Heartstopper, Volume 3

Charlie and Nick are White. Charlie is gay, and Nick is bisexual. Other characters are illustrated with a variety of skin tones and have various sexual and gender identities, including straight, gay, and trans. Some names, such as Tao, Aled, and Sahar, indicate diverse ethnic heritage but are not spelled out in the text. The P.E. teacher and rugby coach Ms. Singh, another recurring character, shows Nick a photo of her wife and offers support if the boys face bullying. The Paris trip chaperones, Mr. Farouk and Mr. Ajayi, are both depicted with darker skin tones. They also identify as queer.

Charlie tells Nick that he used to cut himself sometimes when he was being badly bullied. Nick notices that Charlie doesn't eat much or at all. Charlie admits that he controls his eating when he's stressed. He faints in the Louvre but feels better after eating and drinking water. It's implied that Charlie might have an eating disorder. A few teens say homophobic things like "gross" when Charlie has a hickie from another boy. Nick and his brother David verbally fight, swearing at each other. David laughs at Nick for saying he's bisexual. He makes homophobic comments, including "Should have always known you'd turn out to be gay!"

When Charlie tells his family that he and Nick are dating, his dad bans sleepovers and says they need to keep the bedroom door open from now on. Charlie and Nick kiss passionately, sometimes while lying on top of one another or with limbs intertwined, but always fully clothed. They sleep in the same bed one night on the Paris trip but only kiss. They discuss their physical relationship and agree they only want to kiss for now. Nick gives Charlie a hickie. A few other teen couples are shown kissing. It's implied that the chaperones on the Paris trip have sex.

There are several instances of "f--k," "s--t," "d--k," "ass," and "hell." Both "t-ts" and "bloody" are used once each.

One of the chaperones says he needs an alcoholic drink because of the stress of supervising teens. Nick tells Charlie that his mom lets him have a beer at Christmas. Darcy brings a bottle of vodka to Tara's birthday party at the hotel. Charlie and Nick take a sip of the vodka but don't like it. Some of the teens drink more. Darcy gets drunk and vomits. The teens go to the chaperones for help and are honest about what happened.