“I always wanted Heartstopper to be full of joy and love, but in a way that feels real and tangible”
—Alice
As a UK author of Young Adult fiction, I thought it was game over. Every major book-to-screen smash hit from Love, Simon, to Twilight, to The Hate U Give were quintessentially American. Was it time to throw in the towel? Then, from the humblest of beginnings, came a new teen juggernaut precisely no one saw coming. And it was British. Welcome, Heartstopper.
The Netflix series and winner of this year’s Attitude TV Award is technically the prequel to author Alice Oseman’s debut novel, Solitaire. There, we are introduced to Tori Spring (portrayed on screen by Jenny Walser) and her younger brother, Charlie (Joe Locke), who is going through a mental health crisis.
Sometimes a supporting part develops unexpected Main Character Energy, and Charlie.” Oseman therefore decided, in 2016, to chronicle Charlie’s relationship with classmate Nick Nelson in a web comic on Tumblr. “I decided to make it a comic instead because Nick and Charlie’s story felt so episodic, rather than having the traditional beginning-middle-end of a prose novel.”
