Time for another round of Yvo’s Shorties! This time around two contemporaries that both turned out to be excellent reads: Radio Silence and In Five Years.

Title: Radio Silence
Author: Alice Oseman
Genre: YA, Fiction, Contemporary
First published: February 25th 2016
Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Books
Finished reading: January 5th 2021
Pages: 417

“I wonder- if nobody is listening to my voice, am I making any sound at all?”


myrambles1reviewqqq

I keep hearing fantastic things about Alice Oseman‘s writing and I’m still not sure why it took me this long to actually pick up one of her books… Thankfully my TBR jar thought it was about time I finally did! Radio Silence was my first experience with her writing, but it won’t be the last as I highly enjoyed my time with this story. I can definitely see why so many people seem to love her books now! Radio Silence is a coming of age story that includes topics as LGBT, abuse, parental pressure and depression… Heavier topics are mixed with lighter moments and I especially loved the podcast bits with parts of the Universe City podcast episodes. They were a nice break in between chapters and really added a little something extra to the story. Radio Silence has an interesting cast of characters too; they were quite easy to like and grow fond of, and I had a great time seeing them develop over time. There might have been a couple of tiny flaws, including repetition, credibility of certain aspects of the plot and some characters having annoying traits, but overall Radio Silence is an excellent read and I will be looking forward to read more of her books in the future.

Title: In Five Years
Author: Rebecca Serle
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
First published: March 10th 2020
Publisher: Atria Books
Finished reading: January 7th 2021
Pages: 266

“You think it has to have a future in order to matter, but it doesn’t. It’s the only thing that does not need to become at all. It matters only insofar as it exists. Here. Now. Love doesn’t require a future.”


myrambles1reviewqqq

This book has been recommended to me multiple times since it was published last year and I’ve been looking forward to finally pick it up… I was intrigued by the whole time travel element with the main character getting a glimpse of five years in the future, and I think this is definitely the element that makes In Five Years stand out. I do have to say that it took me a little while to fully warm up to the story and its characters, but once I did I simply couldn’t stop reading. A little warning: this is most definitely not a romcom and you will have at least a lump in your throat if not tears in your eyes before you reach that final page. Rather than the love story I was expecting, In Five Years focused mostly on friendship and self discovery and it turned out to be heavier than expected and without doubt an emotional rollercoaster ride. Especially the second part is absolutely worth reading though and beautifully rendered. If you enjoy well written contemporaries with an unique angle and don’t mind potentially shedding a tear or two, In Five Years would be an excellent choice.

You can also find me at Goodreads. Twitter. Instagram. Bloglovin’.