Going Off Script Blog Tour: Review!

Queens of Geek is one of my favourite contemporary reads so when I discovered that not only was Jen Wilde writing a new book but that said new book was going to focus on the relationship between two women I may have shrieked a little bit. I shrieked even more when the possibility of being part of the blog tour for Going Off Script came about so you can imagine the noise when I received an email to let me know I was on it!! A huge thankyou to SwoonReads and Xpresso Book Tours for allowing me to devour this book before it hit mainstream shelves (and on that note - it's now sitting pretty on those shelves from today!! It's queer, hilarious and adorable and I 100% recommend everyone to go and buy a copy. If you need a tiny bit more encouragement then hopefully my full review can help!)

Synopsis: Seventeen year old Bex is thrilled when she gets an internship on her favourite TV show, Silver Falls. Unfortunately, the internship isn't quite what she expected... Instead of sitting in a crowded writer's room volleying ideas back and forth, Production Interns are stuck picking up the coffee. Determined to prove her worth as a writer, Bex drafts her own script and shares it with the head writer - who promptly reworks it and passes it off as his own! Bex is understandably furious, yet...maybe this is just how the industry works? But when they rewrite her proudly lesbian character as straight, that's the final straw! It's time for Bex and her crush to fight back. 


Review:

Honest, genuine and featuring the perfect balance of major events and tiny moments, Going Off Script took my breath away over and over again. I was expecting a sweet little contemporar story and that's definitely what this book has but I wasn't expecting it to be quite so powerful. Standing up for yourself, queerbaiting / straightwashing, coming out...everything was combined and balanced together so perfectly and the result made me cry more than once.  As a writer who has heard, on more than one occasion, that my stories are 'too gay' or 'unnecessary' I completely connected to Bex's frustration and hurt. But Jen Wilde writes in such a way that I think even someone without a similar experience would still feel as passionate, still completely understand her emotions and response to that situation, and many others within the book.

It's honest and genuine and the story flows seamlessly through trials and tribulations, highs and lows. Friendship, family and romantic connections are all given equal importance but so is independence and the bravery it requires to be yourself. There was no beating around the topic in this book - everything was dealt with in a face on, full on, let's go type of way and I adored it. But that's not to say this is a loud and shouty book - in fact it's almost the total opposite.  Jen Wilde manages to deal with the largest topics in the simplest way while also twisting through a layer of subtle comedy that brings the smaller details back into focus. The intricate weaving of multiple themes and not to mention the 10/10 relatability factor meant that Going Off Script shone as bright as the studio lights. 

The representation of a lesbian main character and a Indian lesbian love interest was so beautifully portrayed; nothing felt crammed in or out of place and the effect was absolutely breathtaking to read. The Coming Out Arc was again, stunning, and definitely proof that those stories are still so important to create. Everyone's journey is different and that is something that is definitely portrayed accurately and honestly in Going Off Script.  Like, I might actually cry again just thinking about the representation in this book.

Jen Wilde has written the book I needed to read. The book that so many others no doubt need to read as well and I cannot speak more highly of it. I truly, honestly recommend this book with my entire lesbian heart, it is an absolute gem and I could not love it more.

Five Stars!

Thankyou again to Netgalley, Swoon Reads & Xpresso Book Tours for making this possible! You can find links to Jen Wilde and Going Off Script below:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39071056-going-off-script?ac=1&from_search=true

Purchase:

Amazon: https://books2read.com/u/4jeQav?store=amazon

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/going-off-script-jen-wilde/1129098255#/

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/book/going-off-script/id1440485749?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/going-off-script-2

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=rU51DwAAQBAJ

AUTHOR BIO:

Jen Wilde is a writer, geek and fangirl with a penchant for coffee, books and pugs. She writes YA stories about zombies (AS THEY RISE), witches (ECHO OF THE WITCH) and fangirls (QUEENS OF GEEK). Her debut series reached over three million reads online and became an Amazon bestseller. Her next book, THE BRIGHTSIDERS, comes out May 2018, and GOING OFF-SCRIPT releases Summer 2019.

When she’s not writing, Jen loves binge-watching her favorite shows on Netflix, eating pizza, traveling to far away places and going to conventions in Marty McFly cosplay.

Author links: 

https://www.facebook.com/jenmariewilde/

https://twitter.com/jenmariewilde

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7154841.Jen_Wilde

eloise x