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I Was Born for This / Solitaire / Radio Silence / Nick and Charlie / This Winter
Alice Oseman Collection 5 Books
I Was Born for This
For Angel Rahimi life is about one The Ark – a pop-rock trio of teenage boys who are taking the world by storm. Being part of The Ark’s fandom has given her everything she loves – her friend Juliet, her dreams, her place in the world.
Solitaire
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 A-Levels 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.
Radio Silence
What if everything you set yourself up to be was wrong? Frances has always been a study machine with one goal, elite university. Nothing will stand in her way; not friends, not a guilty secret – not even the person she is on the inside.
Nick and Charlie
“I have been going out with Nick Nelson for two years. He likes rugby, Formula 1, dogs, the Marvel universe, the sound felt-tips make on paper, rain and drawing on shoes. He also likes me.” “Things me and Charlie Spring do together Watch films. Sit in the same room on different laptops. Text each other from different rooms. Make out. Make food. Make drinks. Get drunk. Talk. Argue. Laugh. Maybe we're kind of boring. But that’s fine with us.”
This Winter
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 Was Born for This
For Angel Rahimi life is about one The Ark – a pop-rock trio of teenage boys who are taking the world by storm. Being part of The Ark’s fandom has given her everything she loves – her friend Juliet, her dreams, her place in the world.
Solitaire
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 A-Levels 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.
Radio Silence
What if everything you set yourself up to be was wrong? Frances has always been a study machine with one goal, elite university. Nothing will stand in her way; not friends, not a guilty secret – not even the person she is on the inside.
Nick and Charlie
“I have been going out with Nick Nelson for two years. He likes rugby, Formula 1, dogs, the Marvel universe, the sound felt-tips make on paper, rain and drawing on shoes. He also likes me.” “Things me and Charlie Spring do together Watch films. Sit in the same room on different laptops. Text each other from different rooms. Make out. Make food. Make drinks. Get drunk. Talk. Argue. Laugh. Maybe we're kind of boring. But that’s fine with us.”
This Winter
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…
Paperback
Published January 1, 2021
9 people are currently reading
470 people want to read
About the author
Alice Oseman
97 books92.7k followersAlice Oseman is an award-winning author, illustrator, and screenwriter, and was born in 1994 in Kent, England. She has written four YA contemporary novels about teenage disasters: SOLITAIRE, RADIO SILENCE, I WAS BORN FOR THIS, and LOVELESS. She is the creator of LGBTQ+ YA romance webcomic HEARTSTOPPER, which is now published in physical form by Hachette Children's Books, and she is the writer, creator, and executive producer for the television adaptation of HEARTSTOPPER, which is set to be released on Netflix.
Alice’s first novel SOLITAIRE was published when she was nineteen. Her YA novels have been nominated for the YA Book Prize, the Inky Awards, the Carnegie Medal, and the Goodreads Choice Awards.
Alongside writing and drawing, Alice enjoys playing the piano semi-proficiently, Pokémon games, and purchasing too many Converse.
Find Alice on Twitter and Instagram @AliceOseman.
Alice’s first novel SOLITAIRE was published when she was nineteen. Her YA novels have been nominated for the YA Book Prize, the Inky Awards, the Carnegie Medal, and the Goodreads Choice Awards.
Alongside writing and drawing, Alice enjoys playing the piano semi-proficiently, Pokémon games, and purchasing too many Converse.
Find Alice on Twitter and Instagram @AliceOseman.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 24, 2021
Someone Buy me these books :(
I love this author so much!
I love this author so much!
February 22, 2023
Nick and Charlie: 5/5 Stars
I'm obsessed with these two and this series, thank you.
****
This Winter: 4/5 Stars
Tbh, this is a short story, with the type set large and lots of pictures and miscellaneous extras to add to the page count lol.
****
But!! For what it is, it's a good contribution to the Spring-verse timeline.
Solitaire: 4/5 Stars
This was a phenomenal book! But uber depressing. I empathize so deeply with Tori, that this was both therapeutic and incredibly triggering so probably gonna need to process that later lmao.
I think the themes this book handles are incredibly intriguing but I do think it just barely misses what it's trying to say. Like, the pieces are all there, but one or two aren't quite lining up, and it feels disjointed. However, I do appreciate it for what it is (and can you believe the author was only 18 when she wrote it?).
Definitely a severely different vibe from Heartstoppers, to warn folks, but it was so lovely to see an outsider view on Nick and Charlie as well!
****
Radio Silence: 3/5 Stars
This book felt a bit like someone asked, "what if manic pixie dream girls had layers?" Which is all fine and good, except when it still feels a bit like the manic pixie dream girl is only there to help the boy's plotline still?
I mean, yes, Frances had her own aspirations, hopes, fears, dreams, heartbreaks... but she also just felt like a vehicle to explain, chronicle, and support Aled's life.
I think, to an extent, they both saved each other, I can acknowledge that. But it also felt like somewhere along the line, Frances' sole motivation was Aled.
I'm pivoting between loving this as a tender book about friendship and caring so deeply for your found family and also wanting to leave it in the past with the other tropey YA of old.
(Also, spoiler, but I feel really crushed that the only sapphic book Oseman has written wasn't a romance. She doesn't owe it, but reading all of the other books where all the queer characters get a HEA with their lover makes this one stand out even fiercer. Such a bummer.)
For now, I'll just say it's a well written book, the plot kept me engaged throughout, and the characters were incredibly fleshed out and had great voice.
For later, I might come back and revise this review with more eloquent thoughts.
****
I Was Born For This: 4/5 Stars
This was such a unique, complex book about fandom about what it means to be a fan.
It's a bit on the nose at times (the middle portion slogged a whee bit for me), but it was also so ground shaking at the same time to realize that yes, being a fan and fandoms can be such beautiful, wonderful things, but being a fan at the expense of being yourself is such a complex battle that many fans face at a certain point.
Loved the dual perspectives too!
I'm obsessed with these two and this series, thank you.
****
This Winter: 4/5 Stars
Tbh, this is a short story, with the type set large and lots of pictures and miscellaneous extras to add to the page count lol.
****
But!! For what it is, it's a good contribution to the Spring-verse timeline.
Solitaire: 4/5 Stars
This was a phenomenal book! But uber depressing. I empathize so deeply with Tori, that this was both therapeutic and incredibly triggering so probably gonna need to process that later lmao.
I think the themes this book handles are incredibly intriguing but I do think it just barely misses what it's trying to say. Like, the pieces are all there, but one or two aren't quite lining up, and it feels disjointed. However, I do appreciate it for what it is (and can you believe the author was only 18 when she wrote it?).
Definitely a severely different vibe from Heartstoppers, to warn folks, but it was so lovely to see an outsider view on Nick and Charlie as well!
****
Radio Silence: 3/5 Stars
This book felt a bit like someone asked, "what if manic pixie dream girls had layers?" Which is all fine and good, except when it still feels a bit like the manic pixie dream girl is only there to help the boy's plotline still?
I mean, yes, Frances had her own aspirations, hopes, fears, dreams, heartbreaks... but she also just felt like a vehicle to explain, chronicle, and support Aled's life.
I think, to an extent, they both saved each other, I can acknowledge that. But it also felt like somewhere along the line, Frances' sole motivation was Aled.
I'm pivoting between loving this as a tender book about friendship and caring so deeply for your found family and also wanting to leave it in the past with the other tropey YA of old.
(Also, spoiler, but I feel really crushed that the only sapphic book Oseman has written wasn't a romance. She doesn't owe it, but reading all of the other books where all the queer characters get a HEA with their lover makes this one stand out even fiercer. Such a bummer.)
For now, I'll just say it's a well written book, the plot kept me engaged throughout, and the characters were incredibly fleshed out and had great voice.
For later, I might come back and revise this review with more eloquent thoughts.
****
I Was Born For This: 4/5 Stars
This was such a unique, complex book about fandom about what it means to be a fan.
It's a bit on the nose at times (the middle portion slogged a whee bit for me), but it was also so ground shaking at the same time to realize that yes, being a fan and fandoms can be such beautiful, wonderful things, but being a fan at the expense of being yourself is such a complex battle that many fans face at a certain point.
Loved the dual perspectives too!
January 3, 2023
Read every one of these books and I can confirm they are GOD TIER reads.
February 2, 2023
KS!S
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 10, 2025
"Sometimes I hate people. This is probably very bad for my mental health." -Solitaire, Alice Oseman
August 22, 2021
you have great books. right now im reading heartstoppers and im in love like i cant put the books down for more them 5 mins at a time.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews