2023 REREAD: An excellent YA novel, that's also very sad, dark and deeply personal. It manages to be addictive and breezy in its writing, its voice for Frances Janvier, as well. The characters and their lives are scarily realistic, while being memorable and charming in their own unique way.
'Radio Silence' - not perfect, but that's life, isn't it?
Final Score: 4/5
Original Review:
My first review of 2019!
Alice Oseman is a wonderful and talented young British author. It's sort of hard not to be jealous of her and her success. If 'Solitaire' demonstrates outstanding if flawed potential in a teenage writer, then her second novel, 'Radio Silence', definitely lives up to more of that potential, showcasing unique content as well as prose. It's refined, potent, poignant, clever, existential, and unforgettable - a well-written, almost genius reflection of our internet and millennial age.
It goes to show that, rare as the possibility usually is, young writers can turn out a magnum opus as they improve overtime. Give them a chance and they can shine, and help others to shine as brightly and majestically.
'Radio Silence' follows a secondary school girl named Frances Janvier, who gets straight A's, is head girl, is introverted even among a group of friends who barely talk to her, and she wants to study profusely to get into the prestigious University of Cambridge, because according to a classist and bankrupt society, that is what you must do in order to succeed in life.
The smart girl also has a secret: Not-School Frances is a huge fan of a YouTube radio podcast series called 'Universe City'. Its creator plays a genderless student called Radio Silence, who struggles to survive through an apocalyptic world, Universe City, and hopes that someone, somewhere, is listening to them; who might save them? It is a cry for help from a poor, suffering yet talented soul in the form of entertainment. Frances draws fanart of the series, and like every millennial teen is very active on the internet, in between her studying.
University prospects are coming up, and Frances knows exactly what she wants to do with her life. Doesn't she? What if everything she had built herself up to be is for nought in this society? What if she is lying to herself and others in order to fit in, like she does with everything else? What if university isn't the only option? What if all of this is only making her suffer, causing her great stress, like a certain someone else she knows? What would make her happy?
Will she allow herself to be free? To be herself? Will anyone listen to her? If she gives them a chance?
To reveal anything else would be spoilerific, but in its most basic telling, 'Radio Silence' is about Frances navigating school and pre-uni life (like going to pubs and nightclubs, which she justifiably dislikes but goes to anyway in order to fit in), making new friends in unexpected places, and forming stronger ones with old friends. But the central relationship of the novel is that between Frances and the shy Aled Last, whose twin sister, Carys, had run away a couple of years previously, and with whom Frances has a troubled past.
Frances and Aled - it is perhaps the strongest, most beautiful platonic bond between a boy and a girl I have ever read about; made powerful and special, even revolutionary, by the fact that they remain just friends. Nothing romantic happens between them whatsoever. Frances states so in one chapter - opposite sexes can be friends without any sexual tension. What a refreshing lesson! From teens to other teens! This in of itself automatically ranks 'Radio Silence' higher than 'Solitaire', which has the lie of a tagline, "This is not a love story", and it still irritates me.
Frances and Aled are such adorable geeks! Their dialogue, like everyone else's, to an extent, is very believable. Through their interactions and banter, they break out of their shells to reveal their true selves when they are together. They care about each other so much it hurts, and not in that way.
Platonic love. In YA. See media, not everything has to have a romance in it. It can equal good stories.
Frances's mum is also lovely. A supportive, fun, funny, very-involved divorced single parent, who is seemingly in-sync with her complicated, genius daughter. She wears a unicorn onesie, eats junk food, and has movie nights on Saturdays with Frances; she is the best! Parents like this are so rare in YA. Let there be more who clearly love, understand and try to help their teenage children in difficult and pivotal moments in their lives!
There are a lot of characters in 'Radio Silence', and each are believable. Some are nice and cool, like Raine, and others are despicable and monstrous, like Aled's mum. Some I definitely feel like I knew from my own school and university days in England.
Tangent time: Lord knows I don't miss revising for exams and doing coursework. I don't envy Frances, a teenager with exciting possible futures ahead of her, in that area. I do consider her to be very lucky; I was never near as clever as she is, not that the book condones being academically proficient as the only way to get anywhere in life. Far from it.
Lest I forget, 'Radio Silence' contains fantastic diversity. Reminiscent of Becky Albertalli's novels, this is what contemporary YA should be. Frances is mixed-race/Ethiopian, bi, and says she is not thin. Aled is leaning towards being a homo-romantic asexual. Carys is gay. In fact, many characters are chubby, gay and POC, including Daniel Jun, the Korean head boy at Frances's school, and Raine, and Frances's other "friends".
Also like Becky Albertalli's books, the geek, fandom and pop culture references are sweet, cute and relatable to our modern culture, told in an authentic, understanding and non-patronising way. Alice Oseman's stories are darker, less optimistic, and a little more realistic. Maybe it's a US/UK culture clash. But these glimpses into our cultures for young adults are absolutely worth reading.
The only thing I don't like about 'Radio Silence' is the ending. It feels a bit rushed, and not every character is given the sendoff and treatment they deserve. Too happy and too good to be true, those last several pages. It had all went so beautifully as well, scarily so. But oh well.
I strongly recommend 'Radio Silence'. Universal, timeless, and light years old for its author's youth, it is a marvel of a modern coming-of-age story. Stunning, starry, teary, addictive, shocking, and simultaneously adorable and depressing; airily creative and down-to-earth; hopeful and cynical; life affirming and nihilistic; happy and sad.
It's just great YA - no, it's just a great book.
I cannot wait for the official publication of the webcomic series, 'Heartstopper'. Oseman keeps giving us divine, dazzling gifts that we need.
Happy 2019 everyone.
Final Score: 4/5
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