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shes__allison's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault
zbrarian's review
5.0
Omg this was so good. I could NOT put it down. It was straight out of the headlines and the #metoo movement. This is probably a top 10 for me this year. Heart wrenching, moving, all about empowerment and learning that it is OK to share your voice and others when you do not agree with the way things are handled. Josie is the heroine we were looking for in today’s society.
donnereads's review
It took a little while for me to get invested in the story, because I feel like it took a while for the story to really start, but once I did I enjoyed it. This was an okay book for me, but to be honest I had expected a little bit more from it.
lookingforamandaa's review
4.0
Off the Record is an eARC I was gifted after attending a virtual event that this author was a part of. Thanks to NetGalley for providing the eARC. We follow Josie, the youngest of three sisters, who is a journalist. She’s done mostly work for her school newspaper, but she’s also done some freelancing work for magazines. She’s waiting to hear about a few things. One is whether or not she won the celebrity profile for Deep Focus and the other is if she’s been accepted to her dream college. I liked getting to see a bit of Josie with her whole family before she and one of her sisters, Alice, goes off to follow along on the press tour for the celebrity profile. We get to see a bit of why Josie feels the way she does about things mentioned later in the story. I really liked Josie. She’s a loner who doesn’t really have friends. She’s a dedicated writer. She’s also bisexual, fat, and has anxiety. Her anxiety is pretty prevalent throughout the book and I really liked how it was portrayed. We see her try different coping methods where some worked sometimes and others worked better another time. I really liked the anxiety representation.
While Josie and Alice are on the press tour, Josie is interviewing the cast and crew of the movie. She ends up making friends with the two younger members, Penny and Marius. Marius is who Josie is writing a profile about, so the two develop a relationship with all of the time they spend together. Penny and Josie end up friends, which leads to Josie learning about a director who has been sexually harassing women he’s worked with. Josie and Penny start working together to get in touch with others who have been harassed by this director and writing a story about it. I really liked this aspect of the story. It didn’t shy away from the details and really talked about how stuff like this is overlooked in the industry.
Overall, I really liked this one. I liked how we got to see Alice and Josie’s relationship change after they managed to communicate better. I liked the little bit of romance that was included. I also liked that when Josie reacted poorly to someone’s story about this director, she was called on it for saying shitty things. I would definitely recommend this one.
While Josie and Alice are on the press tour, Josie is interviewing the cast and crew of the movie. She ends up making friends with the two younger members, Penny and Marius. Marius is who Josie is writing a profile about, so the two develop a relationship with all of the time they spend together. Penny and Josie end up friends, which leads to Josie learning about a director who has been sexually harassing women he’s worked with. Josie and Penny start working together to get in touch with others who have been harassed by this director and writing a story about it. I really liked this aspect of the story. It didn’t shy away from the details and really talked about how stuff like this is overlooked in the industry.
Overall, I really liked this one. I liked how we got to see Alice and Josie’s relationship change after they managed to communicate better. I liked the little bit of romance that was included. I also liked that when Josie reacted poorly to someone’s story about this director, she was called on it for saying shitty things. I would definitely recommend this one.
littlebookterror's review
fast-paced
3.0
the ending went a bit too dramatic for my tastes but it has the heart in the right place
sannareads's review against another edition
4.0
Strong, heartbreaking & heavy!
A beautiful book that’s well-written and has diverse characters. The story telling was really nice and I loved the style of writing! I look forward to reading more of the author.
A beautiful book that’s well-written and has diverse characters. The story telling was really nice and I loved the style of writing! I look forward to reading more of the author.
wdianasheppard's review against another edition
3.0
Quick, heartfelt, and a little scattered, this book tried to pack in a few too many Big Topics. It was charming, with a great MC, but the real action didn’t start until page 114 out of 300 - very slow beginning, and not enough time to unravel everything.
the_resistance_book_club's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
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
4.0
haileyannereads's review
5.0
Content Warning: Sexual assault, anxiety
This book. Wow. It tackles the #MeToo movement in an honest, powerful way. Josie doesn't feel like she has a right to tell these people's stories, but it's just really powerful. She wants to help, but she also feels in over her head. Also, her anxiety is portrayed very well and very realistic.
This book. Wow. It tackles the #MeToo movement in an honest, powerful way. Josie doesn't feel like she has a right to tell these people's stories, but it's just really powerful. She wants to help, but she also feels in over her head. Also, her anxiety is portrayed very well and very realistic.