In Solitaire, the protagonist is Tori (Victoria) Spring, older sister of Charlie from the later Heartstopper graphic novels. As the author explains in the material at the end of the book, she was inspired to go back to the story of Nick and Charlie. She later revisited Solitaire to make some edits for a new edition.

The novel is almost a stream of consciousness of what’s going on in Tori’s head, as she tries to navigate life. She’s drifting away from her friends, she can’t focus on anything, she worries about Charlie who has been treated for an eating disorder, she’s depressed. She can usually be found sprawled on her bed with a diet lemonade, updating her blog or half-watching a movie. The plot is about a series of escalating pranks on the school by someone called Solitaire, but this feels secondary to the development of Tori’s friendship, or possible romance, with Michael, an odd boy who skates. At times the novel is a frustrating read because it’s quite lengthy and rambling, without a sense of direction. There isn’t a clear sense of resolution. I was impressed by its realistic outlook, however. If I’d read this novel when I was the same age as Tori, I would relate to her a lot, except for when she claims to hate books! There are also a few mentions of Radiohead, which I think suggests that if you ‘get’ the music, it might be your type of read. There are other cultural references scattered throughout the book. Pride and Prejudice is a particular theme, as Tori has to study the book. The Catcher in the Rye is mentioned also – how could it be otherwise? – as the original story of an apathetic teen who thinks everything’s phony.

I think this is a very good debut, considering the author’s young age. Be warned that this novel becomes rather dark and is more suitable for the older YA reader.

First published in 2014.

Highly recommended. I finished it in twenty-hour hours.

Published by Fig Tree (Penguin), 2026.

Some aspects of the book have not really aged well, but they do address the issues of racism and sexism in sport. The references to current footballers and pundits are rather out of date. Beckham himself, whose poster adorns the wall of Jes’ bedroom, retired from football in 2013. The book is not very detailed but I think it still has value today and anyone who enjoys the film would probably like the book too. There is quite a lot about women’s football in the media now, and I’ve seen books for children and young adults about it, but it wasn’t so common in 2002. The film paved the way; according to the internet, Chadha is planning a sequel for 2027, the 25th anniversary of the film.

Published by Hodder Headline, 2002.

There are a lot of details in the book that I either didn’t know, or maybe I found out from the fan sites and messageboards which abounded in the early 2000s and had forgotten. I felt that the inclusion of interview transcripts with the band and management were mostly not valuable, as if they were particularly interesting, they were quoted or paraphrased in the main text. I liked that there references to how Muse used the internet to promote their work and also that the author gives context of other bands from the time, as although the book wasn’t written that long ago, things move on quickly, so it’s a sort of time capsule. The last album mentioned is ‘The Resistance,’ which isn’t discussed as much as the previous albums. I appreciated the author’s honesty about his opinion of Muse; when he first met them for an interview, he thought they were very boring, which was a strange contrast to their music! But they were soon to prove him wrong, and he met the band many times.

This is a good read for any fan of Muse, whether you’re reading in the mornings or ‘Knights [of Cydonia]’, although the writing style might make you ‘Agitated’.

Published by Omnibus Press, 2014.

It’s a coming of age novel and also a metaphor for the struggle with and acceptance of the dark side of human nature. I felt that the ending was rather disappointing but I suppose it couldn’t have been any other way. I also felt that too much text was devoted to naming the many, many islands, and not enough was dialogue or interesting details. The magic spells were vague and even the time at wizarding school, which in any other book would have been the fun part, was quite gloomy. The male-centric society and wizards being more powerful than witches were also a little disappointing, as Le Guin is known as a feminist writer, but then this is an early work. I’m not going to read the rest of the series, but I don’t regret re-reading the first book.

Published by Puffin, 2016.

The film, which was directed by Lasse Hallström, starring Juliette Binoche, Johnny Depp, Judi Dench and and Alfred Molina, captures the essence of the book, but it’s a little different. While the book has some chapters narrated by Father Reynaud, which gives additional insight into his character, the film does not – moreover he’s a mayor, instead of a priest. I’m not sure why this was changed, perhaps it was thought some viewers might be offended. The magical realism tone of the book is generally dropped and it’s not clear that Vianne has something witchy about her. Another change is that the boat fire, which persuades the traveller Roux to stay in the town, is moved to much later in the film as a dramatic denouement and involves Vianne diving into the water (Roux diving after her) because she thinks her daughter Anouk is on the boat. Of course, the romance theme is much increased and the exploration of beliefs is reduced. There are also many memories of Vianne’s mother which are not represented. The film has a definite era, the 50s, whereas in the book it could be set any time in the last few decades. The setting looks very French and quaint – some of the film was shot in France – however none of the characters look like I imagined them, for some reason. The film is very well-made and the music is nice. It’s just not really my cup of tea, or rather, chocolate.

Film poster: Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7984022

The book is narrated by Jolene, a 30-something loner of Iranian descent who struggles with social interaction and alcohol dependency. She works in an office, where she hates everyone and has got into trouble for very stupidly typing mean things in white text in emails to her colleagues. When an attractive HR guy named Cliff (not exactly a romantic name!) arrives to recommend which employees should get the chop, he accidentally gives her access to the emails and chats of her colleagues. She uses the information to help, sometimes hinder, her plan to stay afloat at the company, but must not fall in love with the HR guy. She also gets into trouble when a fellow Iranian colleague has pretended to his parents that she is engaged to him and she goes along with the pretence, to the delight of her own parents who were despairing of her single state. We also understand that when she was at high school, Jolene’s best friend died in an accident but rumours have followed her, adding to her guilt and trauma. I felt that this part of the plot was still very mysterious as it wasn’t given much attention. I thought the book wasn’t too bad a read, until about halfway through, when I realised how silly it was, that all the characters were boring and that certain expressions were over-used. People were always huffing, knitting their brows, narrowing their eyes, or had ‘ticks’ in their jaws (sounds nasty, I hope they managed to remove the little critters…)

In summary, I wasted my reading time on this, in the hope of getting some laughs.

Published by HarperCollins, 2024.

Published by Boldwood Books, 2026.

Thank you to the publisher Fleet for the review copy via NetGalley.

I felt that the story was a little too stretched out and would have liked a faster pace. However, this was a compelling read with some really good twists, including a character whose identity is not who the author suggested they are. It was very well done! The kind of book which will make you think. There is certainly a deeper tone than you usually get in a psychological thriller. I’d recommend it if you want something different and unique.

Thank you to the publisher Vintage for the review copy via NetGalley. The publication date is 9th July.

Check out my other reviews of Erin Kelly’s books: He Said/She Said, The Burning Air, The House of Mirrors, The Sick Rose, Watch Her Fall, We Know You Know.