This Winter

- Alice Oseman

Albany, WA

November 11, 2022

GOODREADS BOOK BLURB:

I used to think that difficult was better than boring, but I know better now…

I’m not going to think about the past few months, about Charlie and me, and all of the sad. I’m going to block it all out. Just for today.

“Happy Christmas, ” I say.

The festive season isn’t always happy for Tori and her brother Charlie. And this year’s going to be harder than most.

SERIES / GENRES:

FIRST WORDS:

I wake up two hours after I fall asleep. The amount of sleep I get on Christmas Eve seems to be decreasing each year, probably because my average falling-asleep time gets steadily later due to my rather worrying Internet addiction. Maybe, eventually, I’ll just stop sleeping altogether and become a vampire. I’d be good at that.

MY REVIEW:

solid, good read:

☆☆☆☆☆ 4/5

I’ve decided to make my way through Oseman’s books in the order that plot events take place chronologically – she very helpfully has the timeline on her website. So This Winter takes place partway through Heartstopper Volume Four. It’s just a quick peek at Christmas from Tori, Charlie, and Oliver’s perspectives after Charlie has spent a few weeks as an inpatient to treat his eating disorder.

Charlie and I have discussed at length how it's possible for Oliver to be related to us, since he's the literal embodiment of joy and we're both miserable fucks. We concluded that he must have got all the happy genes.

It’s the first time we’ve had any input from Tori, past a few comments from the sidelines, and it’s nice to see this world expand a little further. Of course, I’m still obsessed with Nick and Charlie’s relationship, but getting an outside perspective is a nice change. I’m not going to lie, though; the best part of This Winter is Oliver’s (very short) portion at the end because he has the best view of everything going on.

SPOILER

First Charlie disappeared, and then Tori disappeared, and I’m starting to wonder whether I’m next.

While it’s short, This Winter is the first non-graphic novel from Oseman that I’ve read, and I think it’s a nice introduction to what may be next in Solitaire. I know these books are geared toward a younger audience, but there are universal themes present, and honestly, I’d probably read anything to get a little more Nick and Charlie in my life!

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