Alice Oseman

A short novella based on the beloved characters from Alice Oseman’s acclaimed debut novel Solitaire and graphic novel series Heartstopper – soon to be a major Netflix series. From the author of the 2021 YA Book Prize winning Loveless.

This Winter (A Heartstopper novella)

Alicia

And then he whispers, “You okay?” and I start to cry, because thatʼs always what happens when people ask me that question. I really donʼt want him to see me cry, (...) so I try extremely hard not to move from his shoulder, but that doesn't stop him seeing. When he puls back, the tears are streaming down my face.

Izaac Richards

I know she is, but her best isn't really good enough, and it shouldn't be about how she feels anyway. 

Victoria

If I could choose to be with him all of the time, I would, and that’s awful because I know that it’s unhealthy and you’re not supposed to be obsessed with the person you’re in love with, because you’re supposed to be a person on your own too, but still, every single time, I would choose to be with him.

"Half the time you refuse to even acknowledge that I have a fucking problem, and the other half you try as hard as possible to make me feel like I’m fucking disabled"

All I do is mope around sadly and spend extreme amounts of time alone in my room on the Internet

Winter is usually my favourite season, but Charlie’s right – this winter has been the worst. I sit down on the porch, my feet sticking out of the doorframe. There are some fairy lights outside someone’s house across the road, but the more I look at them, the dimmer they seem to get. It doesn’t feel like Christmas.

That's the other thing they don't get. They think eating disorders and mental illnesses can just be fixed at the drop of a hat. They don't understand that it's a process. That it takes time and treatment and effort on bad days and good days.

Sometimes I want to just stop trying altogether. Just stop doing anything at all.

Not that that matters. I don’t matter. He matters.

jana 

Not that that matters. I don't matter. He matters.

Charlie and I have discussed at lenght 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.

Keira 💫

Sara Godoy Higueras

the spring siblings r so <3 love how real and brutal this is about mental health and how it doesnt shy away from difficult convos :’)

Loved being able to see more about Charlie, and loved that we got a chapter from Oliver’s pov

Issabelle :)

his book is so beautifully written. The story is told with such care giving us a chapter with Charlie, Tori, Nick, and Oliver pov was so clever and it let us know how they were feeling. Truly amazing writing. I can’t not praise Alice Oseman enough!

dezzy

"A short novella based on the beloved characters from the graphic novel Heartstopper and Alice Oseman's debut novel Solitaire, which was praised as 'The Catcher in the Rye for the digital age' by The Times. The festive season isn't always happy for Tori Spring and her brother Charlie. And this year's going to be harder than most. 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."--Back cover.

This Winter (a Solitaire Novella)

A deeper delve into Nick and Charlie’s relationship, gives a stronger understanding on their lives, family, and love for each other 

Sid Ewing

Anna 

ugh, this story was just really sad. charlie felt uncomfortable during christmas day and tori was left behind. hopefully they'll both get a happy ending one day. 
can't wait to read solitaire tho, i really enjoyed tori's pov.

kelsey

started crying when tori told charlie that she kept thinking what if it was just her and oliver :((((((

brooklyn leota

Cute easy read. Missed having Nick and Charlie in my life and this helped.

river

kayla 

Ryan 

a simple story about dysfunctional relationships that define what a family is all about, misconceptions about mental illnesses and institutions, and most importantly, the lives of the spring family that each share a distinctive voice that oseman does well at

Rilo Debra Herbel

This was a great book, I really enjoyed it! It was short too, and was a good book to finish in one sitting. Even though it is short I very much enjoy the book and the characters are very relatable. (You do not have to read heartstopper first BUT it would make more sense if you did even though this came out before).

Se lee súper rápido y complementa a la historia original, además me gusta que una parte chiquita sea del hermanito y te cuenten cómo se siente

Hannah

Lyn 

chloe ✩‧₊˚✧｡*ﾟ

3.5
so adorable ! i will always love Alice Oseman's writing. it was only a novella so for obvious reasons this wasn't a five star read but i still enjoyed reading more about my favourite characters 💛💜✨🌈

liny

you know how to make them tears roll, alice

Lovely writing, good character description and hurting in the places it's supposed to hurt. 

Helena-Elisabeth 

Lovely writing, good character description and hurting in the places it's supposed to hurt. 

Quick read for a rainy afternoon. 

angie

feelings WERE hurt in the reading of this

This one hurt. But I still adore the Spring siblings, especially Charlie's and Tori's relationship to each other.

arleth

Livro fofinho como qualquer Heartstopper, foca se na saúde mental do Charlie mas de uma maneira q não parece um folheto de hospital como Heartstopper 4. Foi o primeiro livro ( sem ser banda desenhada ) que li em inglês, tem uma linguagem muito simples leve e fácil de ler , inclusive li o livro todo em mais ou menos 2 horas. 

Caíram algumas lágrimas por falar de um tópico que me toca tanto e que me identifico.

Helena

Livro fofinho como qualquer Heartstopper, foca se na saúde mental do Charlie mas de uma maneira q não parece um folheto de hospital como Heartstopper 4. Foi o primeiro livro ( sem ser banda desenhada ) que li em inglês, tem uma linguagem muito simples leve e fácil de ler , inclusive li o livro todo em mais ou menos 2 horas. 

Caíram algumas lágrimas por falar de um tópico que me toca tanto e que me identifico.

Marsha Evelyn

Oh, I decided to re-read This Winter for my first Christmas reading list. This book is very heatwarming but also emotional on Charlie's side when he imagined a perfect normal Christmas in Spring family.

I love This Winter so much despite the issue of mental illness inside the book, this book is the one to re-read. A perfect way to start a Christmas reading list if you love queer literature and looking for Christmas theme in it.

Bravo to Alice Oseman in this book! It captured all the struggle being having mental illness (eating disorders) and sh0uld attend family Christmas dinner. Charlie's relationship wirh food made me want to hug him always. And I love Nick's approach as well. What a caring golden retriever boyfriend!


Re-read this twice and write new review on this book always been a refreshment for me to catch up!

love the alice oseman universe, but this book felt like a summary of a story more than a short story. still really enjoyed it though.

madeleine

A little to short I think cause the plot wasn’t able to thrive in such a short time. But I love the universe of Nick and Charlie. 

This Winter (A Heartstopper novella)

Reviews

Highlights