Author- Alice Oseman
Series- N/A
Published- 2016
Page Count- 416
Publishing House- Harper Collins
Genre- YA Contemporary
Rating- 5/5 stars
About the Author
Alice Oseman was born in 1994 in Kent, England. She completed a degree in English at Durham University in 2016 and is currently a full-time writer and illustrator. Alice can usually be found staring aimlessly at computer screens, questioning the meaninglessness of existence, or doing anything and everything to avoid getting an office job.
Alice's first book, SOLITAIRE, was published when she was nineteen. Her second, RADIO SILENCE, was released in early 2016, and her third, I WAS BORN FOR THIS, in 2018.
(Taken from Alice's Website)
Plot
What if everything you set yourself up to be was wrong? Frances is been a study machine with one goal. Nothing will stand in her way; not friends, not a guilty secret – not even the person she is on the inside. Then Frances meets Aled, and for the first time she's unafraid to be herself. So when the fragile trust between them is broken, Frances is caught between who she was and who she longs to be. Now Frances knows that she has to confront her past. To confess why Carys disappeared... Frances is going to need every bit of courage she has. Engaging with themes of identity, diversity and the freedom to choose, Radio Silence is a tor de force by the most exciting writer of her generation.
(Taken from Goodreads)
Opinions
I want to preface this blog by saying that this year, I have only read 7 5 star books. To put this into context, I have read 65 books at the time of writing this. I used to hand out 5 stars all the time, but now I have become very reluctant to give them out. To me, a 5-star book should be truly phenomenal and blow your mind. It should be one of your favourite books of the year. I would happily say that at the time of writing this and publishing it, that Radio Silence meets these criteria.
I had wanted to read Alice Oseman's novels for a while, especially after picking up the first two volumes in the Heartstopper series (both of which I gave 5 stars and am waiting for the final two volumes to be published next year). My wonderful best friend got me all of her current novels published for my birthday at the end of August and I have since read them all. Radio Silence quickly established itself as my favourite.
I have a feeling this is something I have mentioned on here before, but in case you are new to my blog or have just stumbled across it, I really don't like the first-person perspective. Despite the fact that every sentence begins with "I", "my" or "me", I find it hard to connect with the character telling the story. I find it oddly off-putting for some reason. This is one of the few first-person perspectives I have actually liked. I found that, in a way, I was able to connect to the main character in the story. I found her relatable and if I had picked this up a year ago, I would have found it spookily relatable.
Frances is a study machine, academia is her life and she doesn't really have much time for anything else. Except for Universe City, a YouTube podcast that she is obsessed with. At school, she is a goody-two-shoes, head girl and has a reputation for being a study machine. But at home, she is different and is more comfortable with being herself. There were definitely elements of her story that I related to. When I was in secondary school, I was known for being very hardworking and was always expected to get the top grades. I'll cut to the chase and let you know that I very rarely got the top grades, and when people found this out, people would say to my face "but I thought you were smart". On an almost spiritual level, I related to Frances because it's hard when people only see you as a study machine or smart kid. I loved the journey that Frances went on from wanting to go to Cambridge to realising there is more to life than education. It's a similar journey to myself (though I never even thought of applying to Oxbridge because there was no way I was getting into those schools). I've reached a point in my life where I am happy with what I'm doing and grades don't mean everything to me, though it has taken me a very long time to get to this point in my life.
The supporting cast was great too. Aled was a wonderful addition to this book and it was refreshing to see a boy-girl friendship that didn't evolve into a relationship. I wish there were more books like this. It also had a fantastic amount of LGBTQ+ representation (as do all of Alice Oseman's books). Frances was bisexual, Aled was a demisexual asexual, Daniel was gay and I believe Raine and Carys end up in a relationship. It also tackled some very heavy themes such as academic stress and mental health, as well as abusive parents. Aled and Carey's mother was abusive towards them, to the point of pushing them away forever. The abuse included forcing them to dress and look a certain way, burning their possessions, taking important things away from them, forcing Aled to close down his podcast, killing the family dog (via putting it down) and pressuring them academically. It made me uncomfortable that it was only the "kids" in this book that challenged the mother and that none of the adults did anything about it. To knowingly let someone be abused is unacceptable and I have spotted that in Alice's books parents are great at being parents (which not every parent is, but they are all suspiciously absent-minded).
The reveal that Aled was the creator of Frances favourite podcast was almost a shock except from the fact as soon as she heard his voice it should have been obvious. Frances listens to this podcast religiously, yet it took her a while to work out it was Aled. It was still a cute moment and moved the story forward nicely. Although I gave this book five stars, I will say that the big reveal about Carys was a bit disappointing. When you read the blurb, you expect this epic mystery about why she disappeared off the face of the earth. I genuinely expected her to be found dead or it to be very dramatic. It was revealed that she left of her own volition due to her mothers' abuse, which is a valid reason to leave, but it felt as though it was building to something a bit bigger. She was also very easily convinced to return to her home life. I personally would have liked a bit more from this reveal.
Radio Silence was a moving story about friendship, negotiating teenage life and deciding what to do with your life. Alice Oseman is exceptionally good at making her teenage characters feel realistic and capturing what it's like to be a teenager in this day and age. I look forward to reading her next book, LOVELESS (coming out in 2020)
Frances is a study machine, academia is her life and she doesn't really have much time for anything else. Except for Universe City, a YouTube podcast that she is obsessed with. At school, she is a goody-two-shoes, head girl and has a reputation for being a study machine. But at home, she is different and is more comfortable with being herself. There were definitely elements of her story that I related to. When I was in secondary school, I was known for being very hardworking and was always expected to get the top grades. I'll cut to the chase and let you know that I very rarely got the top grades, and when people found this out, people would say to my face "but I thought you were smart". On an almost spiritual level, I related to Frances because it's hard when people only see you as a study machine or smart kid. I loved the journey that Frances went on from wanting to go to Cambridge to realising there is more to life than education. It's a similar journey to myself (though I never even thought of applying to Oxbridge because there was no way I was getting into those schools). I've reached a point in my life where I am happy with what I'm doing and grades don't mean everything to me, though it has taken me a very long time to get to this point in my life.
The supporting cast was great too. Aled was a wonderful addition to this book and it was refreshing to see a boy-girl friendship that didn't evolve into a relationship. I wish there were more books like this. It also had a fantastic amount of LGBTQ+ representation (as do all of Alice Oseman's books). Frances was bisexual, Aled was a demisexual asexual, Daniel was gay and I believe Raine and Carys end up in a relationship. It also tackled some very heavy themes such as academic stress and mental health, as well as abusive parents. Aled and Carey's mother was abusive towards them, to the point of pushing them away forever. The abuse included forcing them to dress and look a certain way, burning their possessions, taking important things away from them, forcing Aled to close down his podcast, killing the family dog (via putting it down) and pressuring them academically. It made me uncomfortable that it was only the "kids" in this book that challenged the mother and that none of the adults did anything about it. To knowingly let someone be abused is unacceptable and I have spotted that in Alice's books parents are great at being parents (which not every parent is, but they are all suspiciously absent-minded).
The reveal that Aled was the creator of Frances favourite podcast was almost a shock except from the fact as soon as she heard his voice it should have been obvious. Frances listens to this podcast religiously, yet it took her a while to work out it was Aled. It was still a cute moment and moved the story forward nicely. Although I gave this book five stars, I will say that the big reveal about Carys was a bit disappointing. When you read the blurb, you expect this epic mystery about why she disappeared off the face of the earth. I genuinely expected her to be found dead or it to be very dramatic. It was revealed that she left of her own volition due to her mothers' abuse, which is a valid reason to leave, but it felt as though it was building to something a bit bigger. She was also very easily convinced to return to her home life. I personally would have liked a bit more from this reveal.
Radio Silence was a moving story about friendship, negotiating teenage life and deciding what to do with your life. Alice Oseman is exceptionally good at making her teenage characters feel realistic and capturing what it's like to be a teenager in this day and age. I look forward to reading her next book, LOVELESS (coming out in 2020)
