If you ask her parents, Josie has given them plenty of cause to worry over the years. She doesn’t have as many friends as they’d like, she doesn’t act like a regular teenager… all she does is lock herself in her bedroom and write. But that’s because Josie is a reporter, freelancing for journals and ready to take on the world. When Josie wins a contest that grants her the chance to write an in-depth profile of an up-and-coming young star, Marius, she couldn’t be happier! Talking to Marius, she feels like he really understands her, and not just because she’s just interviewing him for a reporting piece. But as Josie starts to learn more about the Hollywood scene, she soon discovers that it’s not all glitz and glamor. There is something dark, something everyone refuses to talk about. Can Josie find out what happened and report the truth everyone else is too afraid to speak?

I received an advanced reading copy of Off the Record in exchange for an honest review.

Off the Record is a young adult fiction novel by Camryn Garrett. And, before I say anything else, I want to tell you guys to go into this book and review with a trigger warning. The book contains mentions of sexual assault, and I may talk about this later in this review.

The story here felt familiar to me. By now, we’ve all watched the news, watching big Hollywood people finally get accused, their victims’ stories told. It can be gut-wrenching to see just how many people covered it up, and how many others were affected by this one person’s actions. And while Off the Record covers a topic we’re familiar with by now, it does so with a fresh point-of-view that focuses on the survivors, and the importance of telling one’s own story.

As our main character, we have Josie. Josie is a young fat Black teen, whose only dream is to attend Spelman. And while she has big dreams, she has big worries to go along with it. She has anxiety, which has her constantly second-guessing herself. She struggles with issues with her body, where she isn’t always happy with what she sees in the mirror. And she struggles to relate to one of her older sisters, Alice. The book is told through Josie’s POV, and it feels basically like we’re there with her, experiencing this all through her own eyes. Josie was a character whom I connected to from the very beginning. I may not be exactly like her, but so many of the thoughts she had were thoughts that have run through my own head. I can’t sleep sometimes from remembering all the things I might have done that day to ruin everything. I compare myself to other people too, knowing that I can never look like they do. But, like Josie, I write. And while this is me saying that I, personally, connected with Josie, I think that any reader who happens to pick this book up will also be able to identify with her, with her feelings and thoughts and fears.

She’s a great character to experience the plot through. The plot starts out fairly simply, with her winning the contest and getting to interview Marius. In fact, I’d almost forgotten what the book was about until halfway, when the second, main, plot element comes into play. And while I’d been interested in reading before, it was when this secondary plot came up, where women with horrible, yet familiar, stories showed up, that I just had to keep going, unable to put the book down.

The book is a pretty quick read, but the subject matter does end up getting very heavy. It does a good job of balancing out the heavier topics with some cute moments between Josie and Marius, or Josie and her sister or Penny. And it also brings in other elements of the character, leaving the reader with other messages about how our bodies are beautiful because they’re ours. And how sometimes it’s just nice to live in the moment.

Since I briefly mentioned some relationships, I want to talk about them further. I don’t usually like romance, and I know I may have spoiled it for you already, but I hope it’s fairly obvious that there is some element of romance from fairly early on in the book. Anyway, I liked how it developed, and I liked how we got Josie’s inner thoughts as she fell deeper and deeper into her crush. They felt realistic, and then the relationship itself felt realistic. I ended up smiling a lot while reading about it!

But the best relationship in the book, hands down, is that of Josie and her sister. I love sisterhood in books, you guys, and it often doesn’t get covered enough. Here, we get to see that Josie has two sisters, but only really connects with one. But when she gets stuck with Alice, the sister she can’t connect with, on an extended trip, everything changes. We see two people who are related but couldn’t be more different. But, throughout the book, we also get to see that they’re still definitely sisters, and sure, they make mistakes every once in a while, but in the end, they have each others’ backs.

I think the whole focus of the book was sisterhood, actually, and having each others’ backs. Josie meets many more women in this book, and reading about how they all worked together, supported each other, comforted each other, it was beautiful. I just think that women are amazing, and reading about the characters in this book just helped that thought grow even stronger. Penny especially was a favorite of mine, and I recommend keeping an eye out for her.

In the end, this was a moving story about women supporting women, about getting the truth out there, and about how to stand up for what’s right. I think I’d recommend this to any teens, and many adults, actually. Anyone who enjoys fiction, stories about reporters getting the story despite all sorts of dangers, stories about Hollywood romances, or stories about sisterhood and women standing together.

Off the Record will be released on May 18. You can pre-order your copy from Knopf Books for Young Readers at this link.

Josie is a teenage freelance journalist, struggling with anxiety and insecurities over her weight. She gets her big break when she wins a contest to write a profile on an up-and-coming actor in a new movie that is already receiving awards buzz. What Josie doesn't realize is that this opportunity will also expose her to the world of sexual harassment in film that is hiding in plain sight.

I really wanted to like this book but it fell short for me. It felt like the first half of the book had a slow build up, while the second half was rushed. I really liked the character of Josie and I was happy to follow her as she found her strength. However, it felt like there was just too much going on with this book. While it covered a lot of important subjects, there just seemed to be too many subplots. I also had a hard time believing that everything happened within such a short time span. I will happily give this book to teenage patrons because I think it covers important topics and does a pretty good job of keeping the reader engaged but it wasn't everything I hoped it would be.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. <i>Off the Record</i> is scheduled for release on May 18th, 2021.

Josie Wright is a 17 year-old journalist from Georgia who is given the chance of a lifetime when she wins a contest, hosted by her favorite magazine, to join the press tour of a new indie film and write a profile of the lead actor, Marius Canet. Along the way, Josie visits new cities, falls for her subject, and accidentally discovers the the story that she was meant to write: an expose on one of Hollywood’s biggest “open secrets.”

This book touches on a number of topics including but not limited to anxiety, fatphobia, and racism, with the most plot-centric being sexual assault and sexual harassment in Hollywood. This has been an open secret in the entertainment industry for decades, but only in the past few years with the rise of the MeToo Movement and the Time’s Up era have people really been able to publicly call out their abusers without immediately being cast off as liars who are just trying to take down successful people (much like Julia Morrison who is integral to Josie’s article). Josie is torn because on one hand she’s unsure whether or not she is the right person to tell these women’s stories, but on the other hand, who else would be willing to put their name on a piece that’s taking down one of America’s biggest and most powerful filmmakers?

Thank you to Knopf Books for Young Readers (via NetGalley) for the ARC!

Content warnings: sexual assault (multiple instances mentioned, one described on page in memory), body image

I am still very wound up from the last 25% of this book, but I am going to try to write a cohesive review!

Josie Wright is in her last year of high school, and the one thing she’s sure about in her life is her writing. She has anxiety, she’s fat (which she has made her peace with), and she doesn’t have any close friends. But damn, she knows she’s a good writer. She’s only 17, but she’s already had articles published, and this contest to write a profile for an up-and-coming actor for a major magazine is just the next step in what promises to be a prolific journalistic career. Josie is invited on a press tour to write a profile for Marius Canet, a young actor who is about to make it big, hopefully with the help of Josie’s in-depth reporting. However, while on the tour, Josie is approached by one of Marius’ costars, Penny, about Roy Lennox, a renowned and beloved Hollywood director. Marius has just signed on to be in Lennox’s next movie and Penny reveals to Josie that Lennox sexually harassed her on the set of an earlier film at the beginning of Penny’s career. Josie is floored by this news, and now she has to decide whether she can take on Penny’s story, and the stories of the countless other women Lennox has abused, and if she can even do that while doing justice to her original assignment.

There is a lot going on in this book! There was a point when I was about 70% of the way through that I wasn’t sure how all the different plot threads were going to be wrapped up, but I thought it ended strongly.

I really liked the anxiety rep in this book. Josie has anxiety, and it manifests itself in many ways throughout the book. She is aware of it, and she tries to handle it, but sometimes she lets it get in the way of things. There was an especially poignant scene with her sister Alice that I liked: she reminded Josie that just because she has anxiety doesn’t mean she isn’t allowed to be emotional. Josie spent a lot of the time trying to hide her anxiety or to not let it get in the way or bother those around her, but Alice reminded her that so many people have it, and that Josie shouldn’t think of it as being a burden. It shouldn't be something you have to carry on your own or something to be ashamed of, which I thought was a powerful message.

Josie’s fatness is also an important part of her character and of her development. She says at the beginning of the book she knows she is fat, and she doesn’t want people to dance around that fact, or be afraid to use the word. But she still suffers from some insecurities around it. She looks at her sisters and is envious of how beautiful and thin they are. She makes sure to vocalize to herself that she is beautiful as well, but with so much of society telling us fat people are not and cannot be beautiful, it’s hard! So being 17 and already being that self-aware is an achievement. It’s impossible not to fall back into the trap of idolizing the thin (and let’s be real, mostly white) bodies that we are told are the epitome of beauty. Josie finds herself beautiful, but still worries about what other people think of her. As a fat Black girl, she knows she’s not put forth as the standard of beauty, no matter what she thinks of herself, so a little insecurity about other people’s opinions is natural! I think this is handled gracefully and realistically throughout the book, and I couldn’t help but empathize with Josie on this particular subject.

I want to talk a little bit about the plot here before I wrap things up. It took me longer to read this book than my usual rate (10 days as opposed to my usual 2 or 3 for YA contemporary). The beginning was a tad slow for me, but things started picking up around the halfway point. The last quarter of the book was so fast and furious, and it felt like I was living the action right alongside Josie! I don’t want to spoil anything, but Garrett really brings you right in the middle of all the action of the last act of the book, and it is super engaging, and honestly a big part of why I gave this book 5 stars.

Overall, a really grade sophomore effort from Camryn Garrett, and a super timely addition to the YA contemporary genre! I really hope it resonates with teen readers because it has an important message while not being preachy at all. And a cute romance thrown in for a bonus!

This book took my breath away. I wanted to read this book because I read Camryn Garrett's first book Full Disclosure, and this book was just as fantastic. It was so beautiful to watch Josie grow into herself on her first in person job as a reporter, and battling loving herself and how the world sees her. So many people who are full figured, people who have anxiety, people who have seen some of the worlds evils at too young of an age, are going to love Josie and enjoy the story that Camryn has brought us!

Off the Record is a cute book about a high school senior who looks forward to hearing her college acceptance to the HBCU that one of her older sister, whom she does not have the best relationship with, currently attends with great trepidation. Adding to this anxiety is the fantastic opportunity that she receives after winning a contest to write a feature about an upcoming young Black actor for a major magazine. I enjoyed the ways that this character is written, giving us a lot of information about how her anxieties lead her to act in consort with her loved ones and people that she is intimidated by while also exploring the hopes she does not dare to name in fear of disappointment.

Josie has always wanted to be a writer. No matter what is going on in her life, she knows that if she turns to writing she will feel good again. She has just found out she won a contest and will be participating in a multi-city tour where she will follow a celebrity on a publicity tour. She even gets to write up a celebrity profile for Deep Focus magazine to wrap up the experience. Josie can’t believe she has been assigned Marius Canet for her profile. She believes she is living her dream until an actress tells her a secret that shakes her world. That secret leads to others who had a similar experience. Josie wants to make the secret known, but does she have what it takes?

Off the Record is a stand-alone realistic fiction story that covers so many topics everyone should read it. The main character is proud of who she is, yet she struggles with her size and how other people view her. She wants to be a writer, but many people dismiss her because she is only 17 years old. Also, being thrown into the celebrity world she realizes that the #MeToo movement affects all types of people. Off the Record was a great read and I recommend it to everyone, no matter if you are an adult or young adult reader.

I'm a huge fan of Camryn Garrett's debut, Full Disclosure and her follow up doesn't disappoint. This exploration of teen journalism, #MeToo in Hollywood, and existing as a fat Black girl in the world is just as compelling and heartfelt and sharp and I can't wait to get it in the hands of teen readers.

Seventeen year-old journalist, Josie Wright, earns the opportunity of a lifetime when she wins a contest to write a celebrity profile for Deep Focus magazine. She sets off on a tour of some of the most glamorous cities in America to interview celebrities, eat expensive food, and attend press conferences with seasoned reporters for the first time in her nascent career. Her profile focuses on the handsome young actor, Marius Canet, whose glowing smile and down-to-earth personality might make even the most professional reporter a little weak in the knees. But, as Josie becomes entranced by the glittering world of show business, she also uncovers the uglier side of fame. A big name in the film industry has left a trail of pain behind him, and Josie begins to hear the stories of some of the people he's hurt. Confronted with a series of impossible choices, Josie must decide if she's willing to risk it all to publish the truth.

The brilliant Camryn Garrett refuses to be a one-hit wonder with her heart-wrenching second novel. Off the Record contains a whole host of story elements that had me turning each page with fervor: a flirtatious, forbidden romance between a reporter and her subject; a fat protagonist who is honest about her struggles with body image but isn't defined by them; and a vile antagonist getting their just desserts through the powerful force of female solidarity. Garrett's book shows the realities of approaching the topic of sexual abuse, and how even the most well-meaning individuals might have misconceptions. This electrifying novel captures more than the story of an aspiring young reporter writing a critical piece; Off the Record is about a whole movement.

(Pine Reads Review would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for sending us an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

Off the Record By Camyrn Garrett is about a young inspiring writer who has won a contest to do a meet and great with an up and coming young star name Marius Canet.

Not only does she get to interview Marius Canet several times to get a better sense of who he is she gets to meet the whole cast of the upcoming movie he is in.

A secret that has been kept hidden for years is come to light and Josie doesn't know if she should do an article about it or finish what it is she was sent out to do.

I liked the story. I felt that some parts of the story were a little long and repetitive. I understood the seriousness of why this topic is important and should be talked about.

Thank you Netgally and Random House Children's for an ARC of this book for an honest review.

Excellent story. The inclusion of sexuality and race as ancillary and character points, but not as driving the plot.

The story is exemplary and the depiction of anxiety and family dynamics is realistic and relatable.

Josie, as a teen writer for Essence magazine, breaks what is essentially the Harvey Weinstein story (in the #metoo vein). Garrett does a great job showing how Josie is both strong in who she is, and also constantly questioning doing the "right" thing. A great story for any young activist.

I read a review for this book before I picked it up that read; "What if a teen journalist broke the Weinstein story?" I found that sentence to really be the best pitch for this book. I was impressed by this book to say the least, it was well done. Make sure that any potential readers check the trigger warnings before reading.

Josie was as character I saw a lot of myself in and the insecurities and hard choices she has to make will speak to a lot of readers. While I did feel the plot wandered a bit, that was completely overshadowed by how GREAT this novel is. As someone who likes to see women supporting women, this book gave me all of the sisterhood feels. Ms. Garrett, is going to take the YA world by storm with this novel and, I hope, many more to come.

This book was just okay for me. I liked Josie and the journalism angle, but a lot of the smaller conflicts/pieces of the plot felt glossed over. It does a lot of things well and Camryn Garrett’s commentary is smart and pointed, but it almost felt like there were TOO many issues stuffed into one story. I think it would’ve been better served if the focus had been narrowed a little more and therefore allowed for a deeper dive into those select issues.

This is an excellent, thoroughly enjoyable novel that deftly manages to weave a glorious wish-fulfillment plot about young women taking down a powerful serial sexual abuser WITH a joyful movie-star-meets-brilliant-plus-sized-journalist romance. I LOVED it, and it's so needed. Garrett never shies away from showing more realistic trauma and problems (familial fat-shaming, internalized body dysmorphia, PTSD and anxiety from sexual harassment and assault), and the novel never underplays these or sweeps them under the rug (though I do wish the main character's family, particularly her mother, were confronted more overtly with the harm her constant weight-shaming rhetoric did to her daughter). That being said, the book's focus (and ending, spoiler I guess) is on empowerment, autonomy and establishing your own control over your life, and the idea that we COULD live in a world that (for the most part) recognizes these things for the crucial, foundational things that they are. I love that the book dealt explicitly with the failures of #metoo for women of color (despite the hashtag's origins), the way white feminism fails, and the way heteronormative assumptions about sexual harassment and assault also cause huge problems. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, and I can't wait to get a physical copy once the book comes out.

Drop your current read and pick up Camryn Garrett's books if you haven't already! I loved Camryn's first book, Full Disclosure, and I was so excited about Off the Record. Camryn's second book is a relatable story about a teen journalist tackling a big story while also falling for a cute new guy. 

Josie, a fat bisexual teen girl, has wanted to be a writer for as long as she can remember and she's been doing lots of freelance articles when she wins a big time journalism competition. Josie has already been writing stories about racial justice and social issues and she wants to bring her perspective to the new assignment. Josie gets to go on the road to cover a new movie getting lots of award buzz--and there's a super cute star at the center of it all that Josie gets to spend time with. Marius is a hot, young actor who connects with Josie instantly and they have such a sweet relationship evolution.

This book is also a Me Too reckoning as Josie starts to investigate a sexual assault scandal that she learns about from one of the younger actresses she's working with. Josie decides she must not let the big time Hollywood name get away with abuse. Even when people try to discourage Josie from following the lead, she is determined to bring justice to the victims. 

This is such a special story about Josie's determination and passion for protecting other people and doing what is right in the face of adversity. Fans of Saints & Misfits and The Nowhere Girls wil love this book.

Sometimes it feels like authors overpack their plots with trauma, or mental health issues, or negative body images, or sexual identities making it feel forced. This book felt authentic, cohesive and gut wrenching and inspiring.

“Sometimes thé things I don’t understand are more beautiful that the things I do.”

The whole book is beautiful like this quote. I fell in love with Josie head over heels. This book is the story of 17 year old Josie who wins a writing contest and gets the chance to interview and up and coming movie star. However, when she gets there, she discovers a whole other story.

This was a definite 5 ⭐️ for me. I loved the author’s debut novel Full Disclosure and this one does not disappoint. Josie is a beautifully lovable character who struggles with normal teen things. The author touches on her anxiety and insecurities without it feeling trite. One of my FAVORITE PARTS was near the end that I didn’t see aiming regarding the Me Too movement. I loved the dynamic she has with her sister. I felt like I was living in this story and traveling with Josie. Another all star book by @camryngwrites



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Thank you @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse for providing me with this eArc. I can’t wait to buy it on May 18th.

I read this book over two days of my spring break, and was taken with the comparisons to recent media cases related to the #metoo movement. I enjoyed Josie’s experiences on the press tour, and think that would be so fun for a budding journalist. As she was getting closer to Marius, I kept hoping for an adult to intervene since I was worried he was going to prey on her. However, his reveal changed my mind and broadened the scope of the abuse of power in the entertainment industry. This story also gave validity to why so many stay silent, and why it takes bravery to stand up and speak out.

Pretty much every woman I know has dealt with a man behaving inappropriately to her. That can look lots of ways, and certainly some are more physically damaging than others, but they are all emotionally damaging and no woman should ever have to deal with that. When Josie wins a contest to do an interview of a rising Hollywood star because is an amazing writer she has no idea how much her world is going to change or how much impact she will have on the world. Writing is one of the few activities that helps with her anxiety but none of that stops her from saying what needs to be said and lifting other women’s voices. Living in NYC we all hear the slogan “if you see something, say something” and it is one we should adopt not just for an unusual package on the subway but also for anytime we see another human being disrespected, hurt or abused.