Radio Silence

Starred review from January 23, 2017
Oseman (Solitaire) explores sexual identities, the weight of expectation, and the intensity and fickleness of fandom in a story revolving around a mysterious, Welcome to Night Vale–esque podcast called Universe City. Frances Janvier, a high-achieving but largely friendless British student, has been a fan of Universe City since its first episode, even creating fan art for the show under the online persona of Toulouse. Aled Last, the boy next door, turns out to be Universe City’s creator, and, soon after each realizes who the other is, the two collaborate on the podcast and develop a much-needed friendship. Frances and Aled both identify as queer, and their intense friendship—as well as relationships with their mothers that couldn’t be more different—are central to the story. Oseman gives Frances an honest, insecure, and occasionally meandering voice, as she considers the stresses, joys, and letdowns of her high school existence. Oseman vividly illustrates that the world and its technologies offer opportunities for connection and fulfillment that go far beyond traditional definitions of success. Ages 13–up. Agent: Claire Wilson, Rogers, Coleridge and White.

February 1, 2017
Two teens connect through a mysterious podcast in this sophomore effort by British author Oseman (Solitaire, 2015).Frances Janvier is a 17-year-old British-Ethiopian head girl who is so driven to get into Cambridge that she mostly forgoes friendships for schoolwork. Her only self-indulgence is listening to and creating fan art for the podcast Universe City, "a...show about a suit-wearing student detective looking for a way to escape a sci-fi, monster-infested university." Aled Last is a quiet white boy who identifies as "partly asexual." When Frances discovers that Aled is the secret creator of Universe City, the two embark on a passionate, platonic relationship based on their joint love of pop culture. Their bond is complicated by Aled's controlling mother and by Frances' previous crush on Aled's twin sister, Carys, who ran away last year and disappeared. When Aled's identity is accidently leaked to the Universe City fandom, he severs his relationship with Frances, leaving her questioning her Cambridge goals and determined to win back his affection, no matter what the cost. Frances' narration is keenly intelligent; she takes mordant pleasure in using an Indian friend's ID to get into a club despite the fact they look nothing alike: "Gotta love white people." Though the social-media-suffused plot occasionally lags, the main characters' realistic relationship accurately depicts current issues of gender, race, and class. A smart, timely outing. (Fiction. 12-16)

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February 1, 2017

Gr 9 Up-British teen Frances Janvier is a study machine, focused on doing whatever it takes to get into Cambridge. Her public persona is academic nerd, but in private, she is a rebel. Frances is a fan of offbeat podcasts, and her favorite by far is Universe City, whose agender main character (who is also the show's creator) goes by the name of Radio Silence. Frances has joined a fandom Tumblr account, using the moniker Toulouse, and occasionally posts sketches that reflect how she thinks the characters and settings might look. When she receives a message from the creator asking if she is willing to provide graphics for the show, she can't believe it. Frances is even more dumbfounded when she discovers that the mysterious Radio Silence is, in reality, Aled Last, who lives directly across the street from her. Likewise, Aled can't believe that his graphic artist, Toulouse, is Frances. They become fast friends and spend the majority of the summer working together on the podcast. But as the start of Frances's senior year in high school and Aled's first year at university approach, a revelation changes their close relationship. With their friendship in ruins and Aled miles away and spiraling into a dangerous depression, Frances must face long-buried fears and desires to find a way to save him. Oseman is a master at combining sardonic wit with angst to create believable characters and a compelling contemporary story that will resonate with teens.

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 1, 2017
Grades 8-11 *Starred Review* I was study machine Frances Janvier. I was going to Cambridge . . . Uni, job, money, happiness. That's what you do. That's the formula, Frances mulls to herself as she spends an uncomfortable evening with friends, trying to relax and enjoy herself. Not that there's much chance of relaxation or enjoyment, ever. Frances is a superstressed British teen, and the only thing she really loves is drawing and Universe City, a mysterious YouTube podcast with a haunting voice and a story that echoes her pain. Anonymous narrator Radio Silence describes a bleak world, seemingly a university campus that he or she is trying to escape. When Frances is invited to add her online fan art to the podcast, the story moves into high gear. Turns out the creator is neighbor Aled Last, twin brother of Frances' former friend Carys. What emerges is an intense, highly engaging, well-plotted story of relationships, explorations into gay and bisexual identities, family trauma, a straitjacketlike education system, and, mostly, kids yearning to be their truest selves despite it all. Though a companion title to Oseman's Solitaire (2015), this story stands alone and features believable characters in a unique setting. Readers this side of the pond will enjoy the school system comparisons and identify with the stress their witty, cyberworldly peers undergo as they hang on for dear life.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2017
Friendless, schoolwork-obsessed Frances Janvier's only nonacademic interest is her favorite sci-fi podcast. Universe City may be a monster-infested university, but it's the one place Frances can be herself. Then she meets Aled, the podcast's anonymous creator and fellow queer teen. Frances and Aled together explore a pathway to happiness that celebrates non-traditional identities and definitions of success.

(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)