Cover of Heartstopper: Volume Two by Alice Oseman

5 book recommendations

Books Like “Heartstopper: Volume Two” by Alice Oseman

If you fell in love with the tender romance, wholesome queer joy, and heartfelt coming-of-age journey in Heartstopper: Volume Two, you are not alone. Nick and Charlie’s sweet bond beautifully captures the magic of first love and self-acceptance. Explore our curated recommendations below to find your next comforting read.

  1. Cover of Bloom by Kevin Panetta

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    Bloom

    by Kevin Panetta

    Now that high school is over, Ari is dying to move to the big city with his ultra-hip band—if he can just persuade his dad to let him quit his job at their struggling family bakery. Though he loved working there as a kid, Ari cannot fathom a life wasting away over rising dough and hot ovens. But while interviewing candidates for his replacement, Ari meets Hector, an easygoing guy who loves baking as much as Ari wants to escape it. As they become closer over batches of bread, love is ready to bloom . . . that is, if Ari doesn’t ruin everything.

    Writer Kevin Panetta and artist Savanna Ganucheau concoct a delicious recipe of intricately illustrated baking scenes and blushing young love, in which the choices we make can have terrible consequences, but the people who love us can help us grow.

    Why it's similar

    Like Heartstopper: Volume Two, this is a contemporary YA graphic novel featuring a tender, slow-burn queer romance between two teenage boys navigating their identities. Both works use soft, evocative artwork to capture the vulnerability of young first love.

    What's different

    Bloom is set during a post-high school summer in an American seaside town centered around a Greek family bakery, whereas Heartstopper focuses on British secondary school dynamics.

  2. Cover of Check, Please! Book 1: # Hockey by Ngozi Ukazu

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    Check, Please! Book 1: # Hockey

    by Ngozi Ukazu

    New York Public Library’s Best Books - Top Ten Books for Teens
    The Boston Globe - Best YA of the Year
    Ignatz Award - Outstanding Comic
    William C Morris Award - Finalist

    Eric Bittle may be a former junior figure skating champion, vlogger extraordinaire, and verytalented amateur pâtissier, but being a freshman on the Samwell University hockey team is a whole new challenge. It is nothing like co-ed club hockey back in Georgia! First of all? There’s checking (anything that hinders the player with possession of the puck, ranging from a stick check all the way to a physical sweep). And then, there is Jack—his very attractive but moody captain.

    A collection of the first half, freshmen and sophomore year, of the mega-popular webcomic series of the same name, Check, Please!: #Hockey is the first book of a hilarious and stirring two-volume coming-of-age story about hockey, bros, and trying to find yourself during the best four years of your life. This book includes updated art and a hilarious, curated selection of Bitty's beloved tweets. This is perfect for fans of the hit series Heartstopper!

    Why it's similar

    Both books originated as webcomics and explore the sweet, supportive romance between athletes, emphasizing themes of discovering one's sexuality and finding acceptance among teammates.

    What's different

    Check, Please! takes place in an American college setting and features a more comedic, fast-paced sports narrative compared to Heartstopper's gentler, slice-of-life British high school pacing.

  3. Cover of The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

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    The Magic Fish

    by Trung Le Nguyen

    NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR by New York Public Library • Kirkus Reviews • Booklist • Publishers Weekly

    In this gorgeous debut graphic novel, fairy tales are the only way one boy can communicate with his Vietnamese immigrant parents. But how will he find the words to tell them that he’s gay? A powerful read about family, identity and the enduring magic of stories.

    “One of the most astounding graphic novels of the year" –Entertainment Weekly

    Tien and his mother may come from different cultures—she’s an immigrant from Vietnam still struggling with English; he’s been raised in America—but through the fairy tales he checks out from the local library, those differences are erased.

    But as much as Tien’s mother’s English continues to improve as he reads her tales of love, loss, and travel across distant shores, there’s one conversation that still eludes him—how to come out to her and his father. Is there even a way to explain what he’s going through in Vietnamese? And without a way to reveal his hidden self, how will his parents ever accept him?

    This beautifully illustrated graphic novel speaks to the complexity of family and how stories can bring us together even when we don’t know the words.

    “A lyrical masterpiece.” –BuzzFeed

    Why it's similar

    Both are deeply empathetic YA graphic novels centering on the quiet anxiety and emotional courage involved in coming out to family and friends.

    What's different

    The Magic Fish utilizes allegorical fairy tales and explores the immigrant experience and language barriers between a mother and son, giving it a more layered and melancholic tone.

  4. Cover of Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms by Crystal Frasier

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    Cheer Up: Love and Pompoms

    by Crystal Frasier

    Annie is a smart, antisocial lesbian starting her senior year of high school who’s under pressure to join the cheerleading squad to make friends and round out her college applications. Her former friend Bebe is a people-pleaser, a trans girl who must keep her parents happy with her grades and social life in order to maintain their support of her transition. Through the rigors of squad training and amped-up social pressures (not to mention microaggressions and other queer youth problems), the two girls rekindle a friendship they thought they’d lost and discover there may be other, sweeter feelings springing up between them.

    Why it's similar

    Both stories are uplifting, low-angst YA graphic novels about high schoolers managing sports, personal identities, and budding queer relationships with the help of supportive peers.

    What's different

    This book focuses on a sapphic romance involving a transgender teen and a cisgender lesbian joining the cheerleading squad, rather than two boys navigating gay and bisexual identities on a rugby team.

  5. Cover of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

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    Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

    by Becky Albertalli

    Now a major motion picture: Love, Simon, starring Nick Robinson and Katherine Langford!

    William C. Morris Award Winner: Best Young Adult Debut of the Year * National Book Award Longlist

    "A remarkable gift of a novel."—Andrew Smith, author of Grasshopper Jungle

    "I am so in love with this book."—Nina LaCour, author of Hold Still

    "Feels timelessly, effortlessly now."—Tim Federle, author of Better Nate Than Ever

    "The best kind of love story."—Alex Sanchez, Lambda Award-winning author of Rainbow Boys and Boyfriends with Girlfriends

    Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he's pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he's never met.

    Incredibly funny and poignant, this twenty-first-century coming-of-age, coming out story—wrapped in a geek romance—is a knockout of a debut novel by Becky Albertalli.

    Why it's similar

    Both are contemporary YA stories about a gay teen navigating first love, coming out, and school life in a supportive, ultimately optimistic environment with a light, heartfelt tone.

    What's different

    Told in prose with email excerpts and a mystery element around the love interest’s identity, it has a more conventional contemporary YA novel pacing and structure.

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