I always enjoy brent’s books and this was no exception. He has a skill at capturing YA/NA voices that many other writers of similar books fail to match.

DNF
I am late reviewing this since life unfortunately got in the way.

While I like this authors writing style I was never too fond of Otto as a character. This continued into this book. I was hoping to like him much more because he is someone I wanted to root for.

A double heist story. The main story rolls out when an aspiring actor gets his first real shoot. He gets a role in a big studio film written for him by his friend. Unfortunately, it takes more than a good script to make a good movie. Otto comes up with a crazy plan that may cost him his career.
A movie that they are casting through the book becomes a framework.

Might not suite for younger or extra prude audience as some scened are pretty descriptive about humans body. However, there is not (a lot of) rude language and descriptions are mostly body positive. As far as it is possible in a framework of Hollywood looks-obsessive industry.
All LGBT topic is handled naturally and doesnt distract from an actual story telling. Instead it is handled casually, without unnecessar emphases.

I was so happy when Brent Hartinger sent me an email that a new Otto Digmore book was being published! I remember being really fond of the first book and I couldn't wait to read this one too. This book made me remember why I loved the first book so much and I enjoyed every second of this second book. I'm sure I'll read more by Brent Hartinger in the future.

Pros
Easy to like: Otto is so easy to like. I love reading about him and just being in the presence of his personality. I remember totally falling for Otto and him being one of my favorite main characters. I still feel that way. He's such a nice guy and you can't do anything but root for him!
Naked scene: There was a naked scene in this book and I enjoyed every second of it. The way Otto thinks about this is so refreshing and I loved the way he went into detail about... Certain parts, LOL. It was so funny and hilarious to read. I'm a very open person and talk about everything with my friends, so to read this was just all giggles for me.
Thinking: I'm usually so bored by thinking scenes in a book, where a main character is pondering. But not when it's Otto! This book is full of Otto thinking about things and I love every second of it. Otto is a smart person and has a very refreshing outlook on things. It's so interesting to really dive into his persona.
Research: I feel like good research was done for this book. I learned new stuff about history and different places. I learned about the world of Hollywood. I think the change of scenery was a smart choice for this book. It wasn't just a change of scenery though, the information that the author provides was so neat. I Googled the places they went and I felt like it was described the right way.
Excited: At the end of the book the author throws a hint about a new series out there and I felt excited right away. These books are exactly as long as they should be and they're so easy to read. I enjoyed every page of the first book and this book and it just makes me want to read more!

Cons
U kidding?

Overall
This series only contains two books, because Brent Hartinger wrote that this is the final book. It's easy to read and I totally recommend people to pick up these two books. I can't imagine that people won't fall in love with Otto!

Otto Digmore is an actor in Hollywood, and he has a strong friendship with his long-time pal, Russel Middlebrook, who is a screenwriter. Otto and Russel with summer camp boyfriends way back in the day, but Russel is married to his high school sweetheart, and Otto has a long-term boyfriend, who is also his agent. They are both stunned and elated when one of Russel's screenplays gets picked up by a studio. Ruseel had specifically written a part of the hero with Otto in mind, because Otto has some serious facial and body scarring from a fire in his youth. It's hard for Otto to get parts because he's not the classically-handsome Hollywood actor--and he's still got to audition for the part.

And, beyond his wildest dreams, Otto gets the role. It seems as if Otto and Russel are finally making their way in the tough business of movies...until filming begins. The cast is tight, really quality people who are up for the mad-cap hijinks of Russel's Middle Ages caper script, but the directer is messing it all up. A crony given the directing job based on patronage and familial ties, Otto sees the poignant bits of his role being ditched for slap-stick and cheap laughs. It's disheartening to the cast and crew, who have become a unit allied against the directors lack of vision.

Otto, as the underdog hero, has a hard line to walk. If his director's vision is realized, no one will consider this film as worthy of anything, thereby torching Russel's screenwriting career and his acting career in the process. They are too new on the scene to withstand the professional fall out, not like some of the veterans in the cast and crew. It's risky, but they hope filming the scenes as Russel intended will give the director more to work with in the editing phase--and that's really when the movie and be salvaged. Otto channels the cast and crew to film scenes in ways that go against the director's superficial staging, but that's not the end of this caper. Nope, the director can still make it a mess with poor editing--and Otto has to decide how far he is willing to go to salvage what could be the most defining performance of his career.

This is a buddy caper, not a romance, with lots of help from sympathetic parties. Otto and Russel are the best of friends, and the difference in their compensation, location housing, and treatment reveals the distinction between writers and talent in Hollywood. Likewise, the risks to Otto are greater, if things go wrong and he's caught tanking with the director. Let's say that the director is mainly just incompetent--not particularly malicious--but he believes his incompetent work is superior not based on the cronyism that artificially elevated him, and that false entitlement brings in more narcissistic decision-making down the road. It's also a fun behind-the-camera peek at Hollywood's good and bad sides. I really enjoyed spending time with Otto and Russel again, though this story is all about Otto and his professional and personal insecurities. He is distinctly human, and his weaknesses resound beyond his singular character. I really enjoyed this story, though the end felt a bit rushed. The end is, however, mostly positive, and I eagerly turned the pages to ensure Russel and Otto get their happy (platonic) ending.

A great, quick read.

The two main characters Otto and Russel are back to continue their adventures, and progress their careers, this time in the world of Hollywood films.

The main characters are well drawn and engaging, but some of the lesser characters, in particular the film director less so.

The storyline is engaging, though nothing particularly different to other stories, having said that though it is well paced, and definitely pushes you through the story.

I look forward to reading the further adventures of these two.

I adored the Geography Club and had really high hopes for this novel, but unfortunately it fell quite short and left me feeling disappointed. The prose and characters didn't engage me and I struggled to read through to the end.

But first, the good: great premise, some really great moments (my favourite scene was Russell putting down Aaron in the most subtle way), and offered an interesting behind-the-scenes look at Hollywood and how movies get made, including the good, bad, and the ugly.

The bad: I found the narrator unengaging and struggled to get into the voice. There were so many unnecessary details (why do we need to know what cologne everyone is wearing? Fell short of a cute running joke/unnecessary setup) and explanations that it started to feel exhausting. The fun facts about Hollywood and moviemaking felt long-winded after a while. Otto lacked chemistry with the other characters, including his boyfriend and best friend, which might have been a result of the prose relying more on exposition and "telling" rather than "showing" and not enough real character building outside of Otto. Despite some nice moments between characters, the relationships didn't stay with me and never really delved beyond a surface level, resulting in a book that felt thin and insubstantial.

My biggest issue, however, was around representation. Otto talks a lot about how whitewashed, ableist, and misogynistic Hollywood is, but the book, in my opinion, fed into these issues further by failing to provide meaningful positive representation of nonwhite, disabled, or female characters. The POC characters like Greg and Ying get very little "screen time" and have no backstories or significant roles of their own--they just support the white characters and fade into the background when needed. Ditto many of the female characters, who don't have their own stories and contributions other than being a friend to the main character or providing comic relief.

I also disliked Otto constantly claiming representation as someone with a disability, which he was not even by loose standards. As someone with a disability, I did not agree and felt the novel did a disservice to the differently abled by trying to equate facial scars with true physical or intellectual disabilities, or mental health challenges. I sympathized with Otto's struggle to be recognized for more than just his scars, and his frustration with the shallowness of Hollywood and modern beauty standards. This is a valid issue to explore. But he is not differently abled, as his scars and past injuries don't affect his mobility, abilities or way of life outside of struggling to find acting work. Yes, people with disabilities are often judged because of how they look, but there is a difference between someone having a scar or other disfigurement and someone whose mobility, cognition, or quality of life, or who has to adapt or use assistive technologies to live in the world, or encounters physical/systematic/social barriers because of a physical or intellectual disability or mental health challenge. I think Otto raised many excellent points about how his scars set him apart and why it's important to see representation, especially in film and TV--and to be clear, I don't object to the message of "hire people with disabilities to play disabled characters," same as other roles such as trans, queer, or nonwhite characters. But it was a very strange and dare I say lazy character/representation choice and went a step too far for me. By all means, advocate for a more inclusive film industry and a different standard of beauty, or speak to how people with disabilities are often shut out of roles and why this must change. But equating a superficial scar or injury with no deeper physical impact with a "disability," then saying Otto being cast in a major film role is a win for the disabled community, is borderline appropriation and felt opportunistic, while also seeming like a copout. Hartinger could have just as easily written a character with a true physical or cognitive disability and spoken to the barriers he faced in aspects of his lives, but chose instead to stick to the superficial while constantly reminding us that Otto is still "hot" despite his scars. Those priorities are questionable to me and I'm not sure how it's meant to be progressive. Ditto the POC characters who never got to shine and whose own barriers and struggles we never get to witness or learn about in a meaningful way.

Reading this took me on a fun, unexpected adventure with Otto, Russel and their many willing cohorts along the way. Best friends, an actor and a screenwriter find strength and growing self acceptance through their journey and through each other. <b>The Otto Digmore Decision</b> has a prominent LGBTQ slant, but it is just one of the many interesting aspects of the book. Probably more front and center to its main core, is an inside peek in to the film industry.

I didn't realize this book was connected to a series of books until after I had finished it. It reads really well as a standalone book all on its own. Is it adult fiction or YA fiction? Though there is some 'adult' content, author Brent Hartinger's style here felt (and came across) very much like a YA novel. Easy reading, entertaining while not adopting a complicated narrative.

I really liked the friendship aspects of the story. I also liked that the characters were not just one dimensional and were motivated to take risks. The story pushes the edges of believability at times -- but that made it all the more fun.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Having read the Russel Middlebrow books (both the YA and adult series), I was anxious to dig into the spinoff Otto Digmore series. This is the second in the duology, and I enjoyed it even more than the first one. The characters in these books are like my friends at this point, and I hope Brent Hartinger continues to write about these characters for many years to come. It's especially interesting to read about characters that I met several years ago, when they were still in high school, and to see how they have developed in their twenties. If you've read previous books, you'll know that Otto Diggmore is an actor with scars on his face and body from a fire incident in his youth. His best friend, Russel Middlebrook, is a screenwriter trying to break into Hollywood. After Russel writes a screenplay that is moved into production, Otto nabs one of the leading roles, which Russel wrote with him specifically in mind. But even though it appears that all their dreams are about to come true, it all falls apart when the director turns out to be a hack who doesn't know the first thing about making a movie. Otto, Russel, and the majority of the cast and crew team up to save the movie--but you'll have to read the book to find out how.

This is a fun, feel-good book, with likable characters that you want to succeed. At first I was worried the end was going to be too sappy, but it had some nice twists at the end that give the story a little more weight. I'm glad the author used some irony in the denouement to provide the book with some levity.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

I got an ARC of this book.

I have been reading Hartinger since I was in late middle school/early high school. I even met him once when he was presenting at the True Colors Conference. I doubt he will remember me, but meeting him was the highlight of my year that year. I literally came out as trans that day to all of my friends and started my social transition, but meeting Hartinger beat that. I still have the temporary tattoos he handed out. I am that level of a fan. 

This book shows that the boys really are growing up. I was skeptical of leaving Russel behind. I grew up with Russel. I love Russel. I am so emotionally invested in Russel. Seeing Otto though is something I am glad I got to do. Otto was my favorite partner for Russel. I could write a very convincing essay on why Otto/Russel is better than Kevin/Russel, just saying. 

Otto's story has a theme of body acceptance, but also one of don't given in to others. Otto has to confront both his feelings over his body and the feelings others have for his body. I know that getting validation from a partner and it not being internalized is a no-no is the body positivity movement, but Otto had those moments where his own acceptance of his body came partially from his experiences with Russel. I can related to this so hard. Sometimes having someone be attracted to you, not despite parts of you, but those parts being included can give that spark towards feeling pride and acceptance. It helps quiet those voices. There were so many scenes where Otto's feelings broke my heart and I understood him so intensely that I almost didn't miss Russel. 

The plot is really interesting for most of the book. The ending gets a bit ridiculous. It feels like Hartinger hasn't fully pulled himself out of writing YA. The book does read as a bit older, but it still follows the YA formula. I am hoping that the next series is a bit more mature, which means I will be reading the next series. Of course I will. Hartinger has hooked me and he did something so many authors haven't. His characters have grown the right amount to keep up with me. When Russel was just coming out, so was I. When they were living on their own, so was I. It made the stories and the characters feel more like home and more real for me. This book felt less like home, but it also hit me at exactly the right time in my life. 

Overall, the book is fun. The characters are unique and wonderful. There are call backs to other books that happen a bit too frequently. I don't need the constant reminders that Otto and Russel dated, both because I remember and because it is rubbing it in my face that my couple didn't make it. 

As always, Min deserves more attention. She was always my favorite character. I hope that she gets her own book or series or maybe just a bigger role. This should just be added to every review and thought I have on Hartinger's work, even the books that aren't related. Min should just be in them.

I read this book as a stand alone book, never realising it was part of a series. I really enjoyed it as the insight into the film industry was interesting. The characters were believable and the storyline kept my interest from beginning to end. I would recommend this book.

It's taught a boring ping pong kind of story where I never caught onto the characters and their purpose.....

4.75 Stars for ‘The Otto Digmore Decision’ by Brent Hartinger.

I had not read any of Mr. Hartinger’s books before, and certainly had not heard of Otto Digmore, but I’m so glad I know them both now.

This wonderful novel is filled with likable - even lovable - characters lead by unemployed actor Otto Digmore and his long-time friend, aspiring screen writer Russel Middlebrook.

Early in the novel another character, Mo Foster, a young woman whom Otto met when she was hitch-hiking in Texas, sets up the thesis for the book when she says, ‘They say that people are the sum total of our experiences, and it’s true. But what they don’t say is that it’s not the experiences that define us. It’s the choices we make after they happen.’

As Otto and Russell set out to ruthlessly rewrite the rules of Hollywood, this novel of choices, friendship, love, skullduggery, and good vs evil, becomes a terrific read. Even with a slightly contrived solution, the final result is more than satisfying.

Thanks to NetGalley I was able to read an advance copy of Brent Hartinger’s ‘The Otto Digmore Decision’. I’ll look forward to reading more of Brent Hartinger’s work.

This was my first introduction to Otto Digmore, but I enjoyed the humor and humanity that come through so clearly in this story and its central character. Being a fan of cinema, I also enjoyed the setting and many conflicts that Otto encounters. This was a delightful read, written with clarity, and inviting from the first line.