Camryn Garrett

"A teen journalist uncovers the #metoo scandal of the decade: a bigshot Hollywood director is taking advantage of cast members"--

Off the Record

What would you sacrifice to expose the truth? From Camryn Garrett, whose debut Full Disclosure was called "honest, eye-opening and heartful" by Angie Thomas, comes a ripped-from-the-headlines story of a teen journalist who stumbles across the #metoo story of the decade and has to weigh the risks against the need to fight for justice. When seventeen-year-old Josie Wright wins a contest to write a celebrity profile for Deep Focus magazine, she's equal parts excited and scared. Soon she is jetting off on a multi-city tour, rubbing elbows with sparkly celebrities, frenetic handlers, stone-faced producers, and eccentric stylists. She even finds herself catching feelings for the subject of her profile, dazzling young newcomer Marius Canet. Josie's world is expanding so rapidly, she doesn't know whether she's flying or falling. But when a young actress lets her in on a terrible secret, and then the secrets keep coming, she realizes she's in over her head. She wants to do the right thing, but is this her story to tell? What if she lets down the women who have entrusted her with their stories? What if this ends her writing career before it even begins? There are so many reasons not to go ahead . . . but if Josie doesn't step up, who will? This is a moving testament to the #MeToo movement, and all the ways women stand up for each other. "Brave, necessary, and unflinchingly real, Off the Record is an instant classic." --Marieke Nijkamp, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of This Is Where It Ends

Joan 

The behind-the-scenes access of Almost Famous meets the searing revelations of metoo in this story of a teen journalist who uncovers the scandal of the decade. Ever since seventeen-year-old Josie Wright can remember, writing has been her identity, the thing that grounds her when everything else is a garbage fire. So when she wins a contest to write a celebrity profile for Deep Focus magazine, she's equal parts excited and scared, but also ready. She's got this. Soon Josie is jetting off on a multi-city tour, rubbing elbows with sparkly celebrities, frenetic handlers, stone-faced producers, and eccentric stylists. She even finds herself catching feelings for the subject of her profile, dazzling young newcomer Marius Canet. Josie's world is expanding so rapidly, she doesn't know whether she's flying or falling. But when a young actress lets her in on a terrible secret, the answer is clear: she's in over her head. One woman's account leads to another and another. Josie wants to expose the man responsible, but she's reluctant to speak up, unsure if this is her story to tell. What if she lets down the women who have entrusted her with their stories? What if this ends her writing career before it even begins? There are so many reasons not to go ahead, but if Josie doesn't step up, who will? From the author of Full Disclosure, this is a moving testament to the MeToo movement, and all the ways women stand up for each other. "Brave, necessary, and unflinchingly real, Off the Record is an instant classic." --Marieke Nijkamp, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of This Is Where It Ends

fatru tamzil

Oh God I cried reading this. This book is so good, so important, and so well-written. Do yourself a favor and read this book.

Marloes

Avery Baumel

this was good for the journalism bits and the issues it talked about, but it was a bit tell don't show iirc

When seventeen-year-old Josie Wright wins a contest to write a celebrity profile for Deep Focus magazine, she's equal parts excited and scared. Soon she is jetting off on a multi-city tour, rubbing elbows with sparkly celebrities, frenetic handlers, stone-faced producers, and eccentric stylists. She even finds herself catching feelings for the subject of her profile, dazzling young newcomer Marius Canet. Josie's world is expanding so rapidly, she doesn't know whether she's flying or falling. But when a young actress lets her in on a terrible secret, and then the secrets keep coming, she realizes she's in over her head. She wants to do the right thing, but is this her story to tell? What if she lets down the women who have entrusted her with their stories? What if this ends her writing career before it even begins? There are so many reasons not to go ahead . . . but if Josie doesn't step up, who will? This is a moving testament to the #MeToo movement, and all the ways women stand up for each other.

Flavia Louise

Very well written and extremely emotionally impactful.

It took me some time to really get into the book but I still somehow related to Josie. I was the quiet unsocial kid, and once the plot really got going i couldn’t stop. Because it is pretty inspirational that you have to go against this really big person who has done something despicable and you fight to get your words out into the world.

Alexis 

5/5 Stars 

** I received this as an E-ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review, Thank you!**

This book blew me away. I was surprised by how raw, emotional, and hard-hitting this book is. Our main character Josie is incredibly relatable in so many aspects that it made it hard to not connect to her as a character. I have absolutely no bad words for this book. The writing was easy to read and kept me invested in the story. The plot was heartbreaking, intense, and realistic. The characters felt real and easy to connect with. I loved reading this and absolutely recommend this book. ( I will advise that this book has triggers for anxiety and sexual assult)

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Off The Record

Author: Camryn Garrett

Book Series: Standalone

Diversity: main character is black, bi, and fat and has anxiety. Love interest is bisexual.

Rating: 5/5

Recommended For...: contemporary readers, ya readers, me too, journalism

Genre: YA Contemporary

Publication Date: May 18, 2021

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Pages: 320

Recommended Age: (Racism, Anxiety rep, Fat rep, Sexual abuse TW, Rape TW, Sexual harassment TW, romance, language)


Synopsis: Ever since seventeen-year-old Josie Wright can remember, writing has been her identity, the thing that grounds her when everything else is a garbage fire. So when she wins a contest to write a celebrity profile for Deep Focus magazine, she’s equal parts excited and scared, but also ready. She’s got this.

Soon Josie is jetting off on a multi-city tour, rubbing elbows with sparkly celebrities, frenetic handlers, stone-faced producers, and eccentric stylists. She even finds herself catching feelings for the subject of her profile, dazzling young newcomer Marius Canet. Josie’s world is expanding so rapidly, she doesn’t know whether she’s flying or falling. But when a young actress lets her in on a terrible secret, the answer is clear: she’s in over her head.

One woman’s account leads to another and another. Josie wants to expose the man responsible, but she’s reluctant to speak up, unsure if this is her story to tell. What if she lets down the women who have entrusted her with their stories? What if this ends her writing career before it even begins? There are so many reasons not to go ahead, but if Josie doesn’t step up, who will?

From the author of Full Disclosure, this is a moving testament to the #MeToo movement, and all the ways women stand up for each other.

Review: I absolutely loved this book! I loved the focus of MeToo and the message of standing up for what was right even against powerful people. I also loved how well written the book was. The subject is a really difficult one and I thought the author handled the book very well. The book also discussed sexual abuse and harassment on male and non binary people and I thought it did well to include that side. Not a lot of male people will state abuse that's happened to them, so I hope the book opens a discussion about that in the future. The book also had a well developed world and the character development was amazingly well done. The main character (Josie) was amazingly well written. I loved how she had anxiety and how it reflected my same struggles. I also related to her fatness, as I'm fat and the same conversations she has with herself about that are the ones I have about myself. The romance in this book is also queer (both are bisexual) and I loved how adorable the romance was written. The book was also evenly paced and the plot kept you hooked from beginning to end.

The only issues I had with the book is that it just kind of ends and I don't feel like the love interest got a good resolution in the book. I wanted to see him get some closure, like all of them did with the publication of the article. I also thought that NDAs were null and void if a crime had been committed, which is why the Olympics didn't sue when the female gymnasts didn't break their NDA with the sleaze ball who assaulted them. I would have to see the research on that because I'm pretty sure NDAs don't extend to crimes, but I'm also new to law so maybe it's true, but it bugged me that a crime was being protected because of an NDA in the book. 

Verdict: A well done book! Highly recommend.

Salam Kabbani

CW: sexual harassment, sexual assault, slandering of #metoo type thinking

This book was evocative. It was bold. It represents a lot of what goes on at work in our society unfortunately. 

Josie, the main character is 17 years old, and she wins a prize to travel on an upcoming film tour in which she will interview all the characters and write a journal article for a very renowned magazine. 

When Josie gets to the set, she is instantly taken with one of the main actors and tries her very best to keep things professional with him. She is also molding her identity as she learns to love her body and accept herself, and also discovers that she is more sexually fluid than she had known. Josie is also challenged to gain confidence in herself, even though she feels like there is always a subconscious competition between her and her more "beautiful, successful, and likeable" sisters. 

The biggest piece of this book; however, is the sexual harassment piece. Josie soon comes to find out that the biggest head on set has been harassing and assaulting many of the people that work for him, and he forces them to sign NDAs preventing them from revealing anything that happened during filming. Furthermore, those that can talk about their experiences do not want to, because as is the unfortunate reality, men with big names get what they want often times, and no one will believe the women. Josie decides to go ahead and right the piece that will blow up his career and expose him for the swine that he really is anyways, and she garners all the help she can get from the media community. She is also surprised by a secret about the character she is smitten with that alters her views on making assumptions. I will not reveal that here; however, because no spoilers. 

Although this was hard to read at times, especially because many of us working females have experienced sexual harassment in some capacity, I thought it was really important because it exposes what actually happens in society, whether its Hollywood culture, or professional arenas like pharmacy and medical schools, or many other areas that are not free of this harassment. What I loved and hated simultaneously was how Josie had been actually assaulted as a teenager and she didn't even consider what she was going through assault for various reasons. It was heartbreaking, because a lot of victims share similar feelings to her and it takes years for them to realize that their boundaries were in fact crossed to absolutely no fault of their own. 

This is a hard read. But I think it's important. It is one more step in the right direction of ending sexual harassment and creating safe environments all around.

Gaby Flores

Trigger warnings: (view spoiler)[sexual assault, sexual harassment, anxiety, body & fat shaming, rape (implied), emesis,toxic diet culture, bimisia (hide spoiler)]

Off the Record covers a lot in just over 300 pages and tells an incredibly important story. The #metoo movement is something incredibly relevant in current news and Garrett approaches it in an incredibly digestible way for younger readers. Not only does this book explore sexual harassment and assault within the entertainment industry, but it also voices critical commentary on the idea that there is no threshold for assault, and the trauma involved, to be valid. Additionally, the narration on the representation of a fat POC main character was fantastic and natural - they don't solely define the character but still plays a role in many of her feelings and behaviours.

Beyond these points, this was a little slower-paced than contemporaries that I personally enjoy. And while I loved the friendship depiction between Josie and Penny and the tumultuous sibing dynamic with Josie's sister the romance element felt forced and unnecessary. 

Garrett has woven a stunning and incredibly vital story for today's younger generation.


  Note: Review copy received from NetGalley. This does not impact opinions within this review.


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Happy reading! ❤

caro(lee)na

tw: sexual assault and sexual harassment 

this book follows Josie, a seventeen year old journalist who just won a prize to write an article about a movie coming out for a really famous magazine. 

along the way, she meets famous people and discovers everything is not what it seems, and ends up writing an article about it that could end her whole career. 

there was also a bit of romance that i enjoyed because even though it was a male/female relationship, both people were queer and poc.

thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Kate

Powerful, painful and utterly addictive. This was superb.

TW: mentions of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, sexual assault and fatphobia.

Off the Record

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