Hi all! I'm here briefly with a blog tour post for Off the Record by Camryn Garrett, which came out May 18th. See below for my review as well as a moodboard I made for the novel! Check out the tour schedule here, and thank you to TBR and Beyond for including me on this tour. The Book and its AuthorThe 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. Camryn Garrett was born and raised in New York. In 2019, she was named one ofTeen Vogue’s 21Under 21 and a Glamour College Woman of the Year. Her first novel, Full Disclosure, received ravereviews from outlets such asEntertainment Weekly, the Today Show, andThe Guardian, whichcalled a “warm, funny and thoughtfully sex-positive, an impressive debut from a writer still in herteens.” Her second novel, Off the Record, will be released May 18, 2021. Camryn is also interested infilm and is a student at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. ReviewOff the Record is a sensitive, well-written book that covers some heavy subjects like mental health (anxiety) and sexual harassment. Camryn Garrett approaches everything with a seriousness grounded in Josie's character. I think coverage of these topics are so important, and I loved the journalism angle. Josie is an aspiring writer, and when she wins a contest to write a profile of Marius (who is just so sweet!) she finds herself in the deep end of a #MeToo story regarding an influential industry figure. Josie is such a compelling character for how real she seems. I was truly invested in all her storylines, and I know readers everywhere are just going to fall in love with her too. Off the Record has so much representation for readers as well--Josie is a fat, queer, Black girl, and she kicks major butt in her story. There's amazing discussion on body image, race, and queer representation that flows so well with the plot. I also loved the semi-epistolary format! Each chapter kicks off with Josie's tweets. As someone who is also very much dependent on Twitter, I enjoyed these small additions to the chapters and the chance Garrett took to be extra-creative. Such a bouncy, youthful way to format the novel. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Off the Record--I find it so pressing and relevant, and I think it will be well-liked by any reader! 4/5 stars. Moodboard
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Thank you to Wednesday Books for sharing a copy in exchange for my honest review.
Lara's had eyes for exactly one person throughout her three years of high school: Chase Harding. He's tall, strong, sweet, a football star, and frankly, stupid hot. Oh, and he's talking to her now. On purpose and everything. Maybe...flirting, even? No, wait, he's definitely flirting, which is pretty much the sum of everything Lara's wanted out of life. Except she’s haunted by a memory. A memory of a confusing, romantic, strangely perfect summer spent with a girl named Jasmine. A memory that becomes a confusing, disorienting present when Jasmine herself walks through the front doors of the school to see Lara and Chase chatting it up in front of the lockers. Lara has everything she ever wanted: a tight-knit group of friends, a job that borders on cool, and Chase, the boy of her literal dreams. But if she's finally got the guy, why can't she stop thinking about the girl? This adorable queer romance has been on my most anticipated list for a long while now, and I'm so so excited that I got to read an ARC! Cool for the Summer follows Lara's senior year romance(s?) while she tries to figure out if the boy she's always wanted might be falling out of favor for the girl she just met. I enjoyed the storytelling--alternating timelines between Lara's current year in New York and her summer in Outer Banks allow us to see the buildup of Lara and Jasmine's relationship. Their friendship turns into something more during the summer, and this extra description was central to getting me to root for their relationship to begin again in the present timeline. My favorite chapter was their weekend with Jasmine's mother--Adler's account of their dinner made me feel absolutely starving! CFTS is also kind of a Grease retelling, which I enjoyed. There's a lot of mutual pining in the best of ways. Miscommunication tropes are so over, but CFTS genuinely has us in Lara's headspace while she's deciding how to be true to her heart. Good narration cannot be under-appreciated, so this point is just to say that I liked reading in Lara's voice. She reads like a real high schooler--there's a fair bit of friend drama, but she's got real heart underneath it all. This is tiny ( I kind of want to get into the habit of injecting doses of non-book-media-appreciation into my reviews) but Cool for the Summer also tuned me into its namesake Demi Lovato song, which I've listened to about 50 times since finishing the book. Definitely a bi anthem, and you should listen to it while you read a particular scene in the novel (you'll know it when you read it) I think this book will resonate with a lot of queer readers--it's so heartfelt and written with the best impact. This might sound weird, but it's just a really safe book. Cool for the Summer is a short but comforting read. Weirdly, reading it actually started a reading and reviewing slump for me. I've hardly turned a page or written a word since I finished. I'm just that stuck thinking about Lara, Jasmine, and the rest of their adventures. 5/5 stars for a beautiful novel that I can't wait to see out in the world. |
The BaronessHey, I'm Shreya! I love to read, write, travel, and drink tea. Disclosure: I am an affiliate of bookshop.org and I will earn a small commission if you click the above link and make a purchase.
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