When Frances’ mother asks Frances if she likes Aled, Frances replies, “That’s a random question,” like it’s weird that her mother is even asking. And then there are some where the very act of being together is itself sufficient, and the activities are really just a bonus.Īnd I love that Oseman very clearly rules out romance. With some friends, you enjoy very specific things together with others, you enjoy a variety of activities. Uggggh, this passage perfectly describes the way I feel about me and one of my friends. We started to realise that it didn’t matter what we did together, because we knew that if we were both there, we would have a good time. Because friendship is enough:Įverything with Aled was fun or good. I want more narratives where friendship is enough. I’m tired of narratives where girl-meets-boy and they become friends and then they become “more than friends”. Frances and Aled do not fall “in love”, and I love it. Let’s start with the most obvious: Frances and Aled. Indeed, there are so many great relationships in this book, I just want to break them down one by one. It’s a love story because of Frances and her mom, and in spite of Aled and Carys’ mom.

It’s a love story because of Aled and Daniel’s complicated relationship. This is still a love story, though, because Frances does love Aled, platonically, and he loves her back. And Oseman would have won me over if that were the only thing I liked about this book. This is a love story, but it’s not a love story. So Frances finds solace in an anonymous YouTube podcast called Universe City. She isn’t feeling all that connected to her school friends-they see her as a “study machine” more than the art-loving nerd she is. In real life, of course, things are more complicated. Head Girl at her school, on paper she is a star student: she has her UCAS statement all done, is on track to go to Cambridge, and just needs to ace these AS-level exams. Most importantly, this book has such strong portrayals of friendships, both platonic and romantic, and I love it so much. I’d heard some good things about this book from people whose opinions I trust, yet still … I wasn’t expecting it to be this good. With Radio Silence, Alice Oseman accomplishes the literary equivalent of knocking me over with a feather.

Radio silence novel