a way too much time on your hands, haha.