I definitely enjoyed this book, it was a very fun read and I found myself smiling and laughing through the entire thing. I wouldn't say that there was anything that especially stood out to me about it other than the relationships between the characters. I liked the boy band trope and how close all of the members were to one another, the authors did an incredible job of portraying the dynamics between the characters. Whenever I am reading, I look for compelling characters and I think this book definitely had that element. I would definitely recommend this to my friends.

What I expected: a sweet romance between two members of a popular boy band, with lots of pining, clandestine meetings, stolen kisses, and some pressure from band management to keep it a secret.

What I got: all that, plus a really thoughtful exploration of what goes on behind the scenes of a popular band, the stress, the pressure and the exploitation in the music industry.

I loved it, I'm now a Saturday fangirl (no screaming or unsolicited touching, though).

Ruben and Zach are our narrators, but Jon and Angel are no less vivid and distinct as characters. The authors did an amazing job showing the wonderful connection between the four members of Saturday, how they truly care about each other and are like a family. They really made me care about each one of them too!

The romance was lovely - I was rooting for Ruben and Zach the whole way through, even when they hit some rough patches. As you'd expect, sexuality, self-acceptance and being able to be yourself were a big focus. I thought it was all very well done.

What struck me the most was the depiction of the dark side of popularity in the music industry, how it can stop being fun and can become extremely harmful. Especially if your management team stops seeing you as human and only sees you as a resource to be exploited for maximum profit, regardless of the impact it will have on you.

It's making me think back to the boybands I liked as a teen, and wonder if they went through the same things too. I can totally see it happening, yet I never thought about it back then (or since).

Great writing, too. It was funny at times, tense and suspenseful at others, and always very introspective.

Oh my goodness this book was so good. It was sweet and funny and also very serious. I also liked how there was a fair lack of internalized homophobia; that was nice to see. The main characters were also very relatable and funny so I appreciated them, and the critical eye that the book examined the music industry with was really interesting. Overall, one of the better gay books I've read and certainly a fun concept to explore. #IfThisGetsOut #NetGalley

An exploration of the pressures artists face in the entertainment industry, featuring: a suuuuper cute relationship, found family, and a very badass coming out scene.
I love the open, honest, healthy communication between Ruben and Zach when they start dating. Talking about their issues and working through them together is just …. *chefs kiss*. The last 15% of the book I especially loved, it felt like everything was coming together; all the set up from the previous chapters paying off! Also, Angel is such a BAMF I love him.

Have you ever been in a reading slump and feel like you might never get out of it? That's how I felt when I was approved for this book, and I was nervous to start it because I thought my mood my spoil my excitement to read it. I have been looking forward to this novel since the synopsis first found its way to my social media feed, and I wanted it to be good. Well, let me tell you, it's not good...it's great! I was smitten with the characters within the first two chapters, and was so enveloped by them the whole time. As someone who works in live events, the world was built with real understanding of what happens behind the scenes; the good and the bad.
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There is a desire in young people to be famous, and the dark side of fame is rarely touched upon in media geared toward these same teenagers. To have a young adult book that demonstrates the struggles of fame and how overwhelming it can be is so important. This is not just closeting, but drug use and drinking, and also the emotional struggle to be who the world wants you to be and fitting a mold that you don't fit so comfortably in. These aren't just the struggles of celebrities, but of teens everywhere, and this book gives them a look at what can be solutions to these hard moments. Overall, I adored this novel. I found myself on more than one occasion looking at how much I had left and simultaneously wanting to not put it down, but also to slow down so it wouldn't end too quickly. I want more of this world, more of these characters, and more from these authors. Waiting until December to be able to discuss this with more readers will be so difficult, and I'll probably read it a few more times between now and then.

If This Gets Out, a story about a boy band struggling under oppressive management, will hit home with many queer readers. As a queer reader myself I found it easy to relate to Zach and Ruben’s fears and problems with feeling censored. Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich did an excellent job at making their feelings accessible to many when the circumstances of the story are not.

I read this book in one sitting. I did not expect that, but it pulled me in from the first chapter. I would recommend this book to fans of Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston as both stories deal with a coming out story with public implications.

Zach, Ruben, Jon, and Angel make for a lovable cast of characters with their own idiosyncrasies that make them unique. Everyone can find something to love about this story.

This bought all my boyband loving days of my youth flooding back to me. A stunning read that addresses so many hard hitting topics

First of all, thank you to Netgalley for the e-arc!

TW: homophobia, addiction, abuse

I’d like to say that although this was supposed to be a book about closeting in the music industry, I did not expect it to do as well as it did with such hard hitting topics.

This book was incredible. It was so well written, discussed so many issues and it was still such a cute romance! The way closeting in the music industry is discussed n this books is mind blowing. So many people don’t realize that this stuff still happens: Freddy Mercury, James Dean, Elton John, David Bowie, Cher… the list goes on. This is a fact that isn’t openly discussed by most, but it’s 2021, and we need to acknowledge these terrible things that happen and spread awareness about them and this book handles that so, so well.

Aside from forcible closeting, it also discusses the boundaries that artists have to ignore, the people they are forced tp become with no regards t how all this affects their mental health. It handled addiction, parental abuse, as well as coming out. Not only coming out to family, which is hard enough, but coming out to a whole fandom, a whole planet basically. It talks about the kind of pressure placed on artists to fake date, or mot date at all if they’re queer. It shows how people are given alternate personalities from who they actually are and turned into someone fans want to see on stage. Further onto that, it shows the impact this has on mental health and someone’s wellbeing.

I said it before and I’ll say it again, I knew the was going to be well written but I didn’t expect it to talk about all of the things it did and in a way that seems to manage to combine was many experiences of so many people into one book.

Also, #zuben for life.

This took me back to the years when I loved boy bands, like One Direction and 5 Seconds of Summer and definitely more. I remember being so invested in them, and it was so easy to fall into Saturday just like it was so easy to fall into One Direction. So in terms of only my emotions while reading this it's absolutely 5 stars, but it went beyond that and blew me away just as a book, even if I was never a fan of boy bands I think I would've been just as invested in Ruben and Zach's relationship as well as the relationship of all 4 boys in the band.

The only thing I wasn't a huge fan of while reading was the initial first pick up of the book, I was definitely surprised with the writing style right away, it reads kinda like fan fiction. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, I've read a lot of amazing fan fiction in my life, I just wasn't expecting it, but once my brain kinda like calibrated to the style I was fine and actually grew to really like the writing style once I was used to it. On the writing though I loved that both character's voices felt so different, Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich did a fantastic job with that.

Character wise, perfection. All 4 boys felt very real, Jon, and Angel were beautifully written characters, and I'm very happy that they were more than just surface level characters they had depth and it was amazing to see their journey though the story as well. Now onto Ruben, I genuinely love him, I felt for him the whole book, wanting him to be able to be himself and to be able to come out. I enjoyed his perceptive chapters a lot, and really enjoyed knowing what was going on in his head during certain moments. Last but certainly not least, Zach, I was to wrap this boy in bubble wrap and protect him from the world. I felt like I could relate to Zach, that I knew what he was going though discovering his sexuality, and just I love him. His chapters made me excited I couldn't wait to get to his perspective no mater what was going on in the book.

Overall I throughly loved this book. The characters, and the topics of how the music industry treats artist, I couldn't get enough.

This took me back to my One Direction and Wattpad days as a teen in the early 2010s. So, so good and easily one of the best queer YA books I've read in a while.

This book made me so nostalgic for 2011/2012. There are clear differences between Saturday and One Direction but it did remind me of the years I spent obsessed with a boyband (and the conviction fans had that Modest was making the boys say/do things they didn't want to).

Aside from the nostalgia, I really enjoyed this book. I liked alternating perspectives between the two and getting to see both boys' understanding of what was happening. Also loved the Angel and Jon/Saturday as a band dynamic.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book!

Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing me with an early eARC in exchange for an honest review! I truly appreciate it! This has been one of my most anticipated reads this year!

"If This Gets Out" is about the boy band Saturday and its four members: Angel (Reece), Zach, Jon and Ruben. Together they form one of the biggest acts in America. Yet, their management is taking over their lives: what they are wearing, what they are saying, how they should interact with each other and how they should act in the public eye. Summed up: they cannot do anything they want to and they are suffering in pain together. Imagine touring the world but not being able to leave your hotel because your management does not want you to. They want to rewrite your story and phrase your own narrative for you. But what happens if in those dark times two band members actually fall in love with each other? And what happens if they get denied the chance to openly show their feelings for each other and come out to the public?

I honestly have to say that this book blew me away. It was one of my most anticipated books for this year and now it turned into one of my favourite books.

First of all, I absolutely loved all involved characters. In my eyes, they were absolutely authentic and I immediately loved them. It is one of those stories where you actually connect to the characters and you definitely know who the characters are. You get excited with them. You feel frustrated for them. You just want to scream or cry or be happy about what is actually happening in the book. I also loved how strong they were individually and how their stories played into the overall plot.

The message of the book was so important and I honestly had to take a moment to think about it. As a teenager, I was also obsessed with boy bands (One Direction, 5 Seconds of Summer,...) and you never really think about the pressure they are experiencing every day. Not just the pressure to do everything right and promote their music to be successful, but the pressure to never upset others, to never think about your own needs, to be stuck in a position where you cannot escape. Where you are stuck pretending to be a completely different person. The invasion of privacy, especially by the media. The abuse of power.

I can honestly just applaud both authors for making this message so clear and so strong throughout the whole plot. When requesting this book, I did not think that it would turn into this topic, but I am so, so, so thankful that it did. It is a message that needs to be heard.

Honestly, if you are looking for an amazing YA and LGBTQ+ story about a boy band where you get to experience many facets in their lives, then get this book! You will not regret it! I enjoyed every second of it and I will definitely re-read it. I cannot wait to read the other books by both authors!

While the premise of this book peaked my interest, the execution felt more like a thinly veiled One Direction fanfic. Which isn't to say that it was poorly written, I am definitely an avowed reader of fanfic. I just didn't feel invested in these characters. I also felt like some issues were brought up and then dropped, which was a little frustrating. All in all, it was a decent read, but not one I would revisit.

This was an enjoyable read dealing with the pressures of celebrity and how controlled every aspect of these teenagers' lives is. The friendships, romantic relationships, and parent-child interactions all had equal focus. For fans of Alice Oseman's I Was Born for This and One Direction fanfic.

This was pretty solid! I liked all four of the band members and I thought Ruben and Zach were easy to get invested in. The story here isn't really the romance, it's overcoming the oppressive nature of the music machine that's made them a success, but I did like the easy way the relationship develops and that there's some good parenting and frank (and safe!) sex talk and that there's a big emphasis on communication both within the romantic relationship and the band.

I did get an overwhelming sense of like, amused secondhand embarrassment through the entire reading process because it's just very difficult to ignore that this feels like One Direction fan fiction, but I'm not sure you'd be able to produce any book with this kind of plot that didn't feel like One Direction fan fiction, even to someone like me who only just knows it exists. That's assuredly unfair to the authors who absolutely did the work to create these specific characters and their world, but is also certainly a selling point to readers who are interested in it as a genre.

It was a good read, regardless, with some charming interactions and a satisfying ending. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

4.5/5 (rounded down on rating)
If This Gets Out is about Zack King and Ruben Montez, two boys in a super famous boy band, and how when their friendship develops into something romantic, they have to fight for their freedom and their voice in the band. This book was such an entertaining read, with the perfect combination of funny comments, romantic moments, and serious topics. I'm pretty sure if you put One Direction and Red, White & Royal Blue into a blender, this is what you get. The characters were so easy to fall in love with, and I loved their relationships with one another (romantic, platonic, etc. it was all wonderful). I confused the perspectives, however, and sometimes had to flip back to the beginning of the chapter to see who I was reading about. The plot seemed predictable at first, and I thought I knew exactly how the story would play out at the beginning of the book, but I was pleasantly surprised as I kept reading. If This Gets Out is definitely one of my new favorite reads of 2021 :)

For somebody whose youth was spent much of it listening to boy bands and fan girling out loud, I was thrilled to be able to read and review this.

This coming-of-age story wasn’t the light reading rom-com that I thought it would be. It is sweet, the friendship between Angel, Ruben, Zach and Jon is solid and comforting, the banters are amusing.

But it is also angsty and a bit dark as the story delves into the dark side of fame and management control and involvement. It’s no wonder we are all left in shock when celebrities like Miley Cyrus shed that perfect image her team wrapped her up in and she went 180 degrees and rode a wrecking ball. Or when Britney Spears couldn’t handle the pressure anymore and had her public meltdown and breakdown.

This book gives us a glimpse of why celebrities spiral and how it gets bad real fast, specially when the pressure to be somebody you’re essentially not, gets to you.

The boys found solace in their friendship and for Ruben and Zach, they found love. I love that they fought for their happily ever after and even when it seemed like it was them against the world, and at one point them against themselves, love wins.

This book is a balance of touching important and heavy issues such as control and abuse of power, substance abuse as a coping mechanism, emotional abuse, the pressure of society’s expectations. It’s also about self discovery, navigating friendship and love in all its forms.

This book will make you smile, make you laugh, it’ll make you mad, it’ll break your heart but it’ll pieace them back together and give you joy.

The world needs more stories like this.

If this gets out is a contemporary YA story following a hit boy band, centered largely around two members Reuben and Zack, as their friendship blossoms into love but stumble over several obstacles on the way. In short this book screams READ ME and will not disappoint.

Reuben has been openly gay in his private life for a while yet the bands management is all but forcing him to keep it a secret from the public, though rumors of such matter surround the whole band, they are given clear guidelines to follow at all times in order to "keep the fans happy" but what happens when Reuben and Zack move from friendship to love? That was NOT part of managements plan.

This story is definitely a slow burn romance with clearly defined characters and a narrative (written from alternating points of view) that is believable and leaves no question that this is about two young adults and written for the same audience which is an increasingly hard thing to find as society pushes the limits of all age groups to the limits, so I loved that this remained true to what it is in the best possible way.

The story truly is adorable and readers will fall in love on page one making this fairly unputdownable as the story grabs you by the hand (and heart) and courts the reader until well beyond the final page.

I am so grateful to Netgalley, Sophie Gonzales, and Cale Dietrich for the opportunity to read an advance digital copy and share my unfiltered opinion. I cannot wait until I can purchase a physical copy when it is released and will be handing copies out to friends as well, because yes it really is THAT good.

This novel cannot hit shelves soon enough. I will be singing this books praises for a long time to come, counting down the days until the world can fall in love with this charmer together.

I found out about this book last Summer and knew I HAD to read it as soon as it came out. And then an opportunity presented itself for me to read it through NetGalley and I maybe kinda screamed a bit (A LOT).
If This Gets Out is an amazing YA contemporary about a boy band - and specifically about its two band members who fall in love. Ruben has been out as gay for a couple of years to his family and friends but Chorus, the band's management is anything but eager to let him come out to their fans and general public. But when his feelings for Zach, his bandmate and long time best friend, threaten to overflow and Ruben realizes that there might be something there, things take a turn for the worst. The boys might've found love, but Chorus is as determined as ever to keep their queer band members a secret so as not to "lose fans". And while the four boys might've listened to their management in the past sometimes enough is just enough.

I absolutely loved every minute of reading this book - the dual perspective (Ruben's by Sophie and Zach's by Cale) added a lot to both the story and the characters. We got to understand Ruben's family struggles, his frustration with having to keep his sexuality a secret for so long, his insecurities when it came to being with Zach. And we got to see Zach struggle with his sexuality and newfound feelings for Ruben while also exploring his family dynamics. Add the two other band members to the mix (Jon and Angel) for a perfect (slightly angsty) boy band book that not only deals with sexuality and coming out but also mental health (anxiety, substance abuse) and the many traps of fame. One of the most important aspects of the book was the sheer pressure of the entertainment industry - and specifically the pressure marginalized artists face. Like the authors wrote so eloquently in the acknowledgments, this story might be fictional but the struggles and pain these characters go through are very much real for many artists out there. From how the media treats them to the invasion of privacy and horrifying work conditions, this book sheds some light on this very sparkly, almost dream-like industry that is (in reality) anything but that.
It made me think a lot about all the artists that I've loved before (musicians, actors, influencers) - but especially the boy bands I've loved. There were always whispers about how members of different bands were often censored or stuffed into molds to fit certain "types" that will be liked by many. How every member seemed to fit a different stereotype, the bad boy, the flirt, the nice guy. If This Gets Out is at its core a love story, but it is also so much more than that - it uncovers many ugly sides of the entertainment industry and makes the reader really think about what different production companies and media put forth.

To wrap it up: If This Gets Out is a story of hope and standing up for what you believe in - standing up for love even when the odds are stacked so highly against you that finding happiness seems impossible. I fell in love with Ruben and Zach right away, rooting for them from page one and crossing my fingers for them to find their happiness. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves YA contemporaries, soft queer stories, boy bands, or generally anyone who wants a great read that will make you both laugh and cry!

*I got a free copy through Netgalley, this in no way influenced my review*

A queer pop band book? Yes PLEASE!

This book was so well fleshed out. It didn’t just go about the boys and their band, it dealt with addiction, anxiety, how the music industry can influence you, ...

I did feel like the first part of the book was dragging on just a little bit, but I could also understand it was for the purpose of building things up for events later on in the book

Also the ending had a bit of Deus Ex Machina, were suddenly something pops up to solve all their problems and still make it a happy ending, but I didn’t particularly care, because it was in fact a good ending.