If You Loved 'Heartstopper', Here's Six Other Stories To Check Out Next.

I thought… I just really liked you as a friend… a best friend… because, like, I want to hang out with you all the time and I just love everything about you… but I kept wanting to… I don’t know… hug you and hold your hand and then yesterday, when you suggested it, I- I really wanted to kiss you.

Hi besties…

*small squeal* It's finally here!!!

I am super excited that the Netflix adaptation for Alice Oseman's brilliant graphic novel series, Heartstopper, is finally here, having debuted worldwide yesterday. I cannot stop screaming. It’s trending on the #9 spot of most viewed debuts on SA Netflix, so that’s a celebration.

I gobbled up the entire season last night, and I am just as in love with Nick and Charlie, Tara, Elle and Darcy, Tori and Tao, as I was when I was first introduced to them those years ago. This is monumental. It is a masterclass in accurate casting. It is a love letter to young love, to queer rep, to friendship, and and and!!!

I have a few issues and suggestions, nothing major. I wonder why they added the two characters, Isaac and Darcy, because they did not get as much screen time or lines to make one miss their characters when they weren’t on screen. No shade, I loved Isaac. He is adorable, cute and the type of person you wish to kiss and hug and protect from the world. He always has a book in hand, keeps to himself and speaks only when needed. He’s practically me. But Imogen? Sigh.

I would have also loved longer episodes, and this is me being a glutton and wishing to destroy the semblance of a sleeping pattern I have. Aaand I need a spin-off with Tori as lead. I need to know how she keeps popping out of the shadows. I looove her.

Aaanywho???

Yous know how I'm a sucker for lists and recommendations ke, so I put together a little "If you liked this, check this out" listicle for you, my lovelies. I have 6 recs, ranging from books, TV series and films for you to check out if Nick and Charlie's screen adaptation warmed your heart and moved your soul. Trust me, you'll love these, too.

Check them out below.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, by Benjamin Alire Saenz

This is my favourite book in the entire world. Everyone who knows me needs to know this, so by sharing it (yet again) I’m basically sharing with you a piece of my soul.

Dante can swim. Ari can't. Dante is articulate and self-assured. Ari has a hard time with words and suffers from self-doubt. Dante gets lost in poetry and art. Ari gets lost in thoughts of his older brother who is in prison. Dante is fair skinned. Ari's features are much darker. It seems that a boy like Dante, with his open and unique perspective on life, would be the last person to break down the walls that Ari has built around himself.

But against all odds, when Ari and Dante meet, they develop a special bond that will teach them the most important truths of their lives, and help define the people they want to be. But there are big hurdles in their way, and only by believing in each other―and the power of their friendship―can Ari and Dante emerge stronger on the other side.

The Fence Series, by C.S. Pacat and Johanna the Mad

Fence is an American comic book series written by C. S. Pacat and drawn by Johanna the Mad; both of them are co-creators. The comic book focuses on Nicholas Cox, the illegitimate son of U.S. fencing Olympic champion Robert Coste, who aspires to become a fencing champion like his father.

There is as much romance as there is drama and rivalry on this one ke, so you’re definitely gonna like it. What I did not appreciate was how the graphic novel series ended, only to be apparently continued in a novel fashion. The author released the follow-up novels, Fence: Striking Distance and Fence: Disarmed with writer Sarah Rees Brennan.

I haven’t had a chance to read the two inspired novels ke, but I intend to because I enjoyed the drama and rivalry of the fencing team at Kings Row and so many of my questions and eager interest were left unattended to. I’d love to get lost in their lives a tad bit more. This, too, would make for a great adaptation.

Young Royals is a Netflix original drama series created by Swedish writer, Lisa Ambjorn, following the upending of young Prince Wilhelm when he adjusts to life at his prestigious new boarding school all the while attempting to keep his feelings for young choir boy and love interest, Simon, in check. What will he choose, to follow his heart or his duty?

Sex Education is another Netflix original I believe is a masterclass in casting and representation. It is inspired, utterly gorgeous and resonates with so much that young people go through in high school. The title is very apt in a sense that the show tells the story of young Otis Milburn and his friends Maeve Wiley and Eric Effiong, and the slew of teenage schoolmates they offer advice to on love, sex and sexuality.

I love the most how the show just keeps getting better with each season, the level of care, precision and dedication they give to the stories and arcs they tell is evident because it does not give performative activism or representation that’s rooted in profit. They literally tell our stories the way they need to be told, portrayed by people who actually know how it feels to live that life, making the representation all the better.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, adapted from Stephen Chbosky’s novel of the same name. He also wrote the screenplay and directed the film. It is the story of Charlie, a 15-year-old introvert, who enters high school and is nervous about his new life. It is when he befriends his seniors, that he learns to cope with his friend's suicide and his tumultuous past in a way that shows just how much humans are varied, and how infinite we not only are but can be.

Ezra Miller is kind of a shitty human ke, but this film is classic and beautyful and exists in spite of the current trash occurrence they are doing. Don’t let that ruin a good thing, bestie.

The Way He Looks, directed by Daniel Ribeiro, is another film that holds a special place in my heart, like Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the World, because I discovered both these when I was much younger and still learning about myself, my sexuality and gender identity. Now, while I discovered these then, I was only able to watch and read them many years later. I was still searching for myself, but I was in a better position to understand them and what they mean to me as a queer young person, and what a gorgeous experience that was.

The Way He Looks, originally titled Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho, is based on Ribeiro’s short film titled, I Don’t Want to Go Back Alone starring Ghilherme Lobo, Fabio Audi, and Tess Amorim, who reprise their roles on the film. The story is told from the perspective of Leo, a blind boy, seeking independence and trying to navigate the world on his own, with the aid of his Mother and best friend, Giovanna. It is when a new boy, Gabriel, arrives at school, that his life starts to make sense.

The two boys become friends, questioning the feelings that arise from their budding friendship till the tipping point when they cannot. It is a similar heartwarming story of defying the world and obstacles to claim love that is portrayed in Young Royals, Heartstopper and Sex Education; that shows how much love truly lives.

You will totally fall in love with Leo and Gabriel, and most especially Giovanna.

Let me know in the comments section if you've seen Heartstopper yet, or any of my recommendations. Talk to me.

I love you besties. And Happy World Book Day!!!