Over the summer when Frances has just left year 12 and Aled year 13, they become close friends and bond with their similar tastes in clothes, TV shows, films and enthusiasm for Universe City. This changes her life because (spoiler alert), she soon realizes that this mysterious creator, the anonymous 'Radio Silence', is, in fact, Aled Last, the boy who has lived across the street her entire life. The novel begins when one day, Frances receives a message from the creator of Universe City asking her to become the new Universe City artist. This is just School Frances though - Real Frances is a massive fangirl who spends all her time (when she's not doing homework) drawing fanart for a fantasy YouTube podcast called Universe City. Frances works very hard at school, is head girl and has her sights set on studying English Literature at Cambridge University, which means that she has a reputation for being clever, sensible and boring. The book is told from Frances' perspective as she lives through A Levels. To confess why Carys really disappeared.įrances is going to need every bit of courage she has.' Plot Now Frances knows that she needs to confront her past. So when the fragile trust between them is broken, Frances is caught between who she was and who she longs to be. Then Frances meets Aled, and for the first time, she's unafraid to be herself.

Nothing will stand in her way not friends, not a guilty secret - not even the person she is on the inside. A smart, timely outing.' What if everything you set yourself up to be was wrong?įrances is a study machine with one goal. A top pick for any YA collection.' - School Library Journal 'Oseman is a master at combining sardonic wit with angst to create believable characters and a compelling contemporary story that will resonate with teens. An intense, highly engaging, wellplotted story of relationships, explorations into gay and bisexual identities, family trauma, a straight-jacket education system, and, mostly, kids yearning to be their truest selves despite it all.' - Booklist Oseman vividly illustrates that the world and its technologies offer opportunities for connection and fulfillment that go far beyond traditional definitions of success.' - Publishers Weekly Radio Silence, in which a high school senior tries to keep his identity as the creator and host of a popular YouTube video podcast a secret, has some good character building and pacing but ultimately very low stakes that make it hard to care about anything that happens.' - Matt Grant

Radio silence by alice oseman