SOLITAIRE BY ALICE OSEMAN || book review hehe

Description: "In case you’re wondering, this is not a love story. My name is Tori Spring. I like to sleep and I like to blog. Last year—before all that stuff with Charlie and before I had to face the harsh realities of exams and university applications and the fact that one day I really will have to start talking to people—I had friends. Things were very different, I guess, but that's all over now. Now there's Solitaire. And Michael Holden. I don't know what Solitaire is trying to do, and I don't care about Michael Holden. I really don't."

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Review: (Spoilers) Solitaire had to be the most anticipated book that I was planning to read, and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. The entire book felt real, and I could completely relate to any of the characters. Even Becky Allen, who was built up to be sort of an antagonist, felt real and I related to her. I related to the changes she was going through in her life. The protagonist, Tori Spring, is the perfect representation of teenage angst and apathy. She feels like someone going through depression who doesn't know that they are. Her characterization feels natural. It's easy to see certain thoughts of hers. The line "I think you should know that I make up quite a bit of stuff in my head and get sad about it." has got me held to a choke hold. I didn't know how to describe the way I felt until hearing that. I felt understood by Tori. I felt sympathetic for Charlie. I felt love for Micheal. The characters are the main thing that holds this book together. I loved it for them. I enjoyed Tori's development and the way her relationships change.

I don't have many nitpicks about the novel, but here were some moments that I personally disliked. First off, I wasn't invested at all with the Solitaire mystery. This may be me, but I just couldn't get attached. Every time something new happened with the mystery blog or another prank happened I felt no interest. When Tori even expresses wanting to solve who's behind it, I couldn't care less. Secondly, I did really enjoy the twist of Lucas being behind the blog's pranks. I didn't see it coming at all. I wasn't a huge fan of his reasoning being that he was in love with her but I did enjoy the ending clarity of him not truly loving her, but the image of her in his head. Finally, Nick's character confused me. He seemed like a completely different character than from Heartstopper. To be fair, it was Tori's point of view so I'm not too hung up on that one. I don't think I had any other gripes. I didn't hate Tori being a pessimist or think that she was pretentious. If anything, the Solitaire group was pretentious! I truly enjoyed the book and I love Alice's work.

Would I recommend?  Yes, definitely. This book made me feel heard. Made me feel real. However, I wouldn't read it if you are expecting something like Heartstopper. I would also read a list of trigger warnings: https://aliceoseman.com/extras/content-warnings/

♡ lily