Review: Radio Silence

Radio Silence
By Alice Oseman

Published By:  Harper Collins
Publication Date: February 25, 2016
Date Read: May 31, 2022
Genre: YA – Contemporary
Source: Bought
Format: Audiobook
Pages: 496

From Goodreads:
From critically acclaimed author Alice Oseman comes a smartly crafted contemporary YA novel, perfect for readers who love Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl. This is an utterly captivating and authentic new teen novel from the author of Solitaire. Frances Janvier spends most of her time studying. Everyone knows Aled Last as that quiet boy who gets straight As. You probably think that they are going to fall in love or something. Since he is a boy and she is a girl. They don’t. They make a podcast. In a world determined to shut them up, knock them down, and set them on a cookie cutter life path, Frances and Aled struggle to find their voices over the course of one life-changing year. Will they have the courage to show everyone who they really are? Or will they be met with radio silence?

“Sometimes you can’t say the things you’re thinking. Sometimes it’s too hard.”

Radio Silence has been on my TBR since it first released. I remember starting it just after it came out but putting it down for the time being because at the time, I really wasn’t in the mood for contemporary books. This phase lasted quite a number of years, but now I am back to reading contemporary, I knew it was time to catch up on the wonderful Alice Oseman’s books.

Radio Silence is a deep and meaningful story of following your heart and your passions, even if that means going against the accepted norm. I really loved reading this. As a teacher myself, I am often faced with young adults following what they believe they ‘should do’ or what their families want them to do, rather than their own passions. I will be recommending this book to all of my students, as it is a great book that shows it’s okay to be different. Our main characters are artistic and brilliant but feel immense pressure to go to University doing something academic instead. It’s a deep dive into mental health and family problems and while it can be dark at times, there’s also something so beautifully uplifting about it.

I listened to the audiobook of this one and I thought it was fantastically done. I especially loved how they depicted the podcasts that the characters were creating. When it was mentioned that the characters had used voice altering technology so the voices were unrecognisable, the audiobook also used that. I thought it just made the whole audiobook that much more ‘real’ and authentic. If you’re an audiobook listener then I highly recommend this one.

I didn’t love Radio Silence quite as much as Solitaire. Tori is the OG, and I missed her a lot. But I loved seeing Aled’s story and this book is a definite re-read. I really enjoyed every moment and I am so glad that I went back to this one.

“Everyone’s different inside their head.”

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