Starred Review ALA Booklist

Starred Review "I was study machine Frances Janvier. I was going to Cambridge . . . Uni, job, money, happiness. That's what you do. That's the formula," Frances mulls to herself as she spends an uncomfortable evening with friends, trying to relax and enjoy herself. Not that there's much chance of relaxation or enjoyment, ever. Frances is a superstressed British teen, and the only thing she really loves is drawing and Universe City, a mysterious YouTube podcast with a haunting voice and a story that echoes her pain. Anonymous narrator Radio Silence describes a bleak world, seemingly a university campus that he or she is trying to escape. When Frances is invited to add her online fan art to the podcast, the story moves into high gear. Turns out the creator is neighbor Aled Last, twin brother of Frances' former friend Carys. What emerges is an intense, highly engaging, well-plotted story of relationships, explorations into gay and bisexual identities, family trauma, a straitjacketlike education system, and, mostly, kids yearning to be their truest selves despite it all. Though a companion title to Oseman's Solitaire (2015), this story stands alone and features believable characters in a unique setting. Readers this side of the pond will enjoy the school system comparisons and identify with the stress their witty, cyberworldly peers undergo as they hang on for dear life.

Horn Book

Friendless, schoolwork-obsessed Frances Janvier's only nonacademic interest is her favorite sci-fi podcast. Universe City may be a monster-infested university, but it's the one place Frances can be herself. Then she meets Aled, the podcast's anonymous creator and fellow queer teen. Frances and Aled together explore a pathway to happiness that celebrates non-traditional identities and definitions of success.

Kirkus Reviews

Two teens connect through a mysterious podcast in this sophomore effort by British author Oseman (Solitaire, 2015).Frances Janvier is a 17-year-old British-Ethiopian head girl who is so driven to get into Cambridge that she mostly forgoes friendships for schoolwork. Her only self-indulgence is listening to and creating fan art for the podcast Universe City, "a…show about a suit-wearing student detective looking for a way to escape a sci-fi, monster-infested university." Aled Last is a quiet white boy who identifies as "partly asexual." When Frances discovers that Aled is the secret creator of Universe City, the two embark on a passionate, platonic relationship based on their joint love of pop culture. Their bond is complicated by Aled's controlling mother and by Frances' previous crush on Aled's twin sister, Carys, who ran away last year and disappeared. When Aled's identity is accidently leaked to the Universe City fandom, he severs his relationship with Frances, leaving her questioning her Cambridge goals and determined to win back his affection, no matter what the cost. Frances' narration is keenly intelligent; she takes mordant pleasure in using an Indian friend's ID to get into a club despite the fact they look nothing alike: "Gotta love white people." Though the social-media-suffused plot occasionally lags, the main characters' realistic relationship accurately depicts current issues of gender, race, and class. A smart, timely outing. (Fiction. 12-16)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Oseman (Solitaire) explores sexual identities, the weight of expectation, and the intensity and fickleness of fandom in a story revolving around a mysterious, Welcome to Night Vale-esque podcast called Universe City. Frances Janvier, a high-achieving but largely friendless British student, has been a fan of Universe City since its first episode, even creating fan art for the show under the online persona of Toulouse. Aled Last, the boy next door, turns out to be Universe City-s creator, and, soon after each realizes who the other is, the two collaborate on the podcast and develop a much-needed friendship. Frances and Aled both identify as queer, and their intense friendship-as well as relationships with their mothers that couldn-t be more different-are central to the story. Oseman gives Frances an honest, insecure, and occasionally meandering voice, as she considers the stresses, joys, and letdowns of her high school existence. Oseman vividly illustrates that the world and its technologies offer opportunities for connection and fulfillment that go far beyond traditional definitions of success. Ages 13-up. Agent: Claire Wilson, Rogers, Coleridge and White. (Mar.)