Radio Waves is the independently-released first novel from Shawna-Lee I. Perrin. It tells the story of Viv Pierce, a college-radio punk with an uncertain professional and romantic future. We follow Viv as she discovers her college radio station and begins to delve into the movement of the music, art, style, and creative movement of the late 1970’s, but her future husband may not entirely be on board with her having the life she wants for herself… That is, until London starts calling.
Perrin has penned a beautiful romance of our modern times that lets go of the tired tropes of women fumbling through an existence strictly tied to marriage, and reminds us that readjusting one’s sails by one’s own compass is often the most beautiful of existences. Viv is a strong character with a big heart who refuses to compromise, and her main conflicts in life are understanding where the boundaries are for what she sees as a meaningful life of friends, family, and lovers. While we watch her navigate her life, it is easy to come to an understanding where her life ends and the lives of the audience converge, for better or worse. Add the electricity of the early-punk and alternative music scene, of which this book presents an almost pornographic nostalgia, and you’re left with a satisfying romance that indulges all of the senses.
A beautiful debut, which I can only hope is the beginning of a long line of empowering and electrifying volumes from Perrin.
Garrett Zecker 