(gentle music)
- Okay. So welcome back to my YouTube channel.
I feel like today is going to be wholesome.
Very wholesome, indeed.
And the reason for that
is that today I'm going to be reading
the whole "Heartstopper" graphic novel series.
By the way, that's the sofa making a fart noise, not me.
When I packed to move to Paris,
I bought two suitcases with me.
One was full of clothes, one was full of books
because priorities, right?
But mostly because buying English books in France
will cost you one of your kidneys.
And so this took up quite a significant amount of space
in that suitcase.
And you guys have been telling me,
if not demanding me to finally read these books.
And so I've set aside a whole day to do exactly that.
What I know so far is that it's a romance,
and I've been in a bit of a hole recently.
And so I feel like I need the good vibes from this.
I need this in my life.
I could do with something a bit lovely.
I also know that this is by an author who I really like.
This is by Alice Oseman,
who wrote one of my favorite books I read last year,
which is called "Loveless".
And we actually, fun fact,
studied at the same university and did the same degree,
which is why I got my trustee uni jumper on today.
In fact, oh my God, I graduated last week!
That's a fun little life update.
I finally had my graduation ceremony
after two years of waiting
due to the old pandemi Lovato.
I finally actually got to have a ceremony
and celebrate with everyone I did my degree with.
So yeah, that's very fun.
Other people graduate, I gradu-late, apparently.
Anyways, I'm back now with a degree.
Let me have this one for five minutes, okay?
And I'm going to get started
by reading the first "Heartstopper" book,
"Heartstopper" volume one.
This is actually being turned into a Netflix series,
which premieres this week for me,
but I think by the time that you get this video
it will be out in the universe.
But basically right now
I just wanna be the guy who's like,
"I actually read the books first."
So welcome to that.
(gentle music)
So I just finished book number one
and it ended on a bit of a cliff hanger, you know?
I'm gonna have to film this quickly
so I can move straight onto book two immediately.
"Heartstopper" volume one was so sweet.
It's all about self discovery and identity
and coming of age and being unashamedly you.
It's such a celebration.
The story so far focuses on a boy called Charlie
who gets a little crush on a boy he believes to be straight
who's in his former school.
They get super, super close, and Nick starts to show signs
that maybe he is into Charlie after all.
And we're just watching two people fall in love.
And it is such a page turner,
I read this all in one sitting.
And it's kind of funny actually to read a high school drama
immediately after watching "Euphoria",
because this is actually age appropriate.
These teenagers actually act and behave like teenagers.
They act their age.
After spending so much time watching "Euphoria".
I was reading this like, "You guys do drugs?"
But yeah, I hope that the TV adaptation does that justice.
I've definitely seen from the casting so far
that they look the age that they're meant to be playing.
So I think it'll be really cool
to see some proper representation.
So my conclusion so far
is that I will protect Charlie Spring
and Nick Nelson at all costs.
But before we move on to book number two,
I just wanted to say a massive thank you to Skillshare
for kindly sponsoring today's video.
Skillshare is a platform for curious and creative people
with literally thousands of classes that you can take.
What I wanted to draw your attention to
is the fact that skill share actually has
a range of illustration classes.
So if you fancy yourself as the next Alice Oseman,
this is where to start.
One class I would recommend in particular is
"Character Illustration: Drawing Faces, Figures & Clothing"
by Gabriel Picolo, who's a comic artist and illustrator.
The classes are perfectly broken down and palatable,
which makes them super manageable.
And you can join a learning community
of hundreds of thousands of people
and make 2022 your year of learning, of growth,
of picking up new hobbies
and investing in your own personal growth.
And the best part is
you don't even have to invest straight away
because the first 1,000 people
to click the link in my description box
will get their first month on Skillshare completely free.
Use the code JACKEDWARDS
and start exploring your creativity today.
Thank you so, so much for Skillshare
for sponsoring this video.
And now, onto book number two.
(gentle music)
So I just finished "Heartstopper" volume two,
and my compliments to the chef.
It was so sweet and I got a sweet tooth, I loved it.
But before I tell you about that,
I just had some insane news.
And that is that I have been invited
to go to the premiere of "Heartstopper".
The man was too stunned to speak.
I need to find an outfit.
This is so exciting.
Okay, the vlog just got interesting.
Anyways, "Heartstopper" volume two was lovely.
In this book, we kind of follow Nick's coming out story.
And what I loved about it
is that it's all done completely on his own terms.
No one really puts too much pressure on him,
but they do empower him.
And I thought that was a really important
and really lovely detail.
He's given time, he's given space, he's given patience.
And I just think Alice Oman is a genius.
This isn't new information,
but it has been reaffirmed in my brain.
I wanted to show you some details
which I think are really brilliant.
Well, firstly, the cover because he's a rugby player.
Genius.
But also at the end of the book
you get these extra little details.
So you get some diary entries,
but also these little character profiles.
A little bonus comic with some of the peripheral characters,
so we get to sort of see a bit more of their story
which doesn't necessarily already fit into the main one,
which is such a clever idea
because it means that we don't lose the pacing
of the main comic.
And I just thought that was really cool
to have those extra details kind of for the fans.
And you know what?
if Alice Oseman has a million fans, I'm one of them.
If Alice Oseman has 10 fans, I'm one of them.
If Alice Oseman has zero fans, it's 'cause I passed away.
However, we can safely say
they will probably never have zero fans.
They actually have a legion of fans, and understandably so.
And this is my formal application
to be part of the "Heartstopper" fandom, please.
Please have me. And now, onto book number three.
(gentle music)
Okay, so you guys have been begging me
to read "Heartstopper",
and not one of you was gonna tell me
that volume three is set in Paris?
And reading it in this city
made it even more special for me.
And maybe I'm biased because it is the city that I live in,
but this was my favorite book so far in the series,
because at this stage we have
a really developed cast of interesting characters
who you're all kind of rooting for.
And I love seeing different characters interact
and their storylines sort of beginning to cross over.
And in this book, it's like an all-stars cast.
They all go on a trip together,
'cause basically the characters
either go to an all-boy school or an all-girl school.
So there's not a lot of crossover up until now,
but in this book, joint field trip!
So fun!
It kind of felt like when you have a favorite sitcom
and they go abroad for one episode,
like when "Friends" went to England.
That's what I felt about this book,
and I am praying this is in
the "Heartstopper" TV adaptation.
I can't wait to watch this.
And if you watch my videos,
you will know that Shakespeare and Company
is my favorite book shop here in Paris.
It's literally my second home at this point.
And look!
That was heart stopping, seeing that in this book.
So yeah, I very much enjoyed this.
And again we have some cool extra details at the end.
We have a little mock-up of Charlie's room,
but also Charlie's favorite books.
So we have "The Great Gatsby", "Radio Silence",
which is an Alice Oseman book.
We love the self plug.
We love the self promo.
He has a copy of "The Iliad"
and also a poster of it in his room,
as well as a poster of "Bride's Head Revisited"
by Evelyn Waugh.
I actually studied that during my Durham degree,
so I wonder if Alice Oman also did.
"Noughts and Crosses", and "An Encyclopedia of Space".
It's just so fun having those extra little details.
And the bonus comic in this
is about Elle, who is a trans character
who moved from the all-boy school to the all-girl school.
And Elle is one of my favorite characters in this book.
I love the way that she's written,
and I'm intrigued to see where we go in the next one,
because a few more sort of mature and dark themes
are starting to appear in this book
and I'm wondering how they're going to be developed
in the next one.
So it's time to move on to book number four,
but first I just ordered myself some dinner
because today is actually Easter Sunday
and I'm spending it alone for the first time ever.
So let me show you my Easter lunch.
A hot dog.
(Jack chuckles)
Happy Easter Sunday, everyone.
Jesus died for this.
The funny thing about this place, Frank's,
is that I actually used to live above it
in a previous apartment, I don't know if there anymore.
And I'd only been living in this apartment for two days
and I decided to Deliveroo my dinner.
So I ordered it. It came so quickly.
I was flabbergasted, and it wasn't until two days after that
that I walked out of the apartment, looked behind me,
and realized the place I had ordered from on Deliveroo
was literally below my flat.
And so I essentially paid...
(Jack laughs)
I paid a Deliveroo driver to take it from on the counter
and walk about two meters carrying it to my front door.
I paid a man to ring my doorbell and just had no idea.
I can't even remember if he gave me a funny look
because I was oblivious.
And to be honest, given my level of French
when I first moved here, everyone gave me a funny look.
It was not good.
So anyway, I'm an idiot and I'm gonna eat this
and read the fourth "Heartstopper" book.
And I'm very excited to see where things go.
(gentle music)
Okay, so I finished "Heartstopper" volume four.
I also finished my hot dog, and it was incredible.
The book, not the hot dog.
Although the hot dog was pretty special too.
Anyway, this book was so great.
These books just get better and better and better.
I still think number three is my favorite.
They deal with these characters
and the problems that they face so tenderly and kindly,
and the themes of this book surprised me.
It really took a bit of a darker turn.
It focuses on body image and eating disorders and therapy.
And I am really grateful for this
because seeing depictions of teenage boys
struggling with body image is actually incredibly rare.
Yeah, just seeing it depicted here is really powerful.
And also to see someone experiencing that,
but surrounded by people who just love them.
So despite the more difficult themes,
it was still just so pure and lovely and incredible.
And it's a five star from me.
It's been a lovely day of reading
and getting to enjoy these graphic novels.
I think there are some extra bits online,
which would be the start of book five.
So I might have to go and read those too,
because I'm not ready to let these characters go yet.
I'm so grateful that I get to see them
on the screen in a few days time.
My heart feels very full today after reading these books.
And I'm gonna head to bed
and I will catch you for the premiere.
Can't believe I'm even saying that!
Life really is wild, huh?
(gentle music)
Today's "Heartstopper" premiere day.
I need to leave in five minutes.
My outfit arrived 15 minutes ago.
It looks incredibly messy, but that's kind of my vibe.
I've gone lilac suit,
and then I dunno if you can see this necklace,
but I thought it radiated "Heartstopper" energy.
(gentle music)
Okay, that was a completely mental 24 hours in London.
I'm now back in baguette land.
The "Heartstopper" screening was such a beautiful night
just surrounded by incredible extraordinary people.
And it felt like such a joyous celebration
of a really special piece of art.
The show was everything I hoped it would be and more.
They did such justice to those books.
And everyone in that cinema was cheering,
was crying, was screaming altogether.
And oh my God, Olivia Colman is Nick's mom.
Are you kidding me?
I nearly fell off my chair when that moment happened.
Now, that is what you call a heart stopping moment.
In fact, there's loads of moments just like that,
which were so brilliant.
I got to meet the whole cast, which was such a privilege.
They are such a brilliant group of young actors,
and I'm so excited to see their careers develop from here.
And they're just really nice people.
Even the baddies.
Even the villains are actually nice people in real life.
We've got loads of photos,
I got to reunite with loads of my friends,
and I even met the legend, Alice Oseman.
It is such a special experience getting to tell someone
how much you enjoy their art in person.
So that was very cool.
We got to watch the first two episodes in the cinema,
followed by a Q&A, and then the show came out at 8:00 AM
on Netflix this morning.
I have already binged the whole thing,
and I loved it so much.
The soundtrack is phenomenal.
The way the actors brought the characters to life,
the way that editing and everything was done.
Insane, incredible, beautiful.
So many brilliant details.
It's actually based on the first two books,
so I will be starting a petition right here right now
to get a season two of this show because we need it.
And since it's set in Paris,
I will be auditioning for the role of Man in Bookshop Three.
I'd just like to be in the background, just browsing.
Now, before we end this video,
let's talk about the elephant in the room.
Isaac's reading.
Isaac is a new character for the Netflix adaptation.
He's kind of loosely based on Aled in the books.
And it's sort of implied in this season-
I'm gonna call it season one
'cause I'm praying for another one.
It's sort of implied that he might be asexual,
which is something I really hope we get to see explored
in later episodes, later seasons.
But anyway, here is our booktube icon.
Here's our booktube king.
If I'm YouTube's resident librarian, he is Netflix's,
'cause every time we see this man,
he's got a book in his hand.
And of course, I have done God's work
and compiled a list of all of the books that he reads.
It's what I'm here for.
So we see Isaac reading, "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder",
"Dune Messiah", "The Time Traveler's Wife",
"Quantum Mechanics".
Listen, big brain energy.
He can keep that one.
"Pride and Prejudice", "Radio Silence" by Alice Oman,
"Gender Explorers", "There is No Planet B",
a "Naruto" comic, and also "Proud" by Gareth Thomas.
Now, I thought this was such a brilliant little detail,
a little Easter egg.
Because Gareth Thomas was one of the first openly LGBT
professional rugby players,
and Isaac is reading this at the rugby match.
I just thought those little details were very clever
because it's such a nod to LGBT pride and history.
So to conclude, we stan "Heartstopper".
Go and check it out.
Thank you so, so much for watching this video.
If you enjoyed it, you can subscribe down below.
Don't forget that the link for Skillshare
is in the description box.
And until next time, all the best, stay in touch,
have a wonderful day and I'll see you very soon.
Bye-bye.