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jojothefool's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Addiction, Car accident, and Alcohol
its_vendetta's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The story was AMAZING. So compelling. I cried twice. I loved the writing so much!! I think the romance was also done exceptionally well!! The buildup was perfect and both Ruben and Zach were both such well written characters and their individual faults were so realistic!
Another round of applause for the side characters!! Usually I struggle to remember the side characters in books, especially if there are many but not these characters!! Even the ones that I despised were memorable and they all contributed to the plot in meaningful ways.
Overall 10/10!! Can’t think of any major issues I had with it. Only request would be to
Honestly can see this book having a sequel and while I don’t believe that will happen, it’s pretty unrealistic, I CAN STILL DREAM!!
Graphic: Drug use, Homophobia, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Alcohol and Biphobia
Minor: Confinement, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, and Injury/Injury detail
caitlin_123a's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug use, Vomit, Biphobia, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Car accident, Blood, Confinement, Homophobia, Drug abuse, and Alcoholism
growing_haru's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, and Homophobia
Minor: Drug abuse and Addiction
Forced closeting trigger warningchrismap's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Minor: Addiction and Drug abuse
madilowe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
The dual perspective might actually do the whole thing a bit of a disservice. It gets difficult to feel with the characters, and I think with teenage angst, you kind of need to be situated firmly in the teenager's point of view, or it starts to feel a little half-baked. Even as a ride-or-die Directioner, this book didn't manage to get at the middle-school-me who still lives somewhere below the surface (and it's not a hard thing to do; the video diaries still get me.) It's not quite cheesy enough to be loved for the cheese factor, but not easily taken seriously, either.
That said, it was fun, and I think 15-17 would probably be a sweet spot that could enjoy this book really easily.
Graphic: Drug abuse, Homophobia, and Suicide attempt
mel_muses's review against another edition
4.5
This book was addicting. I have not read so much of a book in such a short period of time in a long while. If This Gets Out follows two members — Ruben and Zach — of the boy band Saturday as their friendship changes after a kiss. The book explores the strain Ruben and Zach's relationship places on them and how this affects the band as a whole, especially as the restrictive behavior of their management becomes more and more apparent.
The writing in this book fit the style of the book perfectly. Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich did an excellent job at making the character voices distinct, yet cohesive in terms of writing. I was actually pretty surprised at how I could barely put the book down once I started reading it. No matter how late it was, once I started reading it, I couldn't stop. I'll definitely be picking up more books by these authors in the future.
In terms of plot, this book was messy. Probably not any more messy than you would expect from a boy band with a romance between two of the members, but I was still surprised by it. This changed the pace of Ruben and Zach's relationship very quickly — it was one of those times in a book where I wanted to scream at the characters' lack of communication.
Personally, I never was very into boy bands, but I definitely think I'm in the minority with that (lack of) experience. I do think for other people who have had that obsession with boy bands, it could really heighten the excitement and enjoyment of this book. But, as someone who never had that obsession, If This Gets Out really did capture the frighteningly powerful sensation of fame without requiring any background.
There were a few aspects that weren't addressed that I would have really liked to have been. One was how Zach, particularly, but also the rest of the band, seemed to exhibit a lot of toxic health-related behaviors. It is important to bring up how many celebrities feel forced to look or act some specific way, but there was never any challenging of the ideas that they must always eat healthy, workout a lot, and have the "perfect" body. I would like to have seen a little addressing of the issue worked in there, though I understand that it was more of a factor than a plot point to the story.
Another topic I felt needed addressing was the stereotyping of gay men through Ruben. One of the parents in the book made a comment about Ruben hitting on another person, and while it was recognized that this was factually wrong, it wasn't challenged at all. The parent who made this comment never even brought it up again, but I really wished we could have seen that individual corrected for playing into harmful stereotypes.
One of my favorite aspects of the book was how it explored the relationship between Ruben and Zach, especially as Zach came to terms with what he wanted for himself. Each member of the boy band was supportive of each other, but also had complex, imperfect relationships with those around them. They are teenage boys, after all. And even though I'm not a teenage boy, I connected with them, especially Ruben. Though the management team was very wrong on many fronts when publicising Saturday, they did get one thing right: There's at least one person in the boy band that you'll be able to relate to — just not quite in the way they were going for.
If This Gets Out was an immersive read from start to finish. I highly recommend picking it up as soon as you get the chance!
Content Warnings: harmful eating/exercise habits, drug use, underage drinking, brief reference to neo-Nazis (in a bad light), toxic parent behavior, car accident, forced closeting
Graphic: Drug abuse, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, and Car accident
julzzzlol's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Emotional abuse
kourteney's review against another edition
Graphic: Drug abuse and Drug use
annakrs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Homophobia and Drug abuse