Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

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TW: for talk of mental illness, implied depression, implied suicidal thinking, parental abuse, physical abuse,death of a pet

“…please just call me Radio. Radio Silence. I am, after all, only a voice on a radio, and there may not be anyone listening.”

Radio Silence is one of the best contemporary book I’ve ever read! I’ve had this book on my Kindle for ages, so I figured it was high time I pick it up.This was the first book I finished for #ContempararyAThon and I couldn’t be happier that I read this book. This book is incredibly diverse,and the exploration of college pressures felt really authentic.

This book follows Frances Janvier in her final year of school before going off to University. She is known for her vigorous studies, what her schoolmates don’t know is that she is obsessed with a Youtube podcast, Universe City. She has a Tumblr were she posts her fan art drawings. Frances is also mixed raced and Bisexual. She is super relatable. She befriends a boy, Aled Last. He is the twin brother of her childhood friend Carys, who has run away from home and no one has seen her in years.

Aled I loved him. He’s one of those genuinely kind people whom you just want to being around all the time, sharing stories and having a great time with. He faces a lot of hardship and I wanted to wrap him up in a blanket and tell him everything would be alright. He is the heart of this book!

“And I’m platonically in love with you.”“That was literally the boy-girl version of ‘no homo’, but I appreciate the sentiment.”

What I loved most about this book was the platonic relationship between Frances and Aled. These two have such a special connection and they seriously felt like real people that you would meet in real life. I just adored the concept of loving someone without the worry of romance to be such an amazing focus of the story.They care about each other so much, it is just so pure and I would die for that kind of friendship.Honestly though, their friendship made my heart grow at least ten sizes bigger.

I have to give props to Frances Mom, #Goals. She is supportive and loving, respectful of Frances feelings. She never pressures her to get good grades, she even suggest that Frances not study so hard. They have an honest and open relationship.

There are some dark things that happen in this story that I don’t want to fully get into because of spoilers. It touches on subjects of abuse and how it effects the person into thinking they have to be perfect, which leads to depression and implied suicidal thinking. Even though this book talks about some dark subjects it’s overall a very sweet and heartwarming story.

This book focuses on being yourself and being true to who you are. it touches on identity and sexual diversity. Being in the public on social media gives people the impression they can weigh in on your life. This book handles the positive and negative effects of the internet. It dwells into the dark side of Fandoms, just because you love something so much dose not give you the right to judge the person behind the creation.

I pretty much adored everything about Radio Silence. I read it in two sittings and then layed in bed crying afterwards because holy cow the feels! This book needs to be on everyone’s TBR. I cannot wait to read I was born for this, i bought it right after finishing this book.

“I wonder—if nobody is listening to my voice, am I making any sound at all?”

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