Heartstopper

This graphic novel about a teen LGBTQ+ love story was first published in 2019 and has since been translated to 36 languages, which now includes as Gaeilge thanks to publisher Futa Fata and translator Eoin McEvoy. Demand for the bestselling books increased tenfold when it was adapted for screen on Netflix in April 2022, making this an even bigger milestone for Irish language publishing.

This is the first book in the Heartstopper series in which there are now five books. It focuses on two teenage boys, Charlie Spring and Nick Nelson, who are in the same secondary school but have never met. They get to know each other when they are put in the same instruction group and from the moment they meet, there is a spark between them. Charlie falls for Nick but doesn’t believe that he has a chance or that Nick’s feelings are returned, but all is not as it seems. They build a foundation for their relationship by starting out as friends and as they get to know each other, their feelings grow. But things are never plain sailing, and the book doesn’t shy away from dealing with more serious topics such as peer pressure, consent and lack of consent, sexual pressure and coming to terms with sexuality.

Heartstopper is a wonderful and important story for teenagers and young people as it depicts life as it is. Instead of dramatic storylines with twists and turns, it focuses on everyday interactions between people and the personal battles and victories that we experience in real life. The graphics really focus on the individual characters – their facial expressions, emotions, reactions and interpretations of looks and words. Through these micro-interactions, we get to know Nick and Charlie’s personalities even better and it is easy to root for them as they are such a relatable pair.

As a graphic novel, no page is the same and there is an excellent mix between the style and number of graphics on every page so the reader’s interest is piqued. The story is presented through speech bubbles, graphics of the characters, texts on a phone and screengrabs to keep the medium of storytelling varied.

This is the first book for teenagers published by Futa Fata and they have done a great job with it, as has translator Eoin McEvoy. He has managed to maintain the tone of speech and speed of the story, staying true to Alice Oseman’s style without compromising the standard of Irish. The language is as contemporary in Irish as it is in English and leans towards a more standardised dialect. The conversations read naturally and the selection of words to describe movements and sounds in particular are perfect: “boiseog” (clap), “luisne” (blush), “smaoisíl” (sniff), “plab”, “cnead”, “puth” for example.

When Alice Oseman spoke about this series, she said that it was her aim to give hope to young queer people and show them that they could have a life full of love and friendship. It’s safe to say that she managed to do so with this special series, and it is so important that LGBTQ+ love is represented in books for the Irish-speaking community.