Listen, I’m a simple girl. I read a synopsis of a book that reminds me of 2013 one direction, I’m going to read it.

Sure this is a work of fiction but it very clearly was taken out of 2012-2014 One Direction craze. I was there so I know about the discourse of Modest Management separating two members of the group after they got a ship name. And maybe the ship was never real, but if it were I wish it would have ended like this one ended in the book because it was hopeful and cute.

It was hard for me to separate Saturday and One Direction because it felt very familiar and I think that’s why I liked it so much because I was a very active 1D fan so I remember seeing these members separated and talked about. I liked this book a lot and I think other boy band crazed readers will as well.

> Diversity Representation: Gay MC, bi MC, Asian American secondary character
Content Warnings: homophobia, recreational drug use, drug addiction, car accident, underage drinking, racism, forced closeting, internalized biphobia,

**Sweet, romantic, exciting, frustrating, beautiful, and loving**

If This Gets Out is way cuter than I anticipated. I really enjoyed this book a lot! I loved the internal dialogue between the two main characters, and I loved how each of the boys had such different personalities. **I found myself more than one time smiling at myself while reading because I felt like I was a teen falling in love at the same time.** Well done!

If This Gets Out follows an incredibly famous boy band, Saturday, and it's members. It mostly centers around Ruben, who is gay, but forced to be silenced by the record label, and Zach, who believes himself to be straight, but ultimately just hasn't explored his sexuality yet. It starts out with these two best friends switching between their perspectives as they steal glances at each other. After they venture onto their international tour, **tensions rise and everything changes when they share a stolen kiss.**

I love how this was written. This book is co-authored by Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich, which makes a lot of sense considering how many characters there are. **I loved that they ended up dividing the two main characters, so each author wrote one of the main characters. It really allowed them to delve into the characters internal thoughts better and really picture what they would have been feeling.** I think it really made for a more organic understanding of each character!

I loved getting to know Ruben and Zach's relationship. It was delightful to see them grow from friends to boyfriends and the struggles that comes with. It was nice to see a romance book come with struggles toward the end, but there was never an absolute break up because of the struggles and reconciliation all wrapped up quickly at the end (which I am never quite convinced works). **They spoke to each other of their problems and through that they were able to grow. Not just in their relationship, but as people.** It was really sweet to read!

Another really sweet thing about this book was the relationships of the characters with their parents. They both have such different relationships with their parents, but I loved seeing the evolution of their relationships. **Regardless of where they started, Zach and Ruben are able to grow together and encourage each other to make healthy life and relationship choices surrounding their parents.** I don't want to give away what happens with these relationships, but I really enjoyed the growth that happened and that bit of family focus.

# Summing it all up

If This Gets Out is a sweet boy band romance. It will make you smile just as much as you would hope. The growth of all of the relationships are so comforting to read, this is truly a great fluffy comfort read.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! I loved loved loved it. It felt like everything I'd ever wanted from a YA romance and I was living for it. It reminds me a little bit of Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston in the tone and themes and general bi-panic, so if you liked that book you will LOVE this one.

I had pretty high hopes of what I was hoping I would get out of this book when I started it, and it delivered in every area. What I loved most about this book was how it wasn't afraid to go to the toxicity of the music industry and the environment these boys are living in and how they respond to it (the good AND the bad). This book took some turns I wasn't expecting and I loved seeing how it effected everyone.

I also loved both of our narrators. Both Zach and Rueben felt like very unique individuals with their own struggles and their own perspectives on the situations around them. I also loved all the side characters, specifically our other two bandmates, Angel and Jon. The dynamic between the four of them was perfectly balanced with the romance making it a found family story in addition to being a sweet romance.

I did feel like the ending was a little bit rushed, but I still feel happy with it? A lot happens in the last 12% or so of the book that I feel like deserved more time to be aired out and to see what happens with it, but it was still well captured.

This book was fast-paced, easy to read, light hearted while still dealing with some dark moments, and very sweet. I loved it and it will be my agenda now to force everyone to read it once it's out. This book will be special to a lot of people. I can feel it.

This is a YA book, which is not something I typically read anymore, but it was cute. Ruben and Zach face adversity in their relationship, but it is manipulative. There are a lot of things that these boys face, such as drug problems, and the need to come out publicly but "what would they think?" I think that there are many young people that want to read stories such as this. I wish there had been a little more development, but overall a good story.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

I completely surprised myself with how much I enjoyed this book and how quickly I managed to finish it! Being a huge fan of boybands such as One Direction and 5 Seconds of Summer, in my younger years, I appreciated the focus on how challenging the lives of these superstars are, behind the scenes. The band, Saturday, are paying the true price of fame, through an endless cycle of abuse from the record company and scruitny from a power hungry music industry. Each and every move of the band members is thoroughly analysed and evaluated, before a decision is made about what they can and cannot do. As the band embarks on their European tour, it is clear that the strict regime is catching up to them as their physical, emotional and mental wellbeing begins to significantly decline. Amidst this, we have a romance between Zach and Ruben, how have always felt a connection, and are finally taking the steps to act upon their feelings. Apart from his loved ones, nobody knows that Ruben is gay and Zach has just discovered he is bi-sexual and management wants the both of them to keep their relationship secret and prevent the news of their sexuality from leaking.

The author’s did a fantastic job of balancing the harsh reality of fame that many members of big bands undergo whilst also writing engaging characters who, as a reader, you rooted for and wanted to succeed from the beginning. There are some strong themes that I am happy to see receiving representation and I wish that the author’s had carried through with these themes and provided a sufficient explanation or conclusion to them. I adored reading about Zach and Ruben and whilst the ending was very hopeful, I did feel that things came to a close quite abruptly and a little unrealistically.

Whilst I did go in expecting a cute and warm romance, I found this book held so much more and really resonated with the quote “all that glitters is not gold”. At times heart breaking, at times thought provoking and a true ode to finding your voice and believing in yourself, this book was a fantastic read!

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a copy of the book!

"If This Gets Out" by Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich is a contemporary young adult novel featuring a romance between two members of a popular boy band, Ruben and Zach. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I felt all characters had very distinct personalities. Homophobia is still pretty big in the entertainment and music industry so I'm glad a book like this exists to show the challenges that queer people face in those industries.

The beginning of the book was a little frustrating as there was a lot of misunderstanding and lack of communication between Ruben and Zach. Luckily, The dynamic between not only the two MCs but also the other two members of the band (Angel and Jon) was fabulous and it really showed the similarities and differences each boy has with one another. Readers are able to see the relationship and the love Ruben and Zach have for one another and we can see them navigate a closeted relationship.

I definitely enjoyed this book, it was a very fun read and I found myself smiling and laughing through the entire thing. I wouldn't say that there was anything that especially stood out to me about it other than the relationships between the characters. I liked the boy band trope and how close all of the members were to one another, the authors did an incredible job of portraying the dynamics between the characters. Whenever I am reading, I look for compelling characters and I think this book definitely had that element. I would definitely recommend this to my friends.

What I expected: a sweet romance between two members of a popular boy band, with lots of pining, clandestine meetings, stolen kisses, and some pressure from band management to keep it a secret.

What I got: all that, plus a really thoughtful exploration of what goes on behind the scenes of a popular band, the stress, the pressure and the exploitation in the music industry.

I loved it, I'm now a Saturday fangirl (no screaming or unsolicited touching, though).

Ruben and Zach are our narrators, but Jon and Angel are no less vivid and distinct as characters. The authors did an amazing job showing the wonderful connection between the four members of Saturday, how they truly care about each other and are like a family. They really made me care about each one of them too!

The romance was lovely - I was rooting for Ruben and Zach the whole way through, even when they hit some rough patches. As you'd expect, sexuality, self-acceptance and being able to be yourself were a big focus. I thought it was all very well done.

What struck me the most was the depiction of the dark side of popularity in the music industry, how it can stop being fun and can become extremely harmful. Especially if your management team stops seeing you as human and only sees you as a resource to be exploited for maximum profit, regardless of the impact it will have on you.

It's making me think back to the boybands I liked as a teen, and wonder if they went through the same things too. I can totally see it happening, yet I never thought about it back then (or since).

Great writing, too. It was funny at times, tense and suspenseful at others, and always very introspective.

Oh my goodness this book was so good. It was sweet and funny and also very serious. I also liked how there was a fair lack of internalized homophobia; that was nice to see. The main characters were also very relatable and funny so I appreciated them, and the critical eye that the book examined the music industry with was really interesting. Overall, one of the better gay books I've read and certainly a fun concept to explore. #IfThisGetsOut #NetGalley

An exploration of the pressures artists face in the entertainment industry, featuring: a suuuuper cute relationship, found family, and a very badass coming out scene.
I love the open, honest, healthy communication between Ruben and Zach when they start dating. Talking about their issues and working through them together is just …. *chefs kiss*. The last 15% of the book I especially loved, it felt like everything was coming together; all the set up from the previous chapters paying off! Also, Angel is such a BAMF I love him.

Have you ever been in a reading slump and feel like you might never get out of it? That's how I felt when I was approved for this book, and I was nervous to start it because I thought my mood my spoil my excitement to read it. I have been looking forward to this novel since the synopsis first found its way to my social media feed, and I wanted it to be good. Well, let me tell you, it's not good...it's great! I was smitten with the characters within the first two chapters, and was so enveloped by them the whole time. As someone who works in live events, the world was built with real understanding of what happens behind the scenes; the good and the bad.
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There is a desire in young people to be famous, and the dark side of fame is rarely touched upon in media geared toward these same teenagers. To have a young adult book that demonstrates the struggles of fame and how overwhelming it can be is so important. This is not just closeting, but drug use and drinking, and also the emotional struggle to be who the world wants you to be and fitting a mold that you don't fit so comfortably in. These aren't just the struggles of celebrities, but of teens everywhere, and this book gives them a look at what can be solutions to these hard moments. Overall, I adored this novel. I found myself on more than one occasion looking at how much I had left and simultaneously wanting to not put it down, but also to slow down so it wouldn't end too quickly. I want more of this world, more of these characters, and more from these authors. Waiting until December to be able to discuss this with more readers will be so difficult, and I'll probably read it a few more times between now and then.

If This Gets Out, a story about a boy band struggling under oppressive management, will hit home with many queer readers. As a queer reader myself I found it easy to relate to Zach and Ruben’s fears and problems with feeling censored. Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich did an excellent job at making their feelings accessible to many when the circumstances of the story are not.

I read this book in one sitting. I did not expect that, but it pulled me in from the first chapter. I would recommend this book to fans of Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston as both stories deal with a coming out story with public implications.

Zach, Ruben, Jon, and Angel make for a lovable cast of characters with their own idiosyncrasies that make them unique. Everyone can find something to love about this story.

This bought all my boyband loving days of my youth flooding back to me. A stunning read that addresses so many hard hitting topics

First of all, thank you to Netgalley for the e-arc!

TW: homophobia, addiction, abuse

I’d like to say that although this was supposed to be a book about closeting in the music industry, I did not expect it to do as well as it did with such hard hitting topics.

This book was incredible. It was so well written, discussed so many issues and it was still such a cute romance! The way closeting in the music industry is discussed n this books is mind blowing. So many people don’t realize that this stuff still happens: Freddy Mercury, James Dean, Elton John, David Bowie, Cher… the list goes on. This is a fact that isn’t openly discussed by most, but it’s 2021, and we need to acknowledge these terrible things that happen and spread awareness about them and this book handles that so, so well.

Aside from forcible closeting, it also discusses the boundaries that artists have to ignore, the people they are forced tp become with no regards t how all this affects their mental health. It handled addiction, parental abuse, as well as coming out. Not only coming out to family, which is hard enough, but coming out to a whole fandom, a whole planet basically. It talks about the kind of pressure placed on artists to fake date, or mot date at all if they’re queer. It shows how people are given alternate personalities from who they actually are and turned into someone fans want to see on stage. Further onto that, it shows the impact this has on mental health and someone’s wellbeing.

I said it before and I’ll say it again, I knew the was going to be well written but I didn’t expect it to talk about all of the things it did and in a way that seems to manage to combine was many experiences of so many people into one book.

Also, #zuben for life.

This took me back to the years when I loved boy bands, like One Direction and 5 Seconds of Summer and definitely more. I remember being so invested in them, and it was so easy to fall into Saturday just like it was so easy to fall into One Direction. So in terms of only my emotions while reading this it's absolutely 5 stars, but it went beyond that and blew me away just as a book, even if I was never a fan of boy bands I think I would've been just as invested in Ruben and Zach's relationship as well as the relationship of all 4 boys in the band.

The only thing I wasn't a huge fan of while reading was the initial first pick up of the book, I was definitely surprised with the writing style right away, it reads kinda like fan fiction. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, I've read a lot of amazing fan fiction in my life, I just wasn't expecting it, but once my brain kinda like calibrated to the style I was fine and actually grew to really like the writing style once I was used to it. On the writing though I loved that both character's voices felt so different, Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich did a fantastic job with that.

Character wise, perfection. All 4 boys felt very real, Jon, and Angel were beautifully written characters, and I'm very happy that they were more than just surface level characters they had depth and it was amazing to see their journey though the story as well. Now onto Ruben, I genuinely love him, I felt for him the whole book, wanting him to be able to be himself and to be able to come out. I enjoyed his perceptive chapters a lot, and really enjoyed knowing what was going on in his head during certain moments. Last but certainly not least, Zach, I was to wrap this boy in bubble wrap and protect him from the world. I felt like I could relate to Zach, that I knew what he was going though discovering his sexuality, and just I love him. His chapters made me excited I couldn't wait to get to his perspective no mater what was going on in the book.

Overall I throughly loved this book. The characters, and the topics of how the music industry treats artist, I couldn't get enough.

This took me back to my One Direction and Wattpad days as a teen in the early 2010s. So, so good and easily one of the best queer YA books I've read in a while.

This book made me so nostalgic for 2011/2012. There are clear differences between Saturday and One Direction but it did remind me of the years I spent obsessed with a boyband (and the conviction fans had that Modest was making the boys say/do things they didn't want to).

Aside from the nostalgia, I really enjoyed this book. I liked alternating perspectives between the two and getting to see both boys' understanding of what was happening. Also loved the Angel and Jon/Saturday as a band dynamic.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book!

Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing me with an early eARC in exchange for an honest review! I truly appreciate it! This has been one of my most anticipated reads this year!

"If This Gets Out" is about the boy band Saturday and its four members: Angel (Reece), Zach, Jon and Ruben. Together they form one of the biggest acts in America. Yet, their management is taking over their lives: what they are wearing, what they are saying, how they should interact with each other and how they should act in the public eye. Summed up: they cannot do anything they want to and they are suffering in pain together. Imagine touring the world but not being able to leave your hotel because your management does not want you to. They want to rewrite your story and phrase your own narrative for you. But what happens if in those dark times two band members actually fall in love with each other? And what happens if they get denied the chance to openly show their feelings for each other and come out to the public?

I honestly have to say that this book blew me away. It was one of my most anticipated books for this year and now it turned into one of my favourite books.

First of all, I absolutely loved all involved characters. In my eyes, they were absolutely authentic and I immediately loved them. It is one of those stories where you actually connect to the characters and you definitely know who the characters are. You get excited with them. You feel frustrated for them. You just want to scream or cry or be happy about what is actually happening in the book. I also loved how strong they were individually and how their stories played into the overall plot.

The message of the book was so important and I honestly had to take a moment to think about it. As a teenager, I was also obsessed with boy bands (One Direction, 5 Seconds of Summer,...) and you never really think about the pressure they are experiencing every day. Not just the pressure to do everything right and promote their music to be successful, but the pressure to never upset others, to never think about your own needs, to be stuck in a position where you cannot escape. Where you are stuck pretending to be a completely different person. The invasion of privacy, especially by the media. The abuse of power.

I can honestly just applaud both authors for making this message so clear and so strong throughout the whole plot. When requesting this book, I did not think that it would turn into this topic, but I am so, so, so thankful that it did. It is a message that needs to be heard.

Honestly, if you are looking for an amazing YA and LGBTQ+ story about a boy band where you get to experience many facets in their lives, then get this book! You will not regret it! I enjoyed every second of it and I will definitely re-read it. I cannot wait to read the other books by both authors!

While the premise of this book peaked my interest, the execution felt more like a thinly veiled One Direction fanfic. Which isn't to say that it was poorly written, I am definitely an avowed reader of fanfic. I just didn't feel invested in these characters. I also felt like some issues were brought up and then dropped, which was a little frustrating. All in all, it was a decent read, but not one I would revisit.

This was an enjoyable read dealing with the pressures of celebrity and how controlled every aspect of these teenagers' lives is. The friendships, romantic relationships, and parent-child interactions all had equal focus. For fans of Alice Oseman's I Was Born for This and One Direction fanfic.