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Solitaire is Alice Oseman's debut novel, and as such the place I decided to begin with her full length works. (I have already read some of her Heartstopper webcomic, but none of her books) I had heard pretty mediocre things about this one compared to some of her others, so decided it would be a good place to start, as to gently increase my expectations and not be too disappointed.
Someone’s banging on the door of the bathroom. I’ve been in here for ages just staring at myself in the mirror, watching my eyes tear up and dry and tear up and dry. Sometimes I think Alice Oseman books have captured a part of my soul that nothing else has managed to describe in exactly the right words. Her stories are streams of consciousness, explorations of identity, odes to teenage senescence. Dedicated to kids who have no idea who they are but are figuring it out together, kids who are sad and empty and lost and trying to remember where they used to fit in the world, kids who feel a little bit broken until they find the platonic soulmate who fills the gaps. Solitaire is radiant. Alice Oseman wrote Solitaire when she was only 17, which I find incredibly impressive and motivating. The writing clearly and realistically captures the thoughts of teenagers, both the good and the bad. While the writing style was arguably simplistic and nothing special- it was engaging and easy to read.
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Solitaire, the name of a mysterious group of anonymous pranksters, has taken over Harvey Greene Grammar School, the school known locally as "Higgs." Higgs is home to sixth formers Tori Spring, Michael Holden and Lucas Ryan. One by one, members of Solitaire continue to play pranks on the school. Tori is left with these pranks and the many other mysteries that follow: Michael suggests Solitaire is talking to her in some way. Why is Lucas avoiding me? Is Michael in love with me? So before Solitaire plays their biggest ever prank, Tori wants to know who's behind it. Alice Oseman’s books and comics often deal with serious topics. You may be concerned that one of Alice’s books may contain a topic that is distressing or triggering to you. So what didn't I like? I would've liked to have seen more about Solitaire and who else was behind it. Just knowing one person wasn't good enough for me. The only other thing that could potentially wind me up is a sequel. I don't think it would be possible to extend the plot of this book into a second novel, and I don't think I'd be inclined to read a second. Once is great, but don't overdo it. She even kind of admits how bitter, pessimistic, and boring she is when she says this at one point:
As for the way Tori sees her world, I was surprised that despite everything she witnessed with Charlie she still thought that he had a great life and that he’s popular. Sometimes reading her POV felt like I missed a memo, because Charlie certainly wouldn’t have been driven to do the things he did if his life would have been as perfect as Tori thought it was. Then again that discrepancy and stark contrast of what Tori saw and what was the actual truth only emphasized the inconsistency of her perception of the world. (Uff, I never meant that review to turn out so factual and technical. Sorry! XD) I first heard about Solitaire on Tumblr. I've been following Alice Oseman ever since and I desperately wanted to read her novel. So when I finally, finally! found it at the library I think I maybe made some loud joyful sound and hugged it...yeah. Although Solitaire was originally set in 2011, Heartstopper takes place in 2016, which means that it would technically take place in January 2017 in the updated timeline. However, Alice has said that neither Solitaire not Heartstopper takes place in any specific year. WHAT YEARS DO YOUR BOOKS TAKE PLACE IN? The short answer: They don’t take place in any specific year. To write a review about “Solitaire” turns out to be more difficult than I thought it would be. Mostly because I still don’t know where I stand with the book or rather on which side I came out of? About half of the people who read it loved it and the other half seems to dislike it pretty strongly. There rarely seems to be anything in between and I totally get why the opinions about this book are so varied. It’s not an easy book to like, because Tori Spring is not your typical MC. And I don’t even mean that she’s an anti-hero, she’s just not someone you’d like to be friends with and her life and the people she surrounds herself with are all pretty bland and uncongenial.My review is based on that edition. I have no idea of the changes that have been made recently. I'm glad for trigger warnings having been added and any potential edits that have been made. Take this review with a grain of salt for that reason though. Ocr tesseract 5.2.0-1-gc42a Ocr_detected_lang en Ocr_detected_lang_conf 1.0000 Ocr_detected_script Latin Ocr_detected_script_conf 0.9887 Ocr_module_version 0.0.18 Ocr_parameters -l eng Old_pallet IA-WL-2000099 Openlibrary_edition Random thought, but at the moment I'm not sure if I want a haircut like Tori's because of her or is quarantine simply getting to me (again. I already got side bangs and bleached half of my hair this year, I don't need another risky decision). Solitaire follows a year 12 student, sixteen-year-old chronic pessimist, Tori Spring. Throughout the novel, Tori creates (and destroys) relationships, debatably platonic or romantic, while managing family issues, mental health and the uprise of a local 'prankster' group, whose actions are both growing concerning and dangerous. Begrudgingly, Tori assists eighteen-year-old year 13 student, Michael Holden in his 'investigation' into the prank group, in doing so, developing a reluctant friendship. It was at that point that I realized: I love books! Why should I waste my time reading about a bitter bitch who hates them?
Alice made editorial changes to Solitaire in August 2020. The edited edition has an author’s note at the front of the book. So - as you can tell, I really didn't like this book. After writing this review I'm even thinking of giving it only a 1 star rating but there were certain aspects that I enjoyed. It was just that with everything I have experienced it was an incredibly upsetting read for me. My name is Tori Spring. I love to sleep and blog. Last year — first with Charlie and before I had to deal with the harsh reality of A-levels and college questions and the fact that I actually have to start talking to people one day — I had friends. Things were very different I think, but it's all over now. No." He's digging himself into a hole, and it's actually quite funny to watch. "I—oh, I don't know." This isn’t a book about happy people. I don’t even think this book was made for happy people, they would dislike it, say everything inside this book is utter bullshit. But it isn’t. It’s the absolute truth.There comes a point, though, when you can’t keep looking after other people any more. You have to start looking after yourself.
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