Alice Oseman is a truly remarkable young author. At age 18 she had her first book published by Harper Collins, 'Solitaire'. As you can see from my review of that book, I loved it and thought Alice just wonderful (she's also lovely in person - she came along to Waterstones Truro for a signing of Solitaire, and she spoke to our Teen reading group, who were inspired by her).As you can imagine, I couldn't wait to read her second book 'Radio Silence'. I was just blown away. It's incredible. She pulls you right into the story, makes the characters real. This is because she writes about real situations that everyone can relate to. Alice herself is now 21 and is at university studying English. She was an excellent student at school. Guess what Frances, one of the main characters is about to do? She's an A-grade student at school and is expected/wants to go to Cambridge to study English. Alice is currently hating her course at University (just read her twitter messages). Guess what Aled, the other main character in the book, is going through? Alice is a keen user of Tumblr. A Tumblr story is a key thread in this book. I keep reading advice from other authors about writing about things you know. It's absolutely true - Alice is proof of this. Keep it real and your stories are addictive.
The one character I couldn't believe in was Aled and Carys's mother, Carol. I truly hope that Alice wasn't basing her on anybody she knows, because that is one evil character. Can a mother do such horrific things to her children to disturb them so much mentally?
This is a fantastic book about discovering your true identity, believing in yourself, following your dreams and not feeling you have to do what is expected of you. It's also about realising that not conforming is ok - just because you're different doesn't mean you're weird. You're still a human being, with feelings. And lastly it's about the strength of friendships - never give up on your friends, true friends stay together forever.
