It’s the end of an era!
Specifically, the Heartstopper era… during which Alice Oseman’s webtoon-turned-graphic-novels entranced readers with a swoony love story about two sweet boys who find one another, overcome bullying and deal with mental health crises, find a glorious friend group, and find a way to stay together, even while hearing (constantly) that teen relationships don’t last.
Nick and Charlie first meet early in their high school years. Nick, age 14, is one of the few out gay boys at school, and has been bullied for it. Nick, 16, is (presumably) straight and a star rugby player. The two connect instantly as friends, but there’s something else simmering beneath the surface right from the start. As the story progresses, Nick has an awakening about his own sexuality, Charlie deals with a severe eating disorder, and both learn to embrace their identities, stand proud, and allow their love to flourish.
In the 6th and final volume, as we readers deal with reaching the end, so too do Charlie and Nick have to deal with an ending of sorts — not of their relationship, but of their school years together. Nick is in his final year of high school, with plans to attend university out of town. He feels lost and conflicted — who is he without Charlie? Charlie has grown from a scared boy into a determined young man. He’s still himself, but has developed over the years into someone who sees that he can help others in a way that he himself wasn’t helped, launching a campaign to stop bullying and to establish a school club for gay kids to gather and feel safe.
As they navigate the ups and downs of their final school year together, Nick and Charlie confront serious issues, individually and together, but never lose their amazing connection. They also remain deeply committed to their friend group, who as individuals all add fresh elements to the story and as a group show the beauty of having a supportive, loving community.
Heartstopper volume 6 provides a lovely, cheery, moving conclusion to a wonderful graphic novel series. I’ll miss these characters!
From 2022 to 2024, Netflix aired three seasons of a wonderful adaptation of Heartstopper, with spot-on casting and a production vibe that perfectly captures the feeling (and feelings) of the books. This month, a final wrap-up movie was release, Heartstopper Forever:
I loved the three seasons of the seasons, and approached the movie this week with eagerness and nervousness.
Overall, I was happy with it! The movie takes a more depressing turn than the book does, which may be why I felt it started dragging a bit in the middle. Also, while the series episodes give breathing room to the friend group, so that we we really have time to get to know all the characters and their story arcs, the movie has so much ground to cover with Nick and Charlie that the friends mainly serve as background or support, without substantial storylines of their own.
That said, I did love seeing Nick and Charlie again, especially seeing how far they’ve come and how they’ve grown and matured together as their relationship has deepened. I will admit that seeing these characters being very sexually active can be a bit startling, considering that we’ve been watching them grow up since age 14 or thereabouts! Still, they are absolutely lovely together, and it’s beautiful to see them sorting out how to support one another, how to deal with their separate challenges and crises, and how to manage to be whole people as individuals, beyond their identity as “Nick and Charlie”.
Heartstopper Forever is essential viewing for anyone who’s watched the previous three seasons. For anyone who hasn’t, start at season 1 — I’ll bet you won’t want to stop!
This week, Netflix also dropped a short (35-minutes) behind the scenes special, Heartstopper: Ending on a Hi.
What a heartwarming way to end the Heartstopper experience! It’s lovely to hear the cast, crew, and fans talk about what the show has meant to them. If you’ve watched the show and the movie, definitely check this out too!
Now that I’ve reached the end, I’m tempted to start all over again from the beginning — with both the books and the Netflix series. I think it would be amazing to go back and see the characters once again at the very start of their journeys, knowing how much they grow and change as their stories move forward.
Heartstopper has been a wonderful experience. I encourage everyone to check it out!
Bookshelf Fantasies 