If This Gets Out

leaving similarities to a certain worldwide famous boy band aside, i really enjoyed reading this book and it was a good read to start off my year.

but i do have to say that it was a slow start for me, personally. i couldn't get into it for some reason and i had to put it down after the first 100 or so pages. it was a bummer because i was so excited to read it but as soon as i picked it up again i finished the rest of the book in one sitting. i don't know if my mood affected how i got into it in the first place but what matters is that i got hooked on it the second time around.
the plot is quite unique i would say, as in i would expect to see it in fanfiction and i have seen it in fanfiction before but it hits different when it comes in the form of a source material.
so we have a boy band that's at the peak of their career and things are just getting better from here. throw in a controlling management, an international tour, a boy forced into the closet ever since he was 16, some (il)legal drinking and you have the perfect recipe for chaos.
what i liked about the characters is how real they felt. now, granted, we don't know much about who celebrities really are underneath their public persona but i felt like the authors did a good job portraying the members of the band as individuals, teeangers who just want to be themselves but also as rising stars who are under surveillance at all times. i like that they have flaws and they admit to them. i love how our main characters, zach and ruben, both get to challenge their inner demons and admit that there are issues they both struggle with and are willing to work towards fixing them.
zach's coming out journey was beautiful and heartbreaking and inspiring all at once. i also loved having ruben being so confident in his sexuality and already out in the story, it was a nice touch. sure, coming out plots are inspiring and the representation is needed as well but already established queer characters are just as needed.
i love how this was more than just about their relationship, though. sure, that played a huge part and the lgbtq+ topic was one of the reasons i picked up this book in the first place, but it also addressed how controlling and cruel the industry can be. all the things the boys and the people involved had to go through should definitely be eye opening and if not for changing anything, at least it's important for them to be acknowledged.
i have to admit, i feel like the last straw for their rebellion being their relationship and them not being allowed to come out felt a tiny bit flat after angel ALMOST DIED. i feel like that should have been a wake up call, not just the beginning of the end. but i do understand why they did it this way and it still made me emotional.
i appreciate how nothing was rushed and the things didn't all get resolved over night, as i really loved the pace throughout the whole novel, but it still ended on a nice, positive and hopeful note that left me with a smile on my face.