Title: Radio Silence
Author: Alice Oseman
Pages: 418
“I wonder—if nobody is listening to my voice, am I making any sound at all?”
Frances Janvier spends her time studying and preparing for college. Her only real hobby is creating art for the podcast Universe City. When she finds out Aled, her neighbor, is the creator she finds herself helping with the podcast as their friendship grows.
This book wasn’t exactly what I was expecting but it was still enjoyable. Frances is a workaholic student who doesn’t know how to be a teenager. She is awkward, strange, and hides her true self from everyone at school. Aled is the only one she has allowed to see her true geeky self. Their friendship was enjoyable and was a refuge for Aled. I also liked the lengths that Frances went to to help save Aled from himself. My only real issue with Frances was that she was way too obsessed with her education and what is expected of her, especially since her mother kept telling her she was being a bit much.
“Sometimes I think if nobody spoke to me, I’d never speak again.”
Aled
Aled is a young man who is extremely shy and traumatized. He isn’t a great friend really because his response to any stressful situation is to run away and shut it out. So there is a lot of time without him speaking to Frances. I really wish we had his POV for some of the scenes because I really wanted to know what was going through his head. Aled’s mother is a terrible human being who is emotionally abusive, so much so that his twin sister ran away. I hated his mother and was cheering in the end when he finally cut ties with her.
This was just a great story about friendship, finding yourself, following your heart and sexuality. Aled and Frances both are struggling to be their true selves and do what makes them happy. Also I enjoyed all the different sexualities represented in this book. Frances is bisexual, Aled is asexual, David is gay, and there is a hint that Carys is queer too.
Overall, while this wasn’t what I was expecting I still really enjoyed it. I would totally listen to the University City podcast.
Trigger Warnings: anxiety, emotionally abusive parent, animal death, anxiety.
Other books by this author:
Red-Haired Ash Reads 