She also has a secret side that loves wearing burger-print jumpers and creating fan-art for cult YouTube podcast, Universe City, although that remains firmly under wraps until she befriends Aled. But academic success isn’t all there is to Frances. That’s the path she believes will lead to a happy life. She’s set on reading English Literature at Cambridge and getting a good job. I have never read anything quite like Radio Silence, and I am certainly going to keep Alice Oseman on my radar because I would love to read more from her.One of our Books of the Year 2016 | March 2016 Book of the Monthįrances’ life has been mapped out since forever. Possibly my favorite aspect of the novel, though, is the way that it stars characters who don’t always appear in fiction and confronts societal norms that are so deeply ingrained that most narratives buy completely into them. The writing is sharp, the characters are three-dimensional, and the pacing is excellent. I wish I could remember whose review persuaded me to read Radio Silence so that I could thank them. The world needs all types, and it’s pretty awesome to see that reflected. Frances and the others live in a society that pressures them to conform to certain standards, specifically to excel in measurable fields like school exams and to attend university even at the expense of health and happiness, and the characters-and, by extension, the novel itself-push back against that. The cast of characters is racially diverse, many different sexualities are represented (there’s even a demisexual character! How many of those are there?), and a central theme is that there is no one right way to live. The writing flows beautifully, and the novel is extremely hard to put down. The mystery regarding Aled’s runaway sister Caryse is integrated in such a way that it is always in the back of the reader’s mind, but it never distracts from the main storyline. The way that Frances and Aled bond over their enthusiasms is beautiful and very real, and I love how completely Oseman averts the boy/girl friendship = romance trope that is so ubiquitous and annoying. They’re so enthusiastic about all the things they love, even if they keep their enthusiasm quiet when they’re out in the real world. I don’t think I could’ve have known Aled any better even if half the novel had been written from his perspective.įrances and Aled are gloriously nerdy.
Aled and his best friend Daniel are done particularly well. Frances is the only POV character, but the other characters are so real that their emotional journeys are just as plainly realized. The characters-all of them, from the protagonists to the minor side characters-are extraordinarily well-developed. There is so much to like about Radio Silence.
Aled and Frances are able to be themselves with each other in ways they can’t be elsewhere, at least until everything goes wrong. Then Frances befriends Aled Last, whose twin sister Caryse was friends with Frances before she ran away two years ago, and discovers that he makes Universe City. At home, Frances is different: she loves nerdy, patterned stockings and she enthusiastically and obsessively draws fanart for her favorite podcast, Universe City. It seems like almost everyone whose blog I follow has read and loved Radio Silence, so it has been on my to-read list for a long time I finally found it at my new library and I’m glad I did, because it’s just as good as everyone promised.įrances is the perfect student: she’s the head girl, makes perfect grades, and is certain of success at university once she gets her inevitable acceptance. I’ve read many positive reviews about Alice Oseman’s Radio Silence.
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