Radio Silence is the story of Frances, a highly academic study machine who secretly draws fan art for her favourite podcast, and then meets the creator of her favourite podcast. It was probably my most anticipated read of 2016. I am not entirely sure how it happened, since I’m usually a die-hard fantasy lover in the battle of the genres, but I think my hype was entirely well-deserved.
The cast was stunning. To start off, with, I am going to talk about Frances because I loved her. Her story probably stood out to me the most, because it was the closest to mine – although I’m perceived to be quite an academic person, I don’t enjoy it. The supporting characters were excellent, too; they didn’t feel like insignificant cut-outs in comparison. They were very well-rounded and diverse (appreciation for characters on the asexual spectrum, because I’ve never actually seen this in a YA novel and it made me incredibly happy)! I just adored everyone a lot. Characters have to be the driving point for most contemporary novels, but I thought they particularly stood out in this!
The writing style also felt very real. It wasn’t trying to be young and cool, but instead fitted references in smoothly. The dialogue was awesome. Normally I find that first person perspective can be clunky, but I thought Radio Silence wouldn’t have worked any other way. Frances had a great narrative voice.
To anyone who says YA doesn’t deal with important themes: I DIRECT YOU HERE. Radio Silence managed to explore a lot of interesting themes (education, family, fandom) alongside the character’s issues. But it didn’t feel like an irritating moral book being preached to you (the sort of book adults recommend to teenagers). The snippets of podcast from Universe City provided me with a) more material from this wonderful podcast and b) insights and reflections on the current actions during the book.
The only negative experience I had – which to be quite honest, isn’t very negative – was that this wasn’t exactly an easy read for me. I was so invested in the characters that I got very tense and had to put the book down for a while!
Overall, I adored Radio Silence for its uniquely realistic writing and three-dimensional diverse cast. I’d recommend it to everybody, but in particular if you’re looking for a diverse contemporary read, or have enjoyed the podcast Welcome to Night Vale.
• Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop
