Solitaire / Radio Silence / I Was Born For This / Loveless

by Alice Oseman

Please Note That The Following Individual Books As Per Original ISBN and Cover Image In this Listing shall be Dispatched

Alice Oseman Collection 4 Books

Titles In This
Solitaire
Radio Silence
I Was Born For This
Loveless

Genres: LGBT

Paperback

Published August 19, 2021

About the author

Alice Oseman is an award-winning author, illustrator, and screenwriter, and was born in 1994 in Kent, England. She has written four YA contemporary novels about teenage disasters: SOLITAIRE, RADIO SILENCE, I WAS BORN FOR THIS, and LOVELESS. She is the creator of LGBTQ+ YA romance webcomic HEARTSTOPPER, which is now published in physical form by Hachette Children's Books, and she is the writer, creator, and executive producer for the television adaptation of HEARTSTOPPER, which is set to be released on Netflix.

Alice’s first novel SOLITAIRE was published when she was nineteen. Her YA novels have been nominated for the YA Book Prize, the Inky Awards, the Carnegie Medal, and the Goodreads Choice Awards.

Alongside writing and drawing, Alice enjoys playing the piano semi-proficiently, Pokémon games, and purchasing too many Converse.

Find Alice on Twitter and Instagram @AliceOseman.

Reviews

[Avani ✨]

love this one too

[Zimmy W]

Overall rate: 3.5/5 stars

Solitaire: 4/5 stars
This was a phenomenal book! But uber depressing. I empathize so deeply with Tori, that this was both therapeutic and incredibly triggering so probably gonna need to process that later lmao.

I think the themes this book handles are incredibly intriguing but I do think it just barely misses what it's trying to say. Like, the pieces are all there, but one or two aren't quite lining up, and it feels disjointed. However, I do appreciate it for what it is (and can you believe the author was only 18 when she wrote it?).

Definitely a severely different vibe from Heartstoppers, to warn folks, but it was so lovely to see an outsider view on Nick and Charlie as well!

Radio Silence: 3/5 stars
This book felt a bit like someone asked, "what if manic pixie dream girls had layers?" Which is all fine and good, except when it still feels a bit like the manic pixie dream girl is only there to help the boy's plotline still?

I mean, yes, Frances had her own aspirations, hopes, fears, dreams, heartbreaks... but she also just felt like a vehicle to explain, chronicle, and support Aled's life.

I think, to an extent, they both saved each other, I can acknowledge that. But it also felt like somewhere along the line, Frances' sole motivation was Aled.

I'm pivoting between loving this as a tender book about friendship and caring so deeply for your found family and also wanting to leave it in the past with the other tropey YA of old.

(Also, spoiler, but I feel really crushed that the only sapphic book Oseman has written wasn't a romance. She doesn't owe it, but reading all of the other books where all the queer characters get a HEA with their lover makes this one stand out even fiercer. Such a bummer.)

For now, I'll just say it's a well written book, the plot kept me engaged throughout, and the characters were incredibly fleshed out and had great voice.

For later, I might come back and revise this review with more eloquent thoughts.

I Was Born For This: 4/5 stars
This was such a unique, complex book about fandom about what it means to be a fan.

It's a bit on the nose at times (the middle portion slogged a whee bit for me), but it was also so ground shaking at the same time to realize that yes, being a fan and fandoms can be such beautiful, wonderful things, but being a fan at the expense of being yourself is such a complex battle that many fans face at a certain point.

Loved the dual perspectives too!


Loveless: 3/5 stars
I'll preface by saying there were certain scenes and lines I really enjoyed and I felt that this book is so, so important!

...I just wish it wasn't so slow. It's incredly slow-paced, that it took me way too long to read this book. But I did it! And now I've read everything by the author:)

[Martina]

Read Loveless and Radio Silence, this books might be two of the few best books I've ever read👍🏻

[Ada]

większość z tych książek jest tak naprawdę poznawaniu siebie i odkrywanie kim się jest , są dobrze momenty i te trochę mniej , jest tam pokazana silna więź między ludźmi, oraz pokazuje fakt że nie trzeba być w związku by być szczęśliwym.

[rowan hayes]

I have only read Solitare so far, but it is an amazing book. The whole set is awesome as it looks great together and I know that I have most of her best books.

[Shannon]

!S!S

[Alexander Whitten]

Ive read all four of these books and all of them were beautiful and unique in their own way. My personal favorite was Radio Silence and Loveless because I relate to Alec and Jimmy.