rep: gay mc, bi mc with an eating disorder, biracial black sc, vietnamese sc

content warnings: underage drinking, drug usage, homophobia, forced closeting, abuse, toxic parents, internalized biphobia, car accident, racism, disordered eating.

In all honesty, this isn't a bad book, it's just a book that's quintessentially not for me despite being a very fast paced read which i finished in about 2.5-3 hours.
I think a lot of these feelings are subjective and it might work for you even if it didn't for me!

a) the plot hinges on homophobia for it to work:
i hate books where if you remove homophobia, there is zero plot? i need more queer joy than pain, i needed this book to give me more... more friendships, more focus on the band dynamics, more music love, maybe just a better developed romance?

b) I'm not sold on the romance:
it's the old *assumes love interest is straight* *gayngst* *miscommunication* *actual romantic moment* *gaynst* *love confession* *sex* *miscommunication* etc. I just do not care.

c) i feel like there's sidelining of the struggles of the side characters of color:
i felt like some parts prioritized white feelings? like they are supposed to be this really close knit band but there's issues and pressure that both Angel and Jon face that stems from racism that the mc's kinda just don't see or brush off

d) it just made me anxious a lot? like there is near constant homophobia from the management, joking/brushing off fans shipping rpf and the queer characters constantly struggle throughout the book? it made me feel all weird

there is exploration of a toxic relationship with the mc's mother who's not just forgiven so kudos for that! but mostly just no33

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion in any way

I really enjoyed the novel and would definitely recommend it to people at my store. It's a very topical story about the mismanagement of musical artists which is something that people will absolutely seek out in a book. I think there is definitely a huge audience of people who will be drawn to this story. The characters are great and you instantly are rooting for them while feeling frustrated that you can't do anything to help them.

A fast-paced and fun story filled with so many lovely moments. This story was realistic and heartwarming, and the characters were a joy to read about, Highly recommended, and will be handselling!

I really enjoyed this book! I am not the biggest fan of contemporary, especially romance, so I was hesitant to read it, but I tried it anyway because I wanted to get out of my comfort zone. I liked the authors' writing style; it was simple but descriptive. I was hooked right from the first sentence! The characters were really funny, especially their internal thoughts (I love first-person POV). Ruben and Zach had great chemistry and their story was very cute. The plot was very unique too. Most contemporary books I read have the same type of story and similar characters, but this book was different. I thought the ending was satisfying, too. When Ruben and Zach walked out, hand in hand, it really showed their love for each other and their boyband. Overall, this book was adorable and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys contemporary romances, especially with LGBTQ themes.

Ahh this was such a sweet story and I'm so happy that I got to read it!

The book is about the world famous boy-band, Saturday, which has been facing a lot of pressure from their management for them to fit a specific, and each of the four members have been struggling to fit those expectations. The story focuses on the romance between members Ruben, who’s a perfectionist and Zach who is a sweetheart and just wants to make everyone happy.

I was immediately hooked from the first sentence, “Almost plummeting to my death before a stadium full of screaming people is a warning sign, in an endless parade of warning signs lately, that I need more sleep.” The humor was great!

Ruben and Zach were so sweet, and you could tell from all their interactions that there was something between them. They were so good for each other and helped each other grow. I was rooting for them the whole time, and for the rest of the band. The dual perspectives were done really well and both Ruben and Zach were well developed, and each had a very clear individual voice in the story.

All the characters were so lovable, and I loved the dynamic between the band members. The banter between them was hilarious (Their interactions with fans was so funny, and lol so were the band ships #anjon). The tour through Europe was really cool to read about, and like the band I wished we could have seen more of it. But what was described was awesome! It also really made me want to go to Europe.

I really felt for all of them, they were under so much pressure and stress, and had no freedom to be themselves. I don't know what it's like to be famous, but to me this felt realistic and a possible portrayal of fame. It makes me wonder about celebrities in real life and if this is what life is like for them? Because if this is what it’s like to be famous it sounds terrible. I was just as frustrated as all the boys because it just sucked how every single detail of their lives was managed. And seeing them struggle was so heartbreaking. I loved Angel, he was hilarious, and I felt so sad for him, because he was dealing with a lot and quickly getting involved with drugs and alcohol and the rest of the band was dealing with their own things and not knowing how to help.

I loved the band’s friendship though and how supportive they were of each other, I would love to read more about them! What were they like of them before they got famous, and what was camp like?

I also had some thoughts/questions on Ruben’s relationship with his parents. They honestly seem terrible, I don’t understand why Ruben wanted to continue to have a relationship with them, especially his mom. All his interactions with her were just the worst for the most part, and I would have liked to see a little more why Ruben humored her.

There were some grammatical errors, but I’m pretty sure that’s just because it was ARC.

Overall this was great and I am so excited for this to come out in December!

Thanks to Netgalley for letting me read this!

Warning: Major fan girling ahead. I absolutely devoured this book. Could not put it down. Obsessed. #Zuben

Clearly, I loved this book. It's pretty close to perfection. The characters are simultaneously familiar and unique. Vulnerable and flawed and relatable and likeable. I loved each one of the members of Saturday in their own way. Their story immediately draws you in. It's so endearing, and honest, and fascinating. To see behind the curtains of a boy band, I imagine the authors were bang on in their depictions of the inner workings of this complicated and difficult world. The highs and the lows that we've seen played out in the media. But, this story gives those struggles heart and realness because, as a reader, you want so much to #SaveSaturday. If I could ask for one thing from the authors, it would be a sequel.

Praise for If This Gets Out! Two bandmates discover their sexuality and fall in love, but are forbidden from showing the world who they really are. Their European tour is full of surprise twists and turns. Will Ruben and Zach’s love make it through the trials of European Life? And will the band be able to stay together throughout a front page scandal?

This books had me smiling throughout. I especially loved Ruben’s chapters as he was very relatable to my own LGBT experience. Others can see themselves in Zach who spends part of the book struggling with his sexuality. The ending left me wanting one more chapter! Overall, I really enjoyed this book!!

Check out @zoinks_reads for a video review!

There are a lot of things I want to say about this book that made it difficult for me to rate. To begin, I think the basis of it is fantastic. The authors captured the feeling of not understanding who you might be or what you might feel perfectly. It can be terrifying to question your sexuality and this story does that in a way that feels authentic. I also very much appreciate how the bisexuality in this book wasn’t portrayed in a way that was harmful or biphobic. I’ve read several books now that have fed into the stereotypes of bisexual people not knowing what they really want or are cheaters which are extremely harmful narratives. The constant fear that Ruben and Zach experience with their sexuality and coming out is written in a way that makes you really emaphsoze with them. It isn’t dramaticized; it is honest. For the way the authors managed to convey these feelings my rating would be a 5/5.

With that being said, the book itself isn’t perfect outside of that. There are some triggering topics in this book (apart from the obvious homophobia) that I feel like readers need to be aware of before reading. For the first half of the book, one character struggled with calorie counting and having disordered eating thoughts. This includes lines about how they are worried they didn’t work out that day so they can’t eat a lot, they want more dessert but know they can’t have much (even for special occasions), and when they forget to eat due to exhaustion it isn’t seen as a bad thing. These issues are suddenly dropped and never brought up again which is disappointing. There is also a continuous theme of drug addiction and the portrayal of dangerous drug use. I just want people to be aware of that before they read this in case that can be triggering for them.

Something I tried to overlook but just made me roll my eyes too many times were the names! The band name being “Saturday” didn’t feel very realistic in a setting where everything else did. I understand there’s a band called Taking Back Sunday but that has more words than just one day of the week! Camp Hollow Rock? The management company being named just ‘Chorus’? Admittedly it’s a small complaint but for some reason it continuously bothered me.

My last point is about the surrounding characters apart from Zach and Ruben. In the first half of the book, their characters were overlooked and not very well described. It almost felt like the writing ignored describing them because they weren’t as important as the central couple. However, this did get drastically better in the second half of the book. In the second half all the characters are highlighted in ways that make them unique, described perfectly, and helped bring important voices into this story.

Overall, while I like this book a lot I had some serious issues with the first half of it. The addition of storyline of disordered eating that was suddenly dropped doesn’t sit right with me. It feels unresolved and overlooked which makes me question why it was included in the first place? The way that the book overlooked and ignored essentially every character except Zach and Ruben for the first half was frustrating. Later on, they had so much to offer! I wish that this was seen earlier too. Lastly, the small annoyance of the names really got to me but I think that has to do more with personal preference than anything.

Because of my complaints, despite how much I enjoyed the storyline, I knocked down my rating to 3/5.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich for this ARC!

5⭐

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for allowing me early access to this ebook in return for an honest review!

If This Gets Out is a story about a boyband called Saturday which is comprised of Jon, Ruben, Zach, and Angel. This story is told through alternating POVs of both Ruben's and Zach's. This story follows multiple different story lines of friendship, issues with their management team, family, and relationships. The 4 boys are all best friends that are appearing to be at their last straw with their management team as they are incredibly controlling as well as manipulative with what they say to the boys. Everyone just seems to suck it up what is happening to the band until Ruben and Zach kiss. That changes everything.

Ultimately, I really loved this story. I loved how this story was both plot driven as well as character driven. I was able to relate to the characters in some way as well as be really entertained because of the pacing of the book. Because I was able to relate to the characters I was finding myself experiencing different emotions as the characters experienced them. While we didn't get the POVs of Angel and Jon, I was still able to make some sort of connection with them as well due to the descriptions and interactions that we were able to get through these characters throughout the story.

I really appreciated how this story seemed realistic as well. Issues with management teams are such a reality for some celebrities and I really enjoyed how this story didn't just concentrate on the good things about being famous such as having a lot of money and being able to travel the world. There were a lot of other things that it mentioned in regards to the downfalls of being famous such as paparazzi, being told what you can and cannot do, as well as being dedicated to your job 24/7.

This story was able to bring me back to when I was 14 and obsessed with One Direction. It really fulfilled all of my fangirl fantasies and it was really nostalgic for me to read. I am so glad I was able to get ahold of a highly anticipated read of 2021 and I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy when it comes out!!

Boybands? Queer romance?
This was everything and nothing like I expected it to be. This book described the struggles of discovering who you are and your sexuality so well. Not only is the queer romance a plus but this book goes into depth on issues in the music industry and what goes on behind the scenes of music artists that we all love. There definitely are a lot of heavy topics in this book so I definitely recommend looking up trigger warnings if you need to. The beginning felt a little slow to me but it definitely picks up about a quarter way into it and I could not put it down! I would 100% recommend this book if you’re thinking about reading it when it comes out (:

This book is an absolute DREAM. If you've ever shipped members of a boy band, this book is for you. If you're a fan of love at all, read this.This is a heartwarming story about love and friendship in the context of the glamorous and not-so-glamorous parts of being part of an international pop sensation.

Having read and become a fan of Sophie Gonzalez' other work but not having read anything else by Cale Dietrich, I was thrilled to receive an advanced copy of this from NetGalley, and it went beyond my wildest expectations.

Both Ruben and Zach (along with their bandmates Angel and Jon) feel like real people, and the self-awareness and growth that they display throughout the novel is so important. This book is ultimately about boundaries and how knowing who you are helps you to know what you stand for, and the importance of having a support system in navigating all the complicated factors that inform our world.

I would 100% love to see this on screen, and would probably faint from excitement to hear Saturday's music IRL. Can you form a boy band based off of a novel? If so, I am super on board for it.

I read this cover-to-cover and was absolutely swept away. Read this book. It's worth it.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I often get really absorbed in YA Contemporary books and finished this one in two days! I was surprised at how much depth these characters have, not just Ruben and Zach, but also Angel and Jon, the other two members of the band. I liked learning about each character's struggles, different friendship and family dynamics that they all had to balance along with their career and passions. These four teens are put under a lot of pressure, from emotionally abusive parents to their label's strict rules and curation of their public image (including keeping Ruben and Zach in the closet), to being worried about Angel, who begins to abuse substances at greater rates because of this pressure.

I loved the bi rep in Zach's character, I found the self-denial and fear of being bi, the internalized biphobia, very relatable. There was a lot of messy feelings and actions, awkwardness, tension, pain, and angst that I love to see in books because life isn't perfect and can take very unexpected turns. The resolution of some of these issues is relieving, and Ruben and Zach's relationship is so cute and fluffy! Definitely a good read, especially for people who enjoy books like Only Mostly Devastated (also by Sophie Gonzalez), the Simonverse books, and Red, White, and Royal Blue.

Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I am emotional about this book! In such a way that I legitimately can't stop thinking about it. I think anyone who has historically been a fan of pop music or boybands in general tends to wonder what goes on behind the scenes, and this fabulous YA fiction book is exactly that.

And I also know that reading the summary, you are going to see "secret relationship" and think that this book is all about two of the members hiding their relationship and their management being terrible about it. There's so much more to this book than that. If This Gets Out also deals with the struggles of the two other members of their band. And let me just tell you... the other two members of the band are LOVELY and supportive and hilarious and everything I wanted.

Please pick this up in December! You won't regret it!

3.5

I had this book on my wishlist since I first read the blurb. I'm not a huge YA fan nowadays, especially if it's contemporary rom-coms (I wish I could read about people 5-10 years younger than me, but alas, my age has caught up with me) but when I saw this on Netgalley I HAD to request it. I loved the premise of "If This Gets Out": a boy band, found family, a secret relationship and queer characters? Yes, please.

I really enjoyed most of it: the first half of the book, especially, was fantastic and I will be eternally grateful to the authors for getting me out of my reading slump.
Ruben, one of the two MCs, was terrific from the start. I loved how outspoken and confident and snarky he was. Zach too, was lovely, and seeing him struggle with his sexuality and his issues with confrontation really resonated with me. I think my favourite character must have been Jon though, the third member of "Saturday", the boy band this book is centred on. I loved him, a lot.

I did enjoy this book. However, it just had a lot of drama going on. I'm usually the biggest fan of drama, especially when it's angst-y and painful, but the pointless drama at the centre of this book was, at times, a bit too much. A big part of what annoyed me was Zach, I think. I felt for him and his struggles with anxiety, but there's also a difference between being scared, unsure and confused and acting out and being an a bit of d*** to your best friend and not listening to what he's saying.
On the other hand, I thoroughly enjoyed the drama revolving around the actual band: the terrible management, Angel's storyline, the stress of touring and being in the spotlight. I'll definitely have to read more band-related books.

I definitely recommend this book to whoever wants to read a quick, fluffy book about boys falling in love. If you don't mind drama, and typical eighteen-year-old issues (and maturity), this is the book for you.

It's not very often that a book entrances me so much that it pains me to put it down, but this book did just that. I was so swept up in this story that I read it every second I could. While I initially picked it up for the boyband dynamics and the queer romance, what I got was a truly multidimensional story about the good and bad of the music industry, and about all kinds of relationships, romantic, platonic, and familial.

This book really benefits from its dual POVs: Ruben, a gay Spanish-American teen who hasn't been allowed to come out by his band Saturday's management team, and Zach, who is questioning his sexuality while pursuing his love of music and writing songs he hopes the band will be allowed to record. Both characters have distinct voices in their alternating chapters, while still feeling cohesive. We, as readers, get a full understanding of where each character is coming from in their experiences within the band, and their feelings as they start to fall for each other.

While the romance is well-written and adorable, this book goes beyond that to explore the relationship dynamics between all four members of the band. Angel and Jon, the other two members of Saturday, are fully-developed characters, and the book depicts the individual relationships between all four members, as well as their group dynamics as a whole. Each member of Saturday also has a unique relationship with their families, and I really appreciated how this book acknowledged the complexities of 18-year olds being away from their parents and under the guidance of their management team through international touring. This book truly strikes a perfect balance of lovable characters and a well-developed plot that will make you want to keep reading, even if it keeps you up all night.

To put it simply, this book is fun, hopeful, romantic, brilliant, and an absolute joy to read. It handles several serious topics well, including drug and alcohol abuse, parental emotional abuse, and forced closeting in the entertainment industry. To me, this book is easily a standout young adult contemporary of the year, and I highly recommend it!

Going into If This Gets Out I was expecting a fun, light romance but what I didn’t expect was the complexity of the story that revolved around the lives of Ruben, Zach, Jon, and Angel.

This is a book about friendship. It's about love. It’s about control. It’s about pressure. It’s about mental health. It’s about growth. It’s about evolution. It’s about standing up for what you believe in. If this Gets Out is a book not only about 2 boys falling in love but it's also about the pressure that 4 boys are under in trying to live up to the standards of the people around them and the people that look up to them.

The heart of the book is about the evolving relationship between Ruben and Zach. Them discovering their feelings for each other was heartwarming and beautiful. Seeing Zach trying to figure out his sexuality and second-guessing himself felt VERY real. We also get to see the friendship between Ruben, Zach, Jon, and Angel. That friendship felt authentic and all the ups and downs they went through felt incredibly real. Each character had a distinct personality that shone through on the page.

On the other side of the book is the topic of control and pressure that they are all under. We get a clear sense of the control and the pressure that is put upon the band by management, the record company, and even some of their parents. There is this pressure for all 4 of the boys to be these polished, picture-perfect people who do everything right and nothing wrong. This causes cracks to start forming in the band. This pressure affects each member differently and we see a clear view of how each boy is handling this weight they are carrying.

Is this a spoiler? Who knows! I honestly felt like the evilest character in this book was Ruben's mom. The ups and downs he went through with her emotionally were gut-wrenching. Her telling him off for doing this thing wrong, or his skin looking bad, then “being there for him” when he needed her just made me mad. I’m glad by the end of the book he felt like he could literally and metaphorically hang up on her.
Jon's dad being the main instigator of the pressure they are all dealing with is terrible. Even in the end when he could ~slightly~ redeem himself, his true colors of only caring about his image show. The fact he doesn't care about what his son says is sad.

If this Gets Out is a character-driven story, but the plot is not too far behind. I was engaged throughout this entire book. I loved the pacing, the characters, and the dynamics between the characters. When each boy was dealing with something, I felt for them and I just wanted to hug them!! I just enjoyed this book as a whole.

In "If This Gets Out" we follow Ruben, Zach, Jon, and Angel as they perform on tour for their band "Saturday" (told from Zach and Ruben's alternating point of views). With their busy schedules and pressure from their label, the four band members work to maneuver through their careers while attempting to remain true to themselves. This story mainly focusses on Ruben and Zach's relationship- how it crosses the line between friendship and something more. It is a fast paced novel filled with great humor, sincere dialogue, and deep topics. This book handles many difficult points of conversation in a thoughtful way; this includes Zach coming to terms with his sexuality and how he works his way from denial to acceptance. I absolutely adored this novel and could not put it down. It was easy to connect with every one of the main characters and I can not wait to read more from either of the authors.

Here is the 350 page long 1D fanfic you all wanted and clearly deserved.
Two members of a boyband falling in love, but having to keep it a secret.
This story is told from two POVs, Ruben and Zach, who’ve known each other since they were children. All four members of the band met at music camp and formed a real band with the help of Jon’s fathers music company.

This book was more than a cute romance though.
It showed how hard the life of music artists really is, how they have to hide so much of themselves that they sometimes lose who they really are. The most shocking for me was how abusive and toxic all the adults in this book were. Not only their managers, but also the parents. The people who are supposed to protect you.
I hated all the adults in this. Every single one of them. Not only were they all super selfish, but none of them took any of the band members seriously. Not even their own children. They just used them and wrung every single bit of life out of them.
None of the band members was able to be themselves, they were cast als roles, like in a play. Constantly being criticised and controlled and pressured at such a young age is so hurtful and messes up your whole being. I can’t even imagine what it must be like to keep such a huge part of yourself a secret, constantly having to hide, feeling so powerless. Also coming out to the whole world. Wow.
This definitely wasn’t the cute comfort read I was expecting.

While I liked the story, for me the pacing felt a little off sometimes. The romance felt a little too rushed for me in the beginning, then it all went downhill, then suddenly it was all fine again.
I liked both Ruben and Zack, especially their character development, but in the end Angel and Jon were my highlight. They seemed more consistent, complex and real to me character wise.
It’s a co-written book and sometimes I just felt it.

Very important topics that were raised weren’t discussed enough in the end for my taste. There are a lot of problematic things happening in 99% of this book, so the end just felt a little too abrupt for me. For example the constant body shaming and forced dieting these young boys experienced. It was mentioned, but not addressed anymore in the end.
The ending itself was very hopeful and powerful though (if maybe not suuuper realistic) and I really loved it!

All in all this book did a good job to show and discuss real life issues young (queer) people experience in the show business. It was a good and quick YA read with fun characters and a good story.
What I loved most about this was the bi rep though. It felt so real and I loved how Zach slowly explored this part of and learned about himself. I could relate to him so much.


TW: mental abuse, drug and alcohol abuse, addiction, parental abuse, body shaming, eating disorder

4,5 ✨
ARC provided by NetGalley.

Since I read I Was Born For This and Daisy Jones and The Six, I found myself really enjoying books about music and bands and this was exactly the same for this one!
We follow the boy band Saturday, with Ruben, Zach, Angel and Jon, along their tour in Europe! The book is written by Sophie and Cale and then we have the pov of both Zac and Ruben. Through their eyes, we got to see the pressure of being in a band and their team, the pressure of hiding themselves and hiding personal stuffs and the fear of the consequences if they take control.
It's a beautiful story about friendship and coming out.
With the covid situation, reading about a band touring in europe was such a serotonin boost.
just one negative lil thing was the lack of female character in the center of the story but overall I LOVED THIS BOOK!
this book is out december 7th 2021!!
tw drugs

If This Gets Out was a gripping, whirlwind, rollercoaster of a book that I absolutely flew threw. It tells the story of Saturday, a boy band consisting of Zach, Ruben, Angel, and Jon. It’s about Ruben and Zach falling in love, but it’s also about so much more.

ITGO exposes the abusive control management companies have in the music industry. Zach, Ruben, Angel, and Jon are forced to put on a facade and become people they’re not. Saturday’s management do everything they can to keep these boys under their power, including not letting Ruben and Zach come out for fear it will “hurt the band”.

This book also dives into other serious, but necessary conversations like substance abuse, mental health, losing and finding yourself, and setting boundaries. These topics were treated with all the care and nuance they deserve. I don’t see these topics in books as much as I would like, so having them in ITGO only made it that much better of a book and that much stronger of a story.

This book is fictional, but so much of it felt real. A lot of the time I felt like I was sitting right next to the characters and feeling their anger and frustration first hand. At times, it almost felt like if I put the book down and looked on social media, Saturday would be trending.

I loved all four of the boys in the band so much. They’re all so unique and special, and deserve to have their freedom. I really loved the dual pov, too. Going from Ruben’s head to Zach’s gave me a greater understanding of their characters, the rest of the band, and the story as a whole. Sophie and Cale are both such incredible writers that half the time I forgot this book was cowritten.

If, for some reason, this book wasn’t already on your radar, it definitely should be! ITGO is full of drama, love, music, characters you can’t help but root for, a villian you hate with a passion, and a story full of underlying hope and belief that things can and will get better.

Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this one early! I can’t wait to read it all over again when it comes out in December and relive this wild story :)