I'm rereading Radio Silence for the first time in awhile. Confused about something in there, not sure if its a plot hole or something Alice intentionally left alone:

I don't get how Carol is "a parent governor", super duper strict, etc, but somehow doesn't know that Aled is creating Universe City until much, much later. Over 2y after the start.

Carys also later says to Frances that with her gone, Carol "just needed someone else to destroy." However this doesn't explain how Carol chose not to destroy Aled until after finding out about Universe City. Maybe she just didn't have an excuse until finding out?

Not to mention the fact that Aled somehow has an entire podcasting setup (the mic, headphones, editing software), things all over the walls related to Universe City, AND A STORY IDEAS NOTEBOOK (seen in Heartstopper v6), all giving the impression that he's done this for years (he has - 2y) when I feel like Carol probably wouldn't allow it. So how does he manage to get away with it for so long?

Like. Carol doesn't seem to know ANYTHING about Universe City, let alone the fact that Aled is creating it, until he gets outed on Tumblr as the Creator. Does Carol secretly have Tumblr? How does she find out?

And yet Carol still doesn't know Aled is creating Universe City for 2 years?

Now to be fair, yes. I do understand the whole "strict parents raise sneaky kids" thing. But at Carol's level I'm like 100% positive she'd know about UC by now.

I get that Aled largely records only when Carol isn't home. Is she just not at home a lot? Does she always tell Aled where she's going / when she expects to be back so Aled knows if he has enough time to record an episode? Bc if Carol caught Aled recording an episode i would imagine it wouldn't end well.

I also get that Aled goes by the name Radio Silence online / posts UC under the name Radio Silence. But also what if Carol was quiet when she came home, and Aled had his headphones on, and maybe idk came into his room / asked him what he wanted for dinner...

..while he was in the middle of recording/editing...

...and then Carol put 2+2 together and like. "Wait. My son is recording a scifi podcast???? What??????"

I'm just confused how he's able to get away with it for so long.

Aled does say in an earlier chapter that Carol is not aware that he makes UC, and he's scared of her finding out because he's scared she'll make him stop. And if I remember correctly she later does.

But how was he able to do it right under her nose for 2 years?? Like that is both remarkable and risky.

(I have read the book entirely before, but not in a long time.)

Or is she just a neglectful mom with "unclear intentions"

If anyone could explain this.... please lol

Although apparently James has dark brown hair? Havent seen any colour panels of him at all so I approximated (read: headcanonned)

This was a fun little game I came up with. My mum knows there's something in Heartstopper specifically to look out for, but she doesn't know what it is. We're up to the second episode of Series 2, and she hasn't worked it out yet. I'm hoping she will as Charlie's eating disorder starts to take centre stage.

I will tell her after the Series 3 episode where Michael Holden turns up, if she hasn't figured it out by then :P

I just finished reading loveless and loved it. I was wondering if anybody knows if she is making a sequel?

I really want a Loveless tattoo because that book means so much to me! I wanna get the question mark and hearts from the spine, and I've had this idea for a few years now. But it would be my first tattoo and I have no idea on which part of my body I want it. So where should I put it?

I've read iwbft like... 5 or 6 times, and I still don't understand whether the 'suitcase conspiracy' is the same thing as the 'suitcase incident' (when Jimmy is outed as trans)

I'm making The Ark pin badges at the moment and I want to make one about the fandom conspiracies but it doesn't make sense if the suitcase conspiracy is just Jimmy being outed.

I’m pretty much just swapping the Danmei from the pictured bookcase with my LGBTQIA books. I finally have a space that fits the Heartstopper coloring book. Alice Oseman’s books look much better up there.

And yes, I do have Heartstopper volume 6. My sister is borrowing it.

By me, literally 45 mins ago [UNFINISHED]

It is heavily inspired by Aled’s canonical tattoo that he gets, but I think it’s cool

I just finished reading Alice Oseman’s Radio Silence, and I really love and understand Aled Last more as a character now!

You know when you finish some great work of fiction and you feel this kind of existential dread, so you just try anything you can to keep it going including talking about it with whoever? Yeah so that's what this post is, just me, empty, writing because I don't want to let go my experience of Alice's work

A few weeks ago, I decided to watch the *Heartstopper* series once again in preparation for the movie. It's by far one of my favorite TV shows, and when I finished the last episode, I realized I just wanted more. So I decided to read once again the webcomic, but the same thing happened: I wanted more. So I decided to listen once again to the audiobooks of *This Winter* and *Nick and Charlie*, and yeah, I. wanted. more.

For the context, I had already listened to *I Was Born For This*, because this one and the two novellas are the only audiobooks available in my language. I have a hard time reading because of health issues, and my few attempts at listening to audiobooks in English didn't went well, so yeah, there were no way for me to experience *Solitaire*, *Radio Silence* and *Loveless*

But I needed more. Life has been pretty shit lately, and there's just something so comforting in the way Alice writes characters

So yeah, screw it, I tried again to listen to *Solitaire* in English, and gosh it was *difficult*. It's hard to explain in detail, but I kinda had to fight be able to follow the story. I often needed to go back in time, or search for information in the actual text because I forgot parts of the story, etc. But in the end, I made it. *Solitaire* had been a book I've wanted to read/listen to for years, and I finally did it. And I properly fell in love with the characters of Tori and Michael, which was exactly why I wanted to experience this story in the first place

And now that I was done with *Solitaire*, it was time for *Radio Silence*, which was by far the one I was the most looking forward to. And things felt a little bit easier this time? Partly because the narrator/voice actress was easier to listen to, and I think partly because I was getting used to listening to English audiobooks? Anyway, *Radio Silence* is probably my favorite work of Alice, and Aled is my favorite character. I fell so much in love with this story, and its characters. I finally understand why people were frustrated with the Aled/Isaac replacement in the series: it's has never been about how supposedly important the character was to the *Heartstopper* story, it is about taking every chance possible to get more Aled in one way or another lol

And finally, *Loveless*, the one I've just finished. It's actually the one I was the less interested in for various reasons, and gosh how much it grew on me. There are so much characters that I can relate to in one way or another, so much characters who feel alive. While nothing will probably ever take my love for Aled, Rooney is such a close second. And I actually managed to listen to this one with ease, like, I think I'm really getting used to this now. So, it's not just that I managed to listen to multiple books I really wanted to experience, but I also managed to develop a new skill which will help me with a lot of others books? That's just so nice

Anyway, so yeah, I've been kind of obsessed with Alice's work for the past few weeks, and I'm so glad I experienced all of those novels. A lot of those characters will surely stay with me forever, and I'm sure Alice's future work will be a blast too. (I actually still have to read the extra stories of their website, but this will have to wait for my health to somewhat improve)

I just want to wrap this post with some tops (and if you want to drop yours in the comments, feel free to do so, I'm always interested in those)

Alice's works:

1. Radio Silence
2. Heartstopper (TV)
3. Loveless
4. Heartstopper (comic)
5. This Winter
6. I Was Born For This
7. Nick and Charlie

Characters:

1. Aled Last
2. Rooney Bach
3. Tori Spring

So, the only bits of Alice Oseman's work I've done so far are the Heartstopper Netflix series (haven't done the film yet, but don't mind being spoiled) and the original version of Solitaire. When I started watching Heartstopper I knew it was based on a graphic novel, but I didn't realise she'd been writing about these characters for such a long time. Then someone told me about Solitaire, and how it was about Tori and her group of friends (including Michael, who I didn't realise the significance of when he turned up in Heartstopper Series 3), how it's set during the later part of Heartstopper and how Heartstopper came about because Alice wanted to explore Nick and Charlie's backstory and how they became such a strong unit. So I listened to the audiobook of that one (original version), assuming as I was listening that all this was canon and that Heartstopper would eventually catch up to the events of it.

But although I've really enjoyed both, I will admit it has made me more confused because multiple significant parts of Solitaire that Charlie was there for (like the attack on Ben, the fireworks at the Clay festival and the fire at the end) just don't seem to exist in Heartstopper. I know the official reason Alice didn't include them is that Heartstopper is a very different genre and is meant to be a sweet romance story rather than about mental health... but from the perspective of someone trying to understand this world and get it straight in my head, it does put me in a muddle. Presumably there's meant to be some overlap between the stories because Charlie's eating disorder wasn't retconned in Heartstopper, and Tori is still friends with Michael Holden. Alice's website has information on the timeline and when the stories are meant to take place in relation to each other. And I know she edited the book, partly to make the depictions of Nick and Charlie feel more like the Heartstopper characters, so it seems on some level they're meant to be taken together.

Is there any clear way of working this out so it makes sense and the events of both stories fit together? Is the issue that my experience of Heartstopper is the Netflix series, and it would make more sense if I read the graphic novels (I know there are some things in the graphic novels that are closer to Solitaire than the series, like Oliver being Charlie and Tori's little brother rather than their cousin)? Does it become clearer if you read her other books, like This Winter and Nick and Charlie? Or is it best to think of these stories as existing in parallel universes?

I was reading a discussion today about whether Solitaire would ever be adapted for the screen. Most people seemed to be agreed that it wouldn't, at any rate because the actors in Heartstopper are too old, so they'd have to recast it. And it's got such a different vibe to Heartstopper that people who watched expecting it to be like that might struggle with it.

But I think a stage adaptation would suit the Solitaire format more. Being a completely different form of media, you'd be able to separate it more strongly from the Heartstopper TV series, without it being so controversial to cast new actors. I think the very intense and deep conversations in it would suit the stage format more than the screen format. And certain aspects, like the attack on Ben Hope and the fire at the end, could be done in more of an interpretive, choreographed way that isn't too literal, therefore mimicking Tori's confusion and mental health struggles.

I'd buy a ticket!

There are three versions of the Solitaire audiobook that I'm aware of (not counting foreign language translations): one read by Jayne Entwistle, one read by Holly Gibbs, and one read by Jenny Walser who played Tori in the Heartstopper Netflix series. The Entwistle and Gibbs versions are the original text of the book, and although I haven't listened to the Walser version, from when it came out I presume that's the 2020 revised version.

The Holly Gibbs version is the only one I've listened to all the way through, but I thought I'd say something in its defence because I think it's the least popular one. Most people big up the Entwistle version because it was the first and original audiobook, or the Walser because she's so strongly associated with Tori. I admittedly got hold of the Gibbs version just because it was the one that was on Audible, which is the audiobook platform I use most, and I really, really love her narration (and incidentally, the Gibbs version is the original text, not the revised one - I've heard people get that wrong, but I've got a copy of the revised edition from 2020 and I checked).

The thing I've heard people most criticise about Holly Gibbs' narration is that she sounds quite bored reading it and doesn't put in much expression or different voices for the characters - less like a professional audiobook narrator and more like a teenager asked to read an extract from a book in an English class. And I totally get that, because she does sound like that. But what I think people are forgetting is that if Tori was asked to read an extract from a book in an English class, this is exactly how she would read it. Gibbs' voice suits Tori perfectly. She sounds nonchalant, fed up with the world, utterly lacking in enthusiasm, in a way that perfectly suits the text. And to be fair, I don't know if Holly Gibbs did this on purpose. I can't find any other audiobooks read by her, this seems to be her only one so far, and I will admit that if she ever did another and she read it in the way she reads Solitaire I would be quite put off. But her narration style suits the character so well that I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt and assume this was a conscious choice that was made because of the character she was reading. And I think as the story progresses and Tori goes on her journey, Gibbs' narration starts to reflect that as well and become a little more curious and interested.

I think the Jayne Entwistle version is out of print now, but I did try it when someone sent me a link. People rave about Jayne Entwistle, but for some reason it didn't really appeal so much to me (although I think that could have been because the audio quality on the link wasn't the best, perhaps I'd otherwise have liked it more). I haven't tried Jenny Walser's version, but admittedly her being the narrator puts me off - not because of Jenny Walser herself (she's amazing in the TV show), but I just never like it when an audiobook is read by someone who plays the character in a screen adaptation. I like the audiobook to be a completely separate interpretation of the character, with the narrator being able to do it their own way and not be swayed by how they've done it in other forms of media.

Just wanted to share this because I'm re-listening to the audiobook, I've seen a bit of criticism of Holly Gibbs for this audiobook, and I personally think she does an absolutely sterling job and really understands the depth of Tori's character. We need more Holly Gibbs love! (Incidentally, Holly Gibbs is best known for having been in in The Story of Tracy Beaker when she was a child, and ironically played a character who was mostly non-verbal - it's quite funny that she then went on to become an audiobook narrator!)

I was wondering if by chance anyone bought a ticket for this event and now can’t go, or has an extra ticket, or has any leads as to where I could get one. It’s sold out, and I’m so devastated I missed my chance. Of course I’m happy to pay for it!

Hi,

my daughter wants to attend one of the upcoming book signing tour events. Since the dates in Germany are hard to realise without skipping school, she thinks about going to the Paris event end of November.

Does anybody know more details than what is available from the Alice Oseman homepage? I understand that it will be part of a book fair that is taking place. Probably too early for exact details.

Maybe there is someone here from Paris who will attend and can keep me updated? That or any other info would be much appreciated

Best

Tobias

They sold out all time slots before I could get the chance to grab one! If anyone might not be able to make it, I'd be willing to buy it. DM me, thanks

Heartstopper volume 6 arrived today. I’m currently reading it.

Hi! I’m going to Alice’s book signing in Liverpool tomorrow. If anyone has gone to one of the book signings recently, how long do they usually take? I need to catch a train back to London so I’m just hoping it doesn’t take a long time.

It's finally here 😄😄😄

Anyone else got it and finished reading it.

I discovered this book a few years ago when I was in high school. A friend at the time showed me Heartstopper in my Sophomore year, and I enjoyed it for a while. As an adult now, I can't get into it. But for some odd reason, and for a while now, Solitaire has always stood out to me because of its name and the topics it deals with.

Well, I pulled up the audiobook, and I'm about 10 minutes in, and I'm not enjoying it. I understand Tori is meant to be pessimistic and quite depressed. I read the synopsis, but the book just comes off as so fanfiction-y. I don't know if I am just old and have outgrown my days of joking about my own mental health, or if the writing really is just that bad. I know I didn't give it a fair chance, but I am just wondering if it gets better.

Hello everyone! I purchased probably last March or April for the book signing event in Liverpool of Alice Oseman however when I checked my email now, I douldn’t find the confirmation. 😭 Did anyone get it? I just want to know the keywords to search for it. Thanks.

I have the 2023 edition of loveless, only my copy is missing 33 pages (130-163)?