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Netflix’s heartwarming hit, Hearstopper, is back with a final movie. The show and film, which stars Kit Connor and Joe Locke as Nick and Charlie, is based on author Alice Oseman’s graphic novels of the same name. Hearstopper actually began as a webcomic, which you can still read online on Tumblr or Tapas. Nick and Charlie were first introduced in Oseman’s debut novel, Solitaire.
As Oseman notes on her website, “The Heartstopper series and Solitaire feature some of the same characters, and operate within the same universe/timeline, but they are very different stories – Heartstopper is a happy, romantic, uplifting graphic novel series that focuses on Nick and Charlie, while Solitaire is a dark story about mental illness narrated by Charlie’s sister, Tori, and was written long before Heartstopper. You do not need to read them both, but if you’d like to read them both, it doesn’t matter which one you read first. Chronologically, Heartstopper starts a year before Solitaire starts.”
The best way to read Heartstopper in order is by following the order of volumes (i.e. volume one, then two, and so on), but if you’d like to read them chronologically with the spin-off novellas and Solitare, here’s the best order:
1) Heartstopper #1: A Graphic Novel
“Boy meets boy. Boys become friends. Boys fall in love.” In the first Hearstopper novel, a shy student named Charlie sits next to rugby player Nick in class. Their friendship soon develops into something more. Season one of Heartstopper on Netflix follows volumes one and two.
2) Heartstopper #2: A Graphic Novel
In volume two, Nick and Charlie are best friends—who have kissed. Charlie doesn’t think Nick is interested, and Nick is more confused than ever.
3) Heartstopper #3: A Graphic Novel
Charlie and Nick officially become boyfriends in volume three of Hearstopper, and Nick comes out to his mom. But they still don’t know how, or when, to tell their friends and classmates that they’re dating. Season two of Hearstopper on Netflix is drawn from vol. 3.
4) Heartstopper #4: A Graphic Novel
Charlie is ready to say “I love you,” and though Nick feels similarly, he has a lot on his mind—including coming out to his dad, and worrying that Charlie may have an eating disorder. Season three of Hearstopperon Netflix (now streaming) adapts volumes 4 and 5.
5) Solitaire
Nick and Charlie were first introduced in Solitare, Oseman’s debut novel that follows Tori, Charlie’s older sister. Chronologically, Solitare begins a year after Hearstopper vol. 1, and takes place during Hearstopper vol. 4.
6) Scholastic This Winter
This novella follows Tori, Charlie, and Nick during Christmas. (The Christmas in question happens chronologically during Hearstopper vol. 4.)
7) Heartstopper #5: A Graphic Novel
Nick and Charlie have finally said “I love you” to each other, but with Nick heading to university next year, how will they handle their relationship?
8) Scholastic Nick and Charlie (Heartstopper)
As Nick’s departure for university grows closer, the two try and figure out what their relationship will look like—and if their love is strong enough to survive being apart.
9) GRAPHIX Heartstopper #6: A Graphic Novel
The final installment in the Hearstopperseries follows Nick preparing to leave for college, and wondering what comes next for him and Charlie.
10) The Heartstopper Yearbook
This isn’t really in the Hearstopper-verse, but a companion book for all fans of the world. Per the publisher, “The Heartstopper Yearbook is packed full of exclusive content from the Heartstopper universe: never-before-seen illustrations, an exclusive minicomic, character profiles, tri by a cartoon version of Alice herself.”
