Hello! I didn’t have school today, which was really really nice, and I was able to write my review of If This Gets Out, by Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich! I absolutely flew through the book in just a couple of days, and it really pulled me out of the reading slump that I was in for most of November. I’m excited to share all my thoughts on this wonderful book with you, so I’m going to dive straight into the post!

If This Gets Out is a really remarkable book. I could not put it down, and every little well done just made it even more perfect and mesmerizing.

The book is told from the perspectives of two characters: Zach and Ruben. Zach and Ruben are both parts of the popular band Saturday, and the book follows the two of them on a journey of self-discovery and learning how to share who you are with a world that’s not always ready to hear it.

Zack and Ruben are both very complex characters, with a lot of depth and you really get to know them through their unique perspectives in the book. And they aren’t the only ones who you get too know: the other members of the band, Angel and Jon are also both important characters who you also get to read about a huge amount, as well as a whole supporting cast of important side characters.

I also absolutely adored both of the writing styles in If This Gets Out. Reading from Zach and Ruben’s perspectives was really fun, and the amount of depth brought to the reader through even just the writings style is enough to what’s happening.

If This Gets Out also talked a lot about something that’s hard to imagine: being a celebrity. And to be more specific, being a world-famous pop star constantly under scrutiny for every little thing in your life. Zach, Ruben, Angel and Jon, the members of Saturday, have so little control over what happens in their lives.

From what they want to wear, what they want to do with their free time, and even what they say in interviews, the members of Saturday are constantly being told what to do, how to do it, and every last detail of what to do and say in public.

Their actions and lives are constantly controlled, including what they want to share with the world; about themselves, which despite the fame that also comes along with it, the job sounds absolutely terrible. Having that much of your life constantly out in the open for everyone to see… Sophie Gonzales and Cale Deitrich doing an excellent job of showing the negatives to being known across the globe.

The plot of If This Gets Out also has so many layers, and I really loved it. The way that it bounces back and forth between the two perspective shows as much of the overall story as possible while keeping the pacing of the plot good and reasonable.

The ending also felt so perfect to me in so many ways; it wrapped up really nicely, after everything else had worked out with perfect pacing and a really satisfying finish.

Sophie Gonzales was born and raised in Whyalla, South Australia, where the Outback Meets the Sea. She now lives in Melbourne, where there’s no outback in sight, but slightly better shopping opportunities. Sophie loves punk music, frilly pink skirts, and juxtapositions.

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Sophie has been writing since the age of five, when her mother decided to help her type out one of the stories she had come up with in the bathtub. They ran into artistic differences when five-year-old Sophie insisted that everybody die in the end, while her mother wanted the characters to simply go out for a milkshake.

Since then, Sophie has been completing her novels without a transcriptionist.

Website | Goodreads

If This Gets Out is a fun, happy and hopeful romance that deals with its fair share of seriousness and gives a unique glimpse into the life and struggles of young queer celebrities, and being queer while also navigating the music industry.

My rating:

Have you read If This Gets Out? Do you like YA contemporaries? What did you think of this review? Chat with me in the comments below!