Book review: Radio Silence

Radio Silence is one of my top picks from the books I read in 2019. Every one of my friends who have read this already is in love with this book. And every blog that talks about this one raves about it.

Did I tell I am already looking forward to reading more from this author? Aren’t you interested to know why is Radio Silence so fabulous? Read ahead.

About the book

Radio silence book review

Book Name: Radio Silence

Author:  Alice Oseman

Genre: Fiction – Drama

Characters: Frances Janvier, Aled Last, Daniel Jun, Carys and Carol Last, Raine Sengupta

Setting: Kent County, England, The UK

Plot

Frances Janvier is the boring, nerdy school head girl, at least to her class mates. She is a topper and so obsessed with getting into Cambridge that she gets panic attacks over just thinking about not going there. She is a typical high strung, anxious, perfectionist millennial teen who is trying to do the correct things to achieve her goals. 

Unbeknownst to her schoolmates, she is a fantastic artist who is absolutely besotted with a Youtube podcast Univserse City and podcaster’s voice. She draws fan arts for the show which is quite popular among the fanworld. Her two worlds collide when she meets her class nemesis Daniel’s best friend Aled Last, who as she gets to know later is the mind behind Universe City. 

Aled Last is a shy neighbor to Frances and his sister used to be friends with Frances until a while ago. When he finds out about her fan art, he asks Frances to collaborate with him on his show. How they help each other to learn to love themselves and find a family of their own forms the rest of the story.

(Do not get fooled by this plot. I am trying to be as mysterious and spoiler free as I can get to make you pick Radio Silence.)

My initial thoughts

I think I made my feelings about the book very clear when I started the review. I loved the diverse representation and that there wasn’t a forced romance. And more than everything, I loved the character arcs and how strongly they were developed.

The theme of mysterious history of Frances and Carys and the mysterious present between Daniel and Aled’s friendship kept me hooked. Read my #bookreview of #RadioSilence

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The theme of mysterious history of Frances and Carys and the mysterious present between Daniel and Aled’s friendship kept me hooked. While the writing quintessentially represents a millennial teenager’s POV, it was not angst-y and irksome, even when it was bit longer.

Things that worked for me

  • Every character is fully developed and has a strong storyline.
  • Great use of diverse representation, which didn’t feel forced or eclipsing the main plot.
  • It talks about the pressure about higher education, which was so relatable to me.
  • There is no romance and a lot of friendship. 

Things that didn’t work for me

  • It felt a longer than it needs to be.
  • I liked Aled and Daniel’s part of the story more than Frances. I know it is not a negative thing. Still she is the narrator but I didn’t care for her as much. Maybe.

Bottom-line

Just go pick a copy of this one already please, while I am hunting for Alice Oseman’s other books.

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Radio silence book review

Let us chat

Have you read Radio Silence? Do you ever feel the diverse representation being forced in books, especially in YA? Let us talk.

31 Comments

  1. Megan | Ginger Mom and Company

    So glad that you enjoyed this book 🙂 I haven’t heard of it, or the author, but if you recommend it that highly, I’ll give it a go. Great review, as always!

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      Oh I am sure you will love it Meg.

      Reply
  2. Kristina

    Yes!! I’m so happy you loved it aswell !!

    I’d totally reread it already ahah

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      I would do that as well.!

      Reply
  3. Olivia Roach

    I have heard really good things about this book and because of that it is on my wishlist! I really like the sound of it talking about the pressures of higher education because that really is a real thing that a lot of people finishing school struggle with. Also, I like that there is no forced romance too, and a lot of diversity. Yay!

    Reply
  4. Katiria Rodriguez

    Amazing review Gayathri, this book looks and sounds like an amazingly great book. I’m really glad you fully enjoyed reading it, thank you so much for sharing your awesome post.

    Reply
  5. vidya

    loving the review and definitely going to check out this book

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      Let me know how it goes for you!

      Reply
  6. Floryie

    New book to me.. but it sounds like my kinda read! So checking it out..

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      Oh you should keep me updated if you pick this one.

      Reply
  7. Whispering Stories

    Great review. I’d never heard of the book before now but it looks really good.

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      I loved it.

      Reply
  8. Tasha

    This is new to me. Fantastic review.

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      Glad you liked it.

      Reply
  9. trin carl

    I remember picking this up a while back, I may need to look at it again just due to your fantastic review. #sundaypost.

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      I hope you give it another chance.

      Reply
  10. Gemma

    I’ve heard so many great things about this one. I love the fact that it doesn’t focus on a romance.

    Reply
  11. Jennifer

    This is new to me. I’m going to have to look into it.

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      It is definitely worth it!

      Reply
  12. Andreea

    I loved your review. The cover is great too and if the romance is not forced, I am in!

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      There is pretty much no romance.

      Reply
  13. Jessica at Booked J

    Great review! I’m really looking forward to reading more by Alice Oseman in the future!

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      I am planning to read more of her too.

      Reply
  14. Sharon

    Adding this to my must reads

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      Yes definitely is.

      Reply
  15. lafemmelivresque

    I’ve heard amazing things about this book and others by this author. Your review made me put it on my wishlist right now! 🙂

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      You HAVE to read this.

      Reply
  16. Sahi

    Lovely review Gayatri…. I really adored this book a lot too 😊😊😊

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      So now we do have something in common.

      Reply

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Gayathri

Gayathri

Gayathri has been reviewing books since 2010. When she is not reading books or creating online content, she works as a writer and a digital marketer. Head over to meet me!