Take a photo of a barcode or cover
catsandcamera 's review for:
If This Gets Out
by Sophie Gonzales, Cale Dietrich
4.5
I really enjoyed this book. It is a romance between these two boys, but I think the best part is how much it highlights the toxic environment that surrounds young people in creative industries. It's not a secret that for decades young people who are talented in creative industries are used, abused, owned and controlled, so it was a really interesting thing to get behind and read about from the inside. All four of the boys in Saturday are controlled and manipulated in different ways, all four keeping quiet and just grinning and baring it for the sake of the others, until the pot boils over and explodes.
I only knew the basic premise - two boys in a boyband get together and have to be secretive - so I was pleasantly surprised when we got much more meat on the bones of this story (I shouldn't be really, I've loved Sophie Gonzales' previous books and know she actually does angst and miscommunication WELL which is a feat in itself) I loved both perspectives, the toxic gaslighty parent Ruben has to deal with on top of all the controlling management was an interesting dynamic. You don't often see this type of parent in YA books, so it's good to show the internal pressures that are just as bad or sometimes worse than external ones. Zach is a people pleaser and very insular character, so he deal with problems (like the acknowledgement of his sexuality) by shutting down and ignoring his own feelings - the same way he deals with his frustration about being denied the option to write his own songs.
The other two boy were also complex characters who I thoroughly enjoyed. Angel wears his emotions on his sleeve and deals with the pressure of the image he has to maintain by being reckless and damaging to himself. Finally, Jon is the character we know least about, he is a bit of an introvert and less boisterous than the rest of the band, but he is caught in the middle of everything. Saturday's success, unbearable control and manipulation is at the hands of Jon's father, so he has the pressure of being pushed into the limelight as the 'leader' and sex symbol of the band (something he is very uncomfortable with) having no parent / child boundaries and being accused of playing both sides.
This was a really great book, I thoroughly enjoyed the reading experience. The only thing I wanted was for the story to continue!
I really enjoyed this book. It is a romance between these two boys, but I think the best part is how much it highlights the toxic environment that surrounds young people in creative industries. It's not a secret that for decades young people who are talented in creative industries are used, abused, owned and controlled, so it was a really interesting thing to get behind and read about from the inside. All four of the boys in Saturday are controlled and manipulated in different ways, all four keeping quiet and just grinning and baring it for the sake of the others, until the pot boils over and explodes.
I only knew the basic premise - two boys in a boyband get together and have to be secretive - so I was pleasantly surprised when we got much more meat on the bones of this story (I shouldn't be really, I've loved Sophie Gonzales' previous books and know she actually does angst and miscommunication WELL which is a feat in itself) I loved both perspectives, the toxic gaslighty parent Ruben has to deal with on top of all the controlling management was an interesting dynamic. You don't often see this type of parent in YA books, so it's good to show the internal pressures that are just as bad or sometimes worse than external ones. Zach is a people pleaser and very insular character, so he deal with problems (like the acknowledgement of his sexuality) by shutting down and ignoring his own feelings - the same way he deals with his frustration about being denied the option to write his own songs.
The other two boy were also complex characters who I thoroughly enjoyed. Angel wears his emotions on his sleeve and deals with the pressure of the image he has to maintain by being reckless and damaging to himself. Finally, Jon is the character we know least about, he is a bit of an introvert and less boisterous than the rest of the band, but he is caught in the middle of everything. Saturday's success, unbearable control and manipulation is at the hands of Jon's father, so he has the pressure of being pushed into the limelight as the 'leader' and sex symbol of the band (something he is very uncomfortable with) having no parent / child boundaries and being accused of playing both sides.
This was a really great book, I thoroughly enjoyed the reading experience. The only thing I wanted was for the story to continue!