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A review by justinkhchen
Radio Silence by Alice Oseman
4.0
4 stars
Filled with nostalgia, this is obviously a very specific, personal perspective, from someone who's essentially twice the age as the protagonists in Radio Silence, and reading it in 2022. But I do think it perfectly captures the minutiae of being at the cusp of adulthood, the fear, uncertainty, and excitement for self-learning and what's ahead in life.
I really appreciate Radio Silence's angle on teenage anxiety, from maintaining good grades (really was a life/death moment at that age), to fitting in with societal expectation. The inclusion of topic such as sexual orientation, fringe culture, and platonic friendship feels well integrated, authentic, and not preachy. However, despite the nuanced depiction on teenagers, Radio Silence is oddly cartoony when it comes to its adult characters—the parents are either unrealistically understanding, or just outright villainous. It is too bad this aspect of the story is so black and white, when everything else is crafted with subtlety.
A total aside, Radio Silence is also an unintentional time capsule of the 2010s—a time when Tumblr was a dominating platform, podcast is new and just below mainstream's radar, and Kayne West was still a relatively non-problematic rapper. It's insane how much the world has changed in less than a decade since this book's initial publication (2016).
Filled with nostalgia, this is obviously a very specific, personal perspective, from someone who's essentially twice the age as the protagonists in Radio Silence, and reading it in 2022. But I do think it perfectly captures the minutiae of being at the cusp of adulthood, the fear, uncertainty, and excitement for self-learning and what's ahead in life.
I really appreciate Radio Silence's angle on teenage anxiety, from maintaining good grades (really was a life/death moment at that age), to fitting in with societal expectation. The inclusion of topic such as sexual orientation, fringe culture, and platonic friendship feels well integrated, authentic, and not preachy. However, despite the nuanced depiction on teenagers, Radio Silence is oddly cartoony when it comes to its adult characters—the parents are either unrealistically understanding, or just outright villainous. It is too bad this aspect of the story is so black and white, when everything else is crafted with subtlety.
A total aside, Radio Silence is also an unintentional time capsule of the 2010s—a time when Tumblr was a dominating platform, podcast is new and just below mainstream's radar, and Kayne West was still a relatively non-problematic rapper. It's insane how much the world has changed in less than a decade since this book's initial publication (2016).