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A review by bookishmillennial
Radio Silence by Alice Oseman
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
This is a reflective coming-of-age young adult/teen fiction story told by Frances and explores themes of sexuality, friendship, identity, virtual spaces, choices, and meaning.
Frances has always been laser-focused on getting into Cambridge, but her best friend Carys ran away (and she knows why), and then she begins working on the anonymous podcast project Universe City, with Aled, Carys’ brother. Aled’s online persona is Radio Silence, and Radio mentions many cryptic messages to February Friday on the podcast. Once the podcast gains traction and one of their identities is revealed, their trust for this new friendship is broken and they must reckon with their uncertain futures alone.
I really appreciated the conversations that Frances had not only with Aled, but with Daniel (Aled’s best friend) & Rain. They discuss miscommunication, relationships, online infamy, curiosity & high school. It felt authentic to how messy high school felt for me, & I’m sure it will ring true for so many others. AO writes incredibly tender stories about young people with great care, & as a chronically online human, I thoroughly enjoyed the commentary on respecting online creators’ privacy & parasocial relationships.
Aled’s mom is a POS & it shows in everything she did to make him miserable & make him pay for any “rebellious” behavior. One example… What she did to his dog was …. a wild, manipulative, abhorrent choice.
content warnings below ❤️🩹
This is a reflective coming-of-age young adult/teen fiction story told by Frances and explores themes of sexuality, friendship, identity, virtual spaces, choices, and meaning.
Frances has always been laser-focused on getting into Cambridge, but her best friend Carys ran away (and she knows why), and then she begins working on the anonymous podcast project Universe City, with Aled, Carys’ brother. Aled’s online persona is Radio Silence, and Radio mentions many cryptic messages to February Friday on the podcast. Once the podcast gains traction and one of their identities is revealed, their trust for this new friendship is broken and they must reckon with their uncertain futures alone.
I really appreciated the conversations that Frances had not only with Aled, but with Daniel (Aled’s best friend) & Rain. They discuss miscommunication, relationships, online infamy, curiosity & high school. It felt authentic to how messy high school felt for me, & I’m sure it will ring true for so many others. AO writes incredibly tender stories about young people with great care, & as a chronically online human, I thoroughly enjoyed the commentary on respecting online creators’ privacy & parasocial relationships.
content warnings below ❤️🩹
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Outing, Acephobia/Arophobia, Child abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship