Reviews with content warning for Grief - Radio Silence

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

40 reviews

stardustandrockets's review against another edition

medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I absolutely adore Aled! He needs to be protected at all costs. It's very clear his mom is mentally ill and abusive. This book gives a lot of context to Aled's character if you've only read Heartatopper.

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a_fucking_turtleduck's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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emikateb's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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fanboyriot's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

🎙️ Podcast

💻 Fandom Dorks

🤝 Wholesome Friendship

Radio Silence was such an amazing read. I seriously love this book so much. The way Alice Oseman can write platonic love gets me every time, the friendship between Frances and Aled was so wholesome and meaningful.

The plot to this was a bit darker than I was expecting but it was addicting to read. I will say though the timeline near Alex’s birthday got a bit confusing to me.

The characters all had their own problems and no matter how “perfect” people thought they were it wasn’t as it seemed. The loneliness, the stress of trying to figure out their future despite top grades Frances and Aled weren’t as perfect as they appeared. This book was funny, depressing, wholesome, and, lonely somehow all at the same time. And it was absolutely lovely.

I’d also like to say how iconic Frances’ mom was, absolutely loved her and her unicorn onesie.

Release Date: 23, April 2019

POV: First Person

Rep: Bisexual (MC), Demisexual (SC), Gay (SC), Depression, Burn Out, Anxiety, University Stress, LGBTQIA+ characters, BIOPIC characters

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shadereads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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bookishmillennial's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

This is a reflective coming-of-age young adult/teen fiction story told by Frances and explores themes of sexuality, friendship, identity, virtual spaces, choices, and meaning.

Frances has always been laser-focused on getting into Cambridge, but her best friend Carys ran away (and she knows why), and then she begins working on the anonymous podcast project Universe City, with Aled, Carys’ brother. Aled’s online persona is Radio Silence, and Radio mentions many cryptic messages to February Friday on the podcast. Once the podcast gains traction and one of their identities is revealed, their trust for this new friendship is broken and they must reckon with their uncertain futures alone.

I really appreciated the conversations that Frances had not only with Aled, but with Daniel (Aled’s best friend) & Rain. They discuss miscommunication, relationships, online infamy, curiosity & high school. It felt authentic to how messy high school felt for me, & I’m sure it will ring true for so many others. AO writes incredibly tender stories about young people with great care, & as a chronically online human, I thoroughly enjoyed the commentary on respecting online creators’ privacy & parasocial relationships.

Aled’s mom is a POS & it shows in everything she did to make him miserable & make him pay for any “rebellious” behavior. One example… What she did to his dog was …. a wild, manipulative, abhorrent choice.

content warnings below ❤️‍🩹

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bookobsessedmommy's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I don't read many books written by actual young adults, but when I do I can usually tell by how well they capture how all encompassing everything feels at that age. The way you can bury yourself in a hole of maybes out of fear. Whil this isn't a romance, it is a beautiful love story. I really like seeing representations of philia (non-romantic) love in books, because it's way more common in reality. The affection between friends and family makes up so much of our daily interactions, but it doesn't get as much representation in books about love. Watching Aled and Frances struggle to articulate their feelings was so real and heartbreaking. Aled's mom is a real piece of work, and my heart hurts for any kid dealing with that kind of emotional abuse. I love all the eastereggs from Solitaire and Heartstopper, and now I need to go rewatch the Netflix series and see if I missed anything.

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eni_iilorak's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

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lizziaha's review against another edition

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Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

I never really got Aled in the heartstopper comics but after reading this I have a real soft spot for him. He’s so riddled with mental illness that he’s become incredibly relatable to me. The standout for me in this book was the relationships! Each one felt realistic and complex, with layers that peeled back as the book went on. I think that Alice Oseman just writes teenagers very realistically, and though I no longer relate to that, I can still appreciate that. The themes were a little heavy-handed in my opinion, but important nonetheless.

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akira_outofthegravity's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is such a beautiful book.

Frances and Alex’s relationship was so lovely, it reminded me of my friendship with someone very close to me.

I loved that it focused on them being platonic, with the main romantic pairing being a plot point but not the main focus.

This is a really relatable read. I would have related to it so much when I was 18, to an extent I’m glad I didn’t read it then. Now that I’m recovering from depression, I can see myself in Aled and I can see that I too have a road to recovery available to me.

I’m glad he wasn’t included in Heartstopper (the adaptation) bc he’s too complex a character for a simple cameo. I love him, and I love Frances.

She’s so funny and I understand having a school personality and a friend one. I understand her struggles. This isn’t a 5 star for me, but goddamn this is a fucking fantastic book.

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