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taleofabibliophile's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Cursing, Fatphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, and Sexual content
Minor: Racism
thetealdeal's review against another edition
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
Minor: Fatphobia
e_flah's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Off the Record tackles a lot of topics in a relatively short page count with mixed results. I found Josie's journey to grow in her confidence as a journalist really compelling and appreciated her complicated relationship with her sister, Alice. This book had a powerful emotional climax that was very well-written. It was also great to see YA grapple with questions about separating the art from the artist, which is a discussion that only seems to grow more important.
For what didn't quite work for me -- The romance between Josie and Marius felt a little bit under-developed. I would've loved seeing more of them navigating romantic interest before jumping all-in. The pacing felt a bit wonky as well. The events in the synopsis don't happen until around the 100-page mark but then so much is packed into the remainder of the book.
I just wish Off the Record had been a smidge longer. I would've loved a bit more time with Josie and Marius, particularlyas the reconciliation between them at the end felt super rushed . There are many topics in this book that would have benefitted from more exploration. All that said, though, I found Off the Record a compelling YA contemporary that did an excellent job thoughtfully tackling #metoo.
For what didn't quite work for me -- The romance between Josie and Marius felt a little bit under-developed. I would've loved seeing more of them navigating romantic interest before jumping all-in. The pacing felt a bit wonky as well. The events in the synopsis don't happen until around the 100-page mark but then so much is packed into the remainder of the book.
I just wish Off the Record had been a smidge longer. I would've loved a bit more time with Josie and Marius, particularly
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Fatphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Racism
Minor: Vomit
janvpals's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Fatphobia and Racism
Minor: Vomit
jennalouisereads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
TRIGGER WARNING: Sexual assault, sexual harassment, fatphobia, internalized fatphobia
17 year old Josie Wright is an aspiring journalist who just won a contest with Deep Focus magazine to write a profile on rising movie star Marius Canet. Soon she finds herself in a world surrounded by glamour, a world where as Black, bisexual and fat, she feels like she'll never fit in, despite her growing feelings for Marius. She finds a friend in Penny, Marius' costar who ends up confiding in Josie about an open Hollywood secret, the well respected and revered director Roy Lennox has sexually assaulted not only her but various other women in in the industry. Lennox also happens to be the director that Marius is working with next. Penny knows that Josie is the only one that can tell this story and expose Lennox. But Josie is herself is reluctant. What if she lets these women down? What if she ruins Marius budding career? But she won't give these women their voice...who will?
Do you ever read a book that you love so much you wonder? Why haven't I heard about this book before? That's how I felt reading Off the Record. I really loved how despite that fact that this book dealt with such heavy topics it still felt like a teen driven story. Yes the story is so so so important but I loved how it was ultimately a book about Josie and her relationship to what was going on. The writing style was also very easy to jump into and the author did a great job balancing themes of not only sexual assault, but anxiety and fatphobia. The romance was also really well done too.
17 year old Josie Wright is an aspiring journalist who just won a contest with Deep Focus magazine to write a profile on rising movie star Marius Canet. Soon she finds herself in a world surrounded by glamour, a world where as Black, bisexual and fat, she feels like she'll never fit in, despite her growing feelings for Marius. She finds a friend in Penny, Marius' costar who ends up confiding in Josie about an open Hollywood secret, the well respected and revered director Roy Lennox has sexually assaulted not only her but various other women in in the industry. Lennox also happens to be the director that Marius is working with next. Penny knows that Josie is the only one that can tell this story and expose Lennox. But Josie is herself is reluctant. What if she lets these women down? What if she ruins Marius budding career? But she won't give these women their voice...who will?
Do you ever read a book that you love so much you wonder? Why haven't I heard about this book before? That's how I felt reading Off the Record. I really loved how despite that fact that this book dealt with such heavy topics it still felt like a teen driven story. Yes the story is so so so important but I loved how it was ultimately a book about Josie and her relationship to what was going on. The writing style was also very easy to jump into and the author did a great job balancing themes of not only sexual assault, but anxiety and fatphobia. The romance was also really well done too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Fatphobia and Racism
caidyn's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- 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
4.5
I loved the author's debut so I got excited about their next book. And this was so good. Queer characters and a teen deciding to pave her own way in the world. This pairs nicely with Grown by Tiffany Jackson. Different, but still a great pair of books that complement each other.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
2021 appears to be the year of YA contemporaries talking about powerful men getting exposed for abusing their power. I've read probably 3 or 4 books specifically on this topic that came out this year. I'm not complaining, though! I think these are important discussions to have, and the more we talk about it, the more we can hold these people accountable.
Outside of the plot/subject matter, there is a lot of great representation in this book. Josie struggles with being fat in the book, accepting herself and feeling confident. She's also bisexual (or possibly pansexual), though this is a much quieter part of the book. Garrett has crafted an extremely relevant book that I think will resonate with a lot of teens.
Outside of the plot/subject matter, there is a lot of great representation in this book. Josie struggles with being fat in the book, accepting herself and feeling confident. She's also bisexual (or possibly pansexual), though this is a much quieter part of the book. Garrett has crafted an extremely relevant book that I think will resonate with a lot of teens.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Rape
Minor: Homophobia and Self harm
atreyib18's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Fatphobia
shelleyreads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Biphobia
qtdinh's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
While I really enjoy the book immensely, the writing style is personally a little too YA for me,
It does not help that the unfortunate realization that the main love interest is basically black Timothee Chamalet if he blew up for Lucas Hedges’s Boy Erased instead CMBYN makes it really hard for me to take the romantic moments seriously 😭😭. It feels a little bit too much like half a fan-insert and half a serious, emotionally harrowing vignette of the MeToo Movement, and it took some times for me to adjust to the tonal shifts.
It does not help that the unfortunate realization that the main love interest is basically black Timothee Chamalet if he blew up for Lucas Hedges’s Boy Erased instead CMBYN makes it really hard for me to take the romantic moments seriously 😭😭. It feels a little bit too much like half a fan-insert and half a serious, emotionally harrowing vignette of the MeToo Movement, and it took some times for me to adjust to the tonal shifts.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment