Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - Off the Record

Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Off the Record by Camryn Garrett

9 reviews

aus10england's review

adventurous fast-paced

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

2.75

First half: two stars
Second half: three stars

This was quite the whirlwind of the story, some aspects that I like included the diversity, the mental health rep, the behind the scenes look of journalism, and the well written banter between characters.

Some things that didn’t work for me was the pacing, I felt that even though we were going on a multi city adventure, it all kind of blurred together.

Also the story arch of

the main character not getting into college was all but wrapped up in like a paragraph which was kind of confusing.

Could totally see a huge number of people loving this story, just wasn’t for me unfortunately.

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legalplanner's review

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dark emotional informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Holy crap did this one take me by surprise. I knew going in what the heavy/triggering topics were going to be. I was not prepared for how they were handled in this novel.

Josie is our anxious narrator in this novel, we meet her in her senior year of high school. She’s working on getting into her dream school, winning a journalist competition, and surviving the holidays. Once she wins the contest she meets the teen actor and realizes journalism isn’t always objective.

The writing of this was great. I liked that Josie didn’t feel like having anxiety was just a “thing” to have. We literally saw her having panic attacks and anxiety attacks because she was overwhelmed. This was not just a throwaway illness. I liked that she was constantly trying to over come it and deal with her own body issues.

I knew the majority of the action was in the second half. But wowzers I was not prepared for the last 25%. I stayed up far too late in the evening to finish this because I had to know what happened.

The way sexual assault and harassment was handled was very well done. It was interesting that even when we’ve been assaulted we try to reframe it in our own mind, rather than admit assault. I also think that we forget that sometimes what’s right for one survivor is not right for all. People in positions of power should not be able to take advantage of individuals like in this novel.

I’m left feeling some tears in my eyes, a bit of hurt in my heart for all survivors who have experienced something like the characters in this book, and a desire to share this with anyone who will listen. 5/5 stars

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mme_carton's review

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challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

3.0

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liaandersson's review

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

I really don't know what to say. I adore this book with every fibre of my being. It was extremely well executed and respectful of all subjects that were brought up. I am in awe of these characters. The amount of joy I felt when we put him in his place and he couldn't come up with excuses anymore. This is a story about brave people using their voices for the greater good and preventing other people from having to go through the same trauma. I relate so much to the characters and I love how the side-plots were so well incorporated with the rest without taking over, yet still getting their time to be acknowledged. Josie is the fucking BOMB who got to post in The Times at 17 years old, I'm so proud. I was so truly happy when I finished the book because what it stands for is so important and it was so well represented in this book, even if Hollywood is a far off dream for many of us. What can I say except READ IT, but be aware of the topics discussed to make sure one is in the right mindset and prepared to avoid any traumatic triggers.

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caitlinjohnson6a88b's review

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring 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? No

3.75

Off the Record is one of those young adult books that full-blown adults can enjoy as much as teenagers. I put this down to the subject matter: sexual assault.

This is not to say that sexual assault is entertaining, of course. Far from it: as most of us know, harassment and assault have been making huge headlines for several years now, with Time’s Up and #MeToo showing up in so many headlines and news stories. That messaging, though, is often focused on adult survivors, whereas Camryn Garrett has chosen to view the issue through the eyes of a teenager.

Josie’s assignment seems simple at first: wrote a profile of a heartthrob actor. She lucks out when he proves to be interesting and fun, and there are—naturally—sparks flying every time they meet. In the course of following said heartthrob on a press tour, Josie meets an array of other people and ends up stumbling into a much deeper assignment, one that could cost not only her career, but those of others, as well.

The new story? Let’s call it something along the lines of “How to Wreck an Abuser in 10 Days.”

This is some really heavy subject matter, but I, for one, appreciate that it’s being covered for a slightly younger audience, if for no other reason than that teenagers often don’t know what sexual harassment and assault even looks like; adults tend to avoid such discussions in an effort to shield their children from some of the more vile things in this world, and it’s an understandable instinct. But people can experience such terrible violations starting at any age, and it’s important to empower them to recognize and confront the issue.

At one point in the story, Josie says, “Right now, I feel like the human equivalent of at least five question marks. Maybe an exclamation point is tossed in there, too.” Through the story she’s telling, Garrett helps ensure that some teenagers won’t have to feel so lost if they find themselves on the wrong end of sexual assault, and I commend her for it.

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janvpals's review

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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

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ame_lepage's review

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challenging emotional inspiring fast-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

I really liked this, but there was just a lot going on.
This book tried to be many things. Overall, I think it was pretty well done, but in terms of personal preferences, I would have liked the plot to focus more on the Metoo movement and the experiences of the victims. I thought the author sometimes shied away from certain aspects and I would have liked her to go deeper.
However, I did find a lot of myself in the main character Josie. I could really relate to her on many aspects like her anxiety and her problem with body image.
I discussed many important themes and I think it's a book that everyone should read.

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melaniereadsbooks's review

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challenging emotional funny inspiring 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

Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf Books for Young Readers for an arc of this book.

Josie has always had anxiety, but she doesn't let that stop her from pursuing her dream of becoming a journalist. When she wins a competition for Deep Focus magazine, she is sent on a 2 week long publicity tour with the cast and crew of a new movie to write a profile on the lead actor. What she doesn't expect is a more important story comes to light while talking to the cast of the movie, and she knows that she will have to do everything in her power to make sure it gets told.

I loved this book! I feel like this is such an important story to tell, and it is absolutely relevant to our society. I definitely got really angry at what was going on at times and frustrated because it is so similar to things that have happened in real life.

I also really loved Josie. I majorly identified with her right from the beginning, and got caught up in her journey and character growth! I loved that she didn't have it all together, but she was working on it and determined to succeed. I also really liked the supporting cast, her sister, her new friends and her mentor. They all were very interesting characters that did a lot for the story.

Pub Date: May 18, 2021

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caseythereader's review

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful tense 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

4.5

Thanks to Books Forward PR for the free advance copy of this book.

📚 Wow, this book! So much is packed in to the character of Josie and the world she inhabits. I could have followed her forever.
📚 I especially want to point out how easily and seamlessly Garrett gave her characters intersecting marginalizations (Marius is Black and bisexual, Josie is Black, bi, fat, and has an anxiety disorder) that are inextricable from the story but also not the entire reason the book exists.
📚 OFF THE RECORD gets really real about sexual assault and harassment, please know that going in. Everything from "it wasn't that bad" to "this is so egregious I can't believe it isn't already front page news" is covered.

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