Reviews

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

isthisakissingbook_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

heatherllama's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

chloe_wilson's review against another edition

3.5

You can really tell this takes place in 2014 and I can’t decide if that’s good or bad… Interesting characters, some parts in the beginning seemed a little too over-the-top but the pacing was really well done and it progressed nicely. I wish some parts were more fleshed out as well.

ladyofbreeland's review against another edition

5.0

This book is for the kids who were told in elementary school that they were reading at a college level, who had the top scores on the standardized testing, who got the best grades and thought that this made them better than their peers... so, basically, it felt like Alice really wrote this book for people like me. This book captures the really difficult transition from growing up academically gifted to realizing at the end of the day that you are still just a kid trying to find your place in the world. The sparse but lovely prose reminded me of Sally Rooney (author of "Normal People") which is a style that I prefer for contemporary fiction as I feel that it helps the pop culture references feel intentional rather than cringy. The dynamics between the characters was one of the most refreshing parts of the story for me, "Radio Silence" follows the dynamic between narrator Frances and her neighbor Aled. As Frances tells us at the beginning of the story, this is "not a love story" but it undeniably is. Frances and Aled may not be interested in each other romantic, but the found family that they find in each other is beautiful to witness. "Radio Silence" is a platonic love story about what it is like to find the person who understands you completely, the equivalent of a therapy appointment for high-performing over-achieving perfectionists, and a love letter to weird little narrative podcasts as a form of storytelling all at once. This is a 10/10 from me and I cannot recommend it enough.

alexasreadingproject's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

what_rowan_is_reading's review against another edition

2.75

yeah this sucked, can't believe i rated it 4 publicly bc i didn't want to hurt oomf's feelings

lindseylinkous's review against another edition

4.0

the writing style was a little funky but I got used to it- I love Alice with my whole heart she can do no wrong

lararoseg's review against another edition

5.0

this is the best book i've read in a really really long time. i somehow related to almost every single character, and the author managed to perfectly capture the feeling of growing up without really having any idea what you're doing. the representation was also amazing, with a bisexual and mixed main character and an incredibly diverse set of supporting characters (there are barely any straight people in the entire book). this is going to give me a HUGE book hangover.

artemisavalon's review against another edition

5.0

Most of the time I rate Alice her books 3.5 stars (about). I really love her work and I am a huge fan but for some reason Radio Silence just hit differently. Maybe it was the fact that there were so many important topics being discussed (just like in all her books).
Parents who enforce their dreams upon their children are so toxic and that's on perioDT.

inditravis's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75