Book Review: Radio Silence (Non-Spoiler)

I had a complicated relationship with this book.

Synopsis

What if everything you set yourself up to be was wrong?

Frances has 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.

Photo by Alice Oseman (@aliceoseman)

Plot

The book is so fast-paced. I have never read a book with very short chapters like this one. The story, however, is kind of slow burn. We get a glimpse of what the podcast of the main character was about. Though, I wish the story of the podcast was expounded more, because I find it fascinating. This book is about family, friendship, going to college, getting to know yourself better, and genuinely loving someone with all your heart. At some point of the book, I became less attached to the story. Not that it’s bad or something, it was just typical coming-of-age story. I still managed to finish it because I was rooting for some of the characters.

“I wonder- if nobody is listening to my voice, am I making any sound at all?”
― Alice Oseman, Radio Silence

Writing

The writing style is easy to get through. Like I mentioned earlier, it is a fast-paced book. I had an easy time reading this book because it flows seamlessly. One thing I absolutely love about this book is the queer representation. This book is so diverse when it comes to gender identity rep. It has F/F and M/M relationship, agender and demisexual characters. It was fun knowing each of them. The book is written in first POV so we don’t really get an in-depth characterization of each and every one, but still, I find the characters individual enough.

“I think everyone’s a bit bored with boy-girl romances anyway,” he said. “I think the world’s had enough of those, to be honest.”
― Alice Oseman, Radio Silence

Overall

After some time of thinking, I concluded that I should give this book 3 star. Story-wise, I did not love it that much. However, the writing was good and the gender rep was great. It was refreshing to read a coming-of-age story with characters of different background. Maybe if I read this during my high school years, I would have liked it more. I had a complicated relationship with this book. Still, I would recommend it to anyone who is finding a book with diverse casts of characters that is set in high school.

About The Author

Alice Oseman is an author/illustrator and was born in 1994 in Kent, England. She has written four YA contemporary novels about teenage disasters: SOLITAIRE, RADIO SILENCE, I WAS BORN FOR THIS, and upcoming LOVELESS. She is also the creator of LGBTQ+ YA romance webcomic HEARTSTOPPER, which is now published in physical form by Hachette Children’s Books.

Alice’s first novel SOLITAIRE was published when she was nineteen. Her YA novels have been nominated for the YA Book Prize, the Inky Awards, and the Goodreads Choice Award, and HEARTSTOPPER has been optioned for TV. She 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.

www.aliceoseman.com
Twitter: @aliceoseman
Instagram: @aliceoseman

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