Hi everyone! Welcome to Nox Reads, I'm "Nox", and Radio Silence by Alice Oseman is pure gold, a NEW FAVORITE!
"Hello. I hope somebody is listening."
TRIGGER WARNING: Abuse, Anxiety, Mentions of Suicide (one character worries that a friend is going to attempt), Death Threats
REPRESENTATION: POC (biracial main character , POC love interest), LGBTQ+ (demisexual main character, lesbian main character, gay love interest)
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S P O I L E R - F R E E T A L K
I love it more than words can express, but since this is a book blog, I'll do my best. When it comes down to characters or plot, I will always pick characters. They're what drives the story for me, and I can't think of a better example than in Radio Silence. I don't know if there really is a plot (there's a story, most definitely, but I can't think of a definitive plot?), but it's a story between two neighbors with a shared passion that become best friends. And I think that's one of the best parts, Frances and Aled are just friends. I can't think of books with platonic relationships, and I love the friendship between Aled and Frances. Frances isn't afraid to say how much she loves him:
"I couldn't quite believe how much I seriously loved Aled Last, even if it wasn't in the ideal way that would make it socially acceptable to live together until we die."
"And I'm platonically in love with you."
"That was literally the boy-girl version of 'no homo', but I appreciate the sentiment."
Aled and Frances have such an intense and real friendship. They understand each other, they're there for each other. They're actual friendship goals.
There's a serious contrast between Frances' friendship with Aled and the one she has with her school friends. Where she says they treat her like she has no life experiences and is just a study nerd...I felt that. Because somebody would rather stay home and read/draw/etc than party and stuff, others feel like they need to bring them out to the world and stuff. Friends think they're being helpful and caring but they're not, especially for people who aren't comfortable around that kind of stuff. And she says things that kind of imply that she's a different, lesser version of herself around them, and I felt that too. Even with friends that I love to death, my "best friends", I feel that. And it made Frances all so much more real for me.
Frances also has a different relationship with her mom. Even though her mom doesn't quite understand UniverseCity or why it's so important to Frances, she knows it means a lot to her. Her first instinct is to protect Frances, to make sure nobody was trying to steal her art, but when Frances considers not doing it, she automatically encourages her. The two are so close and open about everything, and you can tell how much they mean to each other. Frances mentions that people react weirdly when they see her with her mom (her mom is white and Frances is darker because her dad is black), so I'd imagine that has some to do with their relationship. Her mom supports her friendship with Aled (There's a scene when he comes over at like midnight to help Frances study and she's just like "Awesome, want some hot chocolate?"). She just wants her daughter to be happy, and I love that.
Most of all though, I love how Alice Oseman shows Frances with her anxiety. As someone with anxiety, hearing Frances rambling and then thinking right away about how she should've said something else or how she shouldn't have said anything else is very relatable. It's something that I do a lot, and in a genre where it feels like main characters are always so sure of themselves, I appreciate it. I also understood when Frances said that she wasn't funny around her friends, that with them she was boring, to the point where she picked out her outfit and tried to say stuff that the others would wear and agree with. I've always felt like I'm different parts of myself around different people - that nobody really gets the entirety of me. And I know how it is to want to be somewhere else but feel pressured to stay (hello, prom) and how in order to feel accepted, to try to imitate other people that are (which was pretty much me during all of elementary and middle school). Frances is the first character that I've read that I have seen so much of this in, and it definitely made me feel less crazy and less alone, and I will always be grateful for that.
"They only like school Frances though, not real Frances."
I felt this. SO. much.
At the same time, I also relate to Aled. I know what it's like to have an online place where you try to be yourself, the way that Aled does. That's what this blog is for me, that's what my Twitter and Instagram are, etc. They're my little corner away from reality, so I understood why UniverseCity is so important to Aled.
Also, just really quick, Aled Last and Frances Janvier are precious nerds that need to be protected at all costs.
My spoiler-free question is: do you have that little corner away from reality? Obviously you don't need to say what it is - I would never want to take that from you, but do you have somewhere safe? I literally had to tell my mother yesterday that I don't want her to know what my Bookstagram is, not because I talk about her or anything, but because it's just mine. Thankfully, my grandma was able to explain it for me.
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S P O I L E R T A L K
I don't have much to say for the spoiler talk other than this: Carol Last is the worst. Crazy psycho who kills her son's freaking dog and chases him with scissors. It was so hard to read scenes with her in them - I can't imagine how it would feel to live them.
Also, the very ending gave me chills. In the very best possible way.
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Anyways, this is an incredibly long and heavy post, but I hope you enjoyed it! If you haven't read Radio Silence, I hope you pick it up!
Thanks for reading!
~ Nox
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