Radio Silence by Alice Oseman – review

‘Alice Oseman has an incredible grasp of what it is like to be a teenager at the moment’

Radio Silence is the second book by Alice Oseman, author of Solitaire. It centres around Frances, who is in year 13 and in the process of applying for university, specifically Cambridge. Frances is known for being the clever one at school, and that’s it. At home, she is obsessed with Universe City, an online podcast set in a dystopian society. But this is something she keeps separate from her school life. When the two worlds collide, Frances is forced to make decisions about her future that she had never previously considered.

I loved Radio Silence, particularly because it resonated so much with me. Perhaps so much that it almost scared me, I see so much of myself in Frances. It was also incredibly comforting in a way, however, to know that I wasn’t the only one getting incredibly stressed over exams at school, even if my grades are above average. In Radio Silence, Oseman uncovers the massive flaw in the education system as it is at the moment: academic intelligence being the only thing that matters, above all else, such as ability and talent within the arts, at the price of students’ mental health. That’s not to say that Radio Silence is some massive rant about the state of schools, it isn’t. The plot is brilliant and exciting, and the characters are loveable and relatable.

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