Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - If This Gets Out

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

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

Content Warnings

diana_raquel's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted 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? Yes

3.75

“Once you've learned shame, it settles into your skin like a tattoo. You can cover it up, but you can't scrub off the sense of inadequacy.”

When I brought this book I didn't know what to expect. I saw it in the shelves of my local bookstore and the tittle caught my attention. Upon reading the summary, I decided to buy it because it seemed like something that I would like.

And I was right! I really like it! Look, the way that the story is structured, I can see why people may think that this is a somewhat one direction fanfic turned book. There isn't anything that tells me that one direction (and the fan theories about some members of the band having a secret relationship) were an inspiration to the book but comparisons can be made. Nonetheless, lets review the book by what it is and not what could be. And I liked it! Its cute, heartwarming and has fluff, just the sorta of thing that I was looking to read at the time that I started this book.

So, I would recommend it if you want to read something sweet, light and cute.

Content Warnings

jennifer_bush_73's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective tense medium-paced

3.5

Objectively, it’s a good book. And Ii enjoyed listening to it. For me, this book was more serious than what I was looking for. The toxic mother and managers not for me.

Content Warnings

jazzy_t's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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? No

4.5

Enjoyable read. Kinda fun to read if you are active in any boy band fan base. Think it tackled some important subjects but kept a light hopeful feel.

Felt the ending was a little lack-luster.

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missmanga's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Loved the plot but it felt like something was lacking. The ending left a lot to be desired. I felt like it was very weak and not the right place to end it - I don’t mind an open ending but it wasn’t incredibly satisfying.

I feel like I did not know all the characters, such as Jon and Angel, but even Zach and Reuben to some degree.

There were some wonderful moments and I cried once, but overall something felt like it was lacking.

I keep moving between a 3 and 4 star review.

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lennie_reads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.5

Thanks to Netgalley and Hachette Children's Group, Hodder Children's Books for my ARC.

So from the moment I picked this book up I really struggled to put it down. For me, it was just one of those books that grabs you and it's all you can think about.

This is a dual pov story about two members of a very famous (fictional) boy band who are best friends, until things start to change.

I adored both Ruben and Zach and could very much relate to Zach's internal thought process around realising he's bisexual.

I, obviously, have no idea what it's like to be famous or in a boy band but the lives of these *literal teenagers* was terrifying and claustrophobic and so so many of the things they went through enraged me.

Despite knowing these characters are teens I did feel like their inner monologue made them sound older - like early / mid twenties. But that could be because I am old, or because they've had to deal with a lot from a young age. Either way I feel like this maybe could've worked a bit better as a New Adult age range rather than Young Adult, but I still loved it.

Definitely check out the content warnings on this book because there are some dark themes.

Content Warnings