Radio Silence: A Coming-of-Age Tale of Identity and Friendship

“Hello. I hope somebody is listening.” Be prepared for a crazy amount of quotes. So, I didn't expect to finish the last 300 pages of this book last night. But I did. I also didn't expect to be completely drowned in this story. It took my feet and pulled and kept on pulling. A day later and I've yet to reach the bottom. That is how much it stayed with me. I'm beginning feel bad for people who haven't read this yet. I don't even know where to start. *deep breath* Okay... So, this is one of those books that I completely thought was different than it turned out to be. But it was a good surprise. Like Christmas morning and when you find a dollar in your pants pocket. The characters drive this story along. Oh, did I add that all of the main characters are queer? Not only that but there is so much diversity I almost ran outside and screamed for an AMEN. There were so many geek references in this book. Game of Thrones. Scott Pilgrim. SPIRITED AWAY. On top of some pretty awesome music selections. I feel like I need to be best friends with the author. Like now. The themes in this story include depression, sexual confusion, online bullying, and abuse but on top of that, you have friendships that wild horses could not pull apart, platonic love, long lost love, typical teenage problems like school and whether to check your Tumbler or not which made it so relatable. And even though Frances' mother was awesome, not all of the parentals figures were so understanding. Which is something a lot of teenagers can relate to for sure. “I stopped speaking. There was no point trying to argue. There was no way she was going to even attempt to listen to me. They never do, do they? They never even try to listen to you.” I almost forgot to talk about the individual protagonists as a whole. So, there's Frances, and she's obsessed with a podcast called University City which is about a person stuck in a monster-ridden city set in the future. She meets Aled, who happens ot be the creator of the podcast. Cool? Yep. Only he doesn't want the world to know that. He is a very private with some heavy family drama. “...it felt like we were friends. Friends who barely knew anything about each other except the other's most private secret.” It's a slow burn friendship and THANK THE SKIES, there is no romantic love between them. They have a beautiful, soul-mate type connection that feels so real and it makes me yearn for something like that. “And I’m platonically in love with you.” “That was literally the boy-girl version of ‘no homo,’ but I appreciate the sentiment.” Without giving too much away, Aled's podcast and his persona, Radio Silence hit me in the feels. When it all comes together, and we realize who he's speaking to and how deep his agony goes, it just ripped out my heart. “I wonder - if nobody is listening to my voice, am I even making any sound at all?" Sometimes, I think we all feel that way, and Radio's pain is our pain. This book was written for you and for me.

"Sometimes I was hit with the weight of things I didn't know..." TW: Death of an animal, parental abuse, suicide ideation, depression, discussion of mental illness This is about a girl named Frances Janvier. She is a book worm, and is devout in her studies like her whole life relied on good grades. She isn't close to her school friends because she is too busy with school and only spends time with here and there. But she has a secret life that she burrows into. She draw for her favorite Youtube podcast, Universe City (with the creator of the podcast a mystery). This secret life is where she can truly be herself and explore an area outside of school. One night at a pub, she runs into a drunk Aled Last who admits to her that he is the creator of Universe City. Frances takes Aled back to her house so he can sleep off his drunken state. The next day she reminds him of his confession and from here a platonic friendship bloom. This book is really hyped, so what's the deal? This a completely platonic friendship between a boy and girl, which is something you don't get a ton of in books. Usually there is a romance that blossoms between two main characters. But not here. Partly due to their feelings for one another, partly due to the LGBTQ2+ rep in this. Frances is in love with Aled's sister has been for a long time. Aled is in love with his friend, Daniel. Also Aled is Demisexual (not sexually attracted to people until after he forms emotional attachments). Now the next thing about this book is it is very diverse. Frances is biracial (Ethiopean and British) and Daniel is South Korean Immigrant as an example. There is diversity rep in more of the side characters. So many things about this book make it different and expansive. This book also focuses on Youtube channel growth and the internet fame that comes with this. Also, it highlighted the Trolls you can come into contact with. This book is very tender and beautiful and I really enjoyed it. The platonic relationship of Aled and Francis was so beautiful. It endured from a distance and was loving up close. No matter how long they spent away from each other they were still both able to come back to this safe and close relationship like they had never spent any time away at all. I think this book does so much to highlight how important these enduring and safe relationships are. We see so many books where distance and life aren't as much a factor as they were in this book. I feel like this book gave us a very realistic relationship that dosen't delude us into thinking all beautiful relationships exists in a constant state of close proximity. We can be distant and still love and be loved by people. We carry the ones we love with us everywhere so no time actually passes for us that we are without them in spirit. For me, the relationship was just as important as the life that happens in between it. I I think another thing to note about this is how a relationship like this can change you and how having this kind of support can get you through so many hardships. You can be better for having relationship like this in your life. This also lent a very realistic voice to academic pressure in school and how it is stressed in school that you will never be anything without a college degree. This make school into a urgent life or death experience that is abundant in stress and pressure in excellence. This is so realistic to students who are about to graduate. There was really so many things to love about this book and I definitely think it was worth all the hype.

Did I enjoy myself immensely? Yes. Even when things got heavy and emotional? Double yes. Did I feel emotionally drained after reading it? Yes. But did I also feel like some part of large emotional hole in my heart was filled? Absolutely. I've never felt seen as a strange person who is not a big sharer but feels everything very deeply, but this emotional journey that Aled goes through is super relatable. As a demisexual person myself I totally get the isolation, the general confusion, the waiting/yearning to be "normal" and have crushes/attraction to anyone immediately. That on top of everything else Aled goes through makes this an amazing book that really delves into the complexities of friendship and the evolving nature of people, and how we never really solidify. I'm really appreciative of what is being told here and how it is handled. I just wish that there was a counterpoint where we have some of Aled's direct input because this is really a story about him as seen through an observer that goes from casual/causal to intimate.

Radio Silence made me feel so deeply seen, even though I don’t typically read fiction. Most of the time, my reading leans in other directions, but diving into this story was such a rewarding experience—I’m so happy I did. The book moved me to tears, made me smile and laugh, and kept me excited and up late turning the pages. I finished it in just three days. The protagonist’s internal dialogue—the overthinking, the constant inner chatter—was so relatable that I felt like I was reading my own thoughts. It wasn’t just relatable at times—it was so realistic and raw that it felt like Alice Oseman had written about my life when I was younger. The exploration of sexuality—or lack thereof—the masking to please others, the desperate need to fit in, and only truly feeling like yourself around one good best friend—all of it hit so close to home. I had watched Heartstopper on Netflix a few months ago, which led me to discover Alice Oseman’s work. I eventually stumbled upon Radio Silence on Kindle Unlimited, and I’m so glad I decided to read it. It was a beautiful, impactful story and a refreshing break from the heavy psychology books I usually read. It reminded me of my love for fiction books when I was younger, and I feel like I’ve fallen in love with fiction books all over again. Alice’s personal story deeply resonated with me as well. This book will stay with me for a long time, and I’m so excited to explore more of Alice Oseman’s work. Thank you so much. 🥹💗

I love Alice Oseman's previous book Solitaire and I love Radio Silence just as much. One thing I love about Oseman's books is how realistic her teenage characters are. It's refreshing to read a book about teenagers where they actually sound and act like teenagers. (It helps that she is only a few years older than her characters.) I also love the diversity in this book in terms of both race and sexuality. It is something that is very much needed in books for all ages. One of my favorite things in this book is the friendship between Frances and Aled. They are both so sweet and wonderful and their friendship was great. I loved how it helped both characters grow. I especially loved their text conversations, they always made me smile. I didn't expect to love the side characters as much as I did. I also didn't expect to hate a character as much as I did. Every character is three-dimensional and so interesting to read about. It's hard not to care for them (except for the one). I appreciate how Oseman included an emotionally abusive relationship in this book. In other books I've read that mentioned abuse it was almost always physical abuse. Emotional abuse can be just as damaging so it's good it's talked about with the same level of seriousness. I did have one problem with the book and that is that the beginning is a bit slow. The chapters throughout the book were short so that made it easier to keep reading, but I felt like it took a bit to get the story really moving. However, once the story gets going I couldn't put it down. Overall, Radio Silence is a wonderful story full of laughs, heartbreak, and beautiful friendship. I can't wait to read it again.

This book was really good!! It would have definitely been a 5 star for a different type of person, but I gave it a 3 star cause sadly I couldn’t relate to it. I do know many other people can relate to the book though.

Book is in good condition and I'm starting to read it. I'm sure it will be wonderful like the rest of Alice's books

Came in great condition.