A re-read for me because I was in the mood for it after watching Heartstopper season 3. We get more of Tori in that season, so we do get to see glimpses of this book in that season. Plus, we get Michael Holden who is just a delight. 

This is darker in tone than Heartstopper, but it's a good complement to that series. If you've read Heartstopper and want to learn more about Tori, definitely pick this one up!
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I re-listened to this partly because the person who plays Tori in the Heartstopper show actually narrates the updated book that just recently came out from Scholastic and she does a fabulous job (yay Jenny Walser!). I'm trying to remember if I had read Hearstopper volume 4 prior to reading this one the first time, and I think I must have? But it just felt like the entire timeline clicked so much better this time for me. 

I am also realizing I'm not sure if I read the updated version the first time, because Alice Oseman did update the text in 2020. I'm going to guess no, because I think the re-published, newly illustrated cover is the new version, and I remember liking the prose a lot more this time around than I did the first time. Which is a testament to Oseman having a lot more experience now than when she first wrote the book as a teenager. 

We get a lot of Charlie's struggles in the Heartstopper series, but I appreciate seeing what Tori struggles with as well. It's clear that their parents don't really prioritize the mental health stuff (and after seeing the dinner with the grandparents, it's clear why). Seeing more of her and Charlie's relationship in this just makes me love it even more, and I hope we get to see more of that in the next season of the show.

All in all, I still don't think this is Oseman's best novel (still Loveless, in my opinion!), but I love that this is the story that eventually brought us Heartstopper.