![Book review: Radio Silence]()
Drama |
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
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. 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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![Book review: Radio Silence]()
Romance |
It has been a while since a book made me laugh, cry and then root for the characters so hard that you forget they are fictitious. But then, if we get that book every time I read it won’t as special right? So A Quiet Kind of Thunder will be one of those special books.
About A Quiet Kind of Thunder
Book Name: A Quiet Kind of Thunder
Author: Sara Barnard
Genre: Fiction – Romance, YA
Characters: Steffi Brons, Rhys Gold, September “Tem”
Setting: Bedfordshire, England, The United Kingdom
Plot Summary of A Quiet Kind of Thunder
Steffi has been a selective mute since her childhood. But when her parents assume she may not be able to pursue her studies in a University, she decides things has to change. With her best friend, Tem moving off to another school she realizes she has to do this alone.
Or so she thought.
Rhys is deaf and entirely relies on the sign language to communicate. Since Steffi knows a bit of British Sign Language (BSL) she is introduced to him to help him out. She is mute and he is deaf and her rusty BSL is all they have to communicate and it also means they have an entire language just for them, more or less.
But when her parents decide college would be too much for her, she rebels and she rebels with Rhys. You need to read A Quiet Kind of Thunder to know how that goes.
Book review of A Quiet Kind of Thunder
As I might have already mentioned I loved A Quiet Kind of Thunder.
The romance didn’t make me roll eyes. Yes there were cutesy moments but they fit so perfectly into the story. Even when they do the typical teenage-y things it worked.
But again, they were typical teenagers who had physical disabilities and that is a point that A Quiet Kind of Thunder never failed to remind us. They can’t be much different from the other teens, can they? Well almost. And that is where the author and her research shine through.
What worked for me
- A Quiet Kind of Thunder has a great diverse representation with people of color, mental illness and physical disabilities, and none of them felt forced.
- Not everything is pink. There are people who do not understand them, there are ones who behave around them like they walk on egg shells. But I loved how real that made the story.
- Of late I have been ranting a lot about how much I dislike the ‘love solves everything’ trope. And I am happy to say this one defies that.
- The YA parents are THERE the whole time and they are protective as they should be and even too much at times.
What could have been better
- It is a typical teenage romance without a stronger conflict.
Bottom-line
I would recommend this to anyone who loves YA romance and want to read books with great diverse representation.
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![Book review: Radio Silence]()
Romance, YA |
The Upside of Unrequited tells a tale that the readers of YA have read several times. It definitely talks about first love and teenage angst. But what makes this novel by Becky Albertalli such a hit both among young and new adults? Read my review to know more.
About The Upside of Unrequited
Book Name: The Upside of Unrequited
Author: Becky Albertalli
Genre: Fiction – Young Adult Romance
Characters: Molly and Cassie Peskin-Suso, Reid, Will, Mina
Setting: Washington DC, The USA
Plot Summary of The Upside of Unrequited
Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso has never had a kiss and has about 26 crushes that she has never made the move upon. She is shy, awkward and conscious about her body. Her fraternal twin Cassie, her best friend, is just the opposite.
Things change when Cassie falls in love with Mina. Molly is forced to get out of her aloofness and make new friends. Mina’s best friend Will takes a liking to her and he is about to become Molly’s 27th love interest when she meets Reid, her nerdy co-worker.
With Cassie moving further apart from her, Molly is forced to handle having the attention of two guys alone. To top it, her parents are finally tying their knots with the legalization of gay marriages in the USA and she has more on her plate than ever.
Will Molly and her awkward self, be able to pull this off? Will Will become her 27th unrequited love (did you see what I did there?) or is it someone else? You will have to read the book to know more.
Book review of The Upside of Unrequited
The Upside of Unrequited deals with several themes that are relevant in today’s world – peer pressure, body image, teenage love, and rejection.
I loved the writing. The style of the author is definitely quirky and cheerful that kept me hooked until the end.
One thing that The Upside of Unrequited has been continually praised for is the diverse representation of minorities, interracial and LGBTQ couples and families. The characters are diverse, of course, well thought out but still are too perfect to be relatable, except maybe for Molly.
Molly’s flawed, funny, socially inept characterization would be relatable to everyone who has had that phase. I like how family and sisterhood was important to her.
I would have loved Molly except that for the fact she had one goal in her life – finding and kissing her boyfriend. And all of a sudden she gains her self-worth when she finds herself a guy. Erm.. definitely something we don’t want books to reinforce of the kids today.
Bottom line
Despite the predictability in the plot, as one might find in most of YA romances, Becky Albertalli’s writing wins the book for me, I could not put the book down even for a minute before I could finish it.
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