Book Review: ‘Nick and Charlie: A Solitaire Novella’ by Alice Oseman
When you’re a teenager, the littlest things can feel like the end of the world. Alice Oseman explores this concept in her novella Nick and Charlie. You see Nick and Charlie have been dating for two years (an exceptionally long time when you realize they’re only 16 and 17), and it’s perfect. Everything about their relationship is so wonderfully comfortable and easy. But everything is about to change because Nick is going off to Uni and Charlie isn’t. They plan on staying together, but can their relationship really survive the long-distance test? Find out in Nick and Charlie.
[Warning: My review of Nick and Charlie contains some spoilers!]
An intense study of a single relationship challenge
It’s the last day of school before testing. The last day that Charlie and Nick will ever go to the same school. Nick is excited to be going away to Uni, and he can’t stop talking about it. But all Charlie wants to do is stop time, maybe even rewind it. Because when Nick leaves, he’ll be all alone. It’s great and wonderful for Nick; he’s off to start his life and meet new people. But Charlie will be stuck in the same little town he’s always been in, only now it’ll be even smaller.
Of course they’ve talked about how their relationship will work long-distance like two responsible, sane people. They’ve figured out a train schedule so they can still see each other somewhat regularly, and there’s FaceTime, texting, etc. And it’s not like they’ll stop loving each other. They can do this! But when Charlie shares their plans with the online community, he’s instantly told they can’t. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is messaging him to tell him that it’ll never work and they might as well just break up now. Then Charlie learns that another couple they know has done exactly that to avoid the later heartbreak, and he’s sure that’s what Nick must really want. One drunken tirade later, neither boy is sure what’s going on, who wants what, and if they’re together or broken up. The only way to fix this is to talk to each other, but as the days and then weeks go by, it looks like the most solid relationship at Truham might just be over.
The key to ALL relationships is communication
The key to ALL relationships is communication (it bears repeating). Yeah, I know, it’s been said so many times it’s become trite, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true. Besides, judging by the state of most relationships (not just romantic ones by the way) I don’t think anyone is actually listening. Nick and Charlie sure take their time realizing how important it is. And by all accounts, they have a sickeningly and oddly healthy relationship.
This entire story unfolds because Charlie is worried and scared about what will happen when Nick leaves, but he doesn’t tell him that. He just keeps acting like everything is fine. Nick even makes a point of asking Charlie what’s wrong several times because he can tell something is wrong, but Charlie lies to him and says he’s fine. Then when he gets really scared, instead of asking Nick about what he wants, he makes assumptions based on what everyone else is telling him, gets drunk (always a good idea), blows up at Nick, then ghosts him because he’s so embarrassed. Not to mention, he still believes that what he assumes Nick is feeling is actually what Nick is feeling.
After Charlie blows up at him, Nick assumes that the problem is that Charlie doesn’t want to deal with a long-distance relationship (again, assumes instead of asking) and doesn’t bother to reach out to him to find out what’s really going on. This entire problem could have been avoided, all the heartache and drama completely skipped, if Charlie had just told Nick how he was feeling. He could have told him his worries, what people were saying, and then asked Nick how he was feeling. Instead, there were assumptions made all over the place by both of them, and we all know what assumptions do. Thankfully, Charlie’s sister manages to convince him to reach out, and finally there’s communication. It’s all very sappy and sweet. The drama is exactly what I expect from a teenage relationship; the clear communication that ends the drama is not at all what I imagine two teenagers could handle. I mean, let’s face it, most adults can’t communicate as well as Nick and Charlie. But I do applaud the modeling. If kids can read about healthy relationships, maybe they can start having them!
Heartstopper from book to movie
Nick and Charlie is the basis of the Heartstopper Forever movie that came out on Netflix in July. It’s the perfect story to translate to the screen because it’s very compact. From the first page to the last, it’s about two weeks. Which is one of the things I really loved about this book. It’s a very in-depth look at a single moment in a relationship. Now there is a lot of internal dialogue that needs to be covered for the story to make sense, but there are plenty of ways around that (voice-overs, talking to friends). As long as the movie captures the idea that communication is the most important thing for a relationship, I’m sure that it’ll be good. But if you want a little bit better idea of what’s really going on inside Nick and Charlie’s heads, check out Nick and Charlie because the book is always better!
Nick and Charlie is available for purchase! Have you read this novella before? Have you watched Heartstopper Forever on Netflix? Share your thoughts on social media and tag @bsb.insider to continue the conversation!
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