'"You're blowing this way out of proportion." He opens up his laptop and mutters, "This is why women aren't cut out for this business. Too much drama."' - page 78
'He keeps his attention on his phone. "Not enough..." He cups his palms in front of his chest, and I realize he's referring to the actress's breasts. I scoff quietly to myself. Janice glares at him, and Jane rolls her eyes. I think of Shrupty and how she's about to sit here before him and be judged by him. I should have warned her about him earlier.' - page 81
'"If I was showrunner," she says, "We'd be in the room together all day. Breaking story ideas, working on outlines, writing scenes. It would be a democracy, not a dictatorship."' - page 114
'"Oh," he says with a smirk. "The new girl's here. I've seen some of her videos on YouTube. Do you know if she's single?"
My skin prickles. "Shrupty? You know she's, like, über gay, right?" I'm surprised he doesn't know that; Shrupty is super-open about it online.
He does a double take. "Jeez, look at that." He nods toward the three of them, watching like he's found a rare Pokémon. "They're all gay. I guess this is what it feels like to be a minority." He laughs, then nudges me with his elbow when I don't laugh. "Us straights better stick together."
I break into a sweat. I desperately want to correct him. I want to pat him on the back, say something witty like "You're on your own, bud," then walk away to join the others. I want to call him out for thinking he has any idea what it's like to be a minority... but I can't.
The fact that he felt the need to point out that three queer people are having a conversation, like it's a novelty or something to be gawked at, doesn't make me feel like I can trust him with my own queerness. I don't know if I'm ready to declare it proudly to someone who might not be receptive to it. So I grit my teeth as he erases my sexuality and cracks jokes about it. And then I go fetch a green juice for him, the whole time kicking myself for not speaking up.' - page 116
'Why is it that when assholes act like assholes, everyone else just has to ignore it? It doesn't make him less of an asshole. It just gives him the power to take it up a notch.' - page 137
'Archer waves his hands in front of him wildly. "Fuck, everyone is gay now. This whole party is the gayest fucking thing I've ever seen!" He finally notices the people loitering in the alley, watching him, then turns his anger on all of us. "What about me? Huh? What about straight people?" He raises a fist in the air. "Straight pride!"
My jaw drops. Scoffs and groans rumble through the crowd. Someone behind me mutters, "You've got to be fucking kidding me."
But Archer isn't deterred, and goes on like that for longer than anyone wants him to. His lightly veiled homophobia is peeking out from behind the curtains. With every word he says, I deflate a little. It's just another reminder that oh, right, I'm different. Oh, right. There are some places where I'm not welcome. Oh, right. Even people I think I can trust would prefer it if I just didn't exist.' - page 163-164
'It wasn't supposed to be like this. Los Angeles is the City of Lights, where people come form all over the world to make their dreams come true.
What a load of shit.' - page 196
'Los Angeles is where dreams come to die.' - page 197
'"The kind of people who judge you based on where you're from or how much money you have aren't the kind of people you want in your life [...]"' - page 256
'Malcolm rolls his eyes. "When are you gonna learn that right and wrong don't matter in Hollywood? All that matters is who has the most power, and that's me [...]"' - page 267
'I fantasize about leaping onto the table, standing over Malcolm, and screaming in his face. I imagine myself getting right up in his face and tearing him to shreds, intimidating him like he's done to me ever since the day we met. In a world with no consequences, I'd let my fury take over and flip the whole damn table.
But the only people who get to live in a world without consequences are men like those sitting in this room. That stops now.' - page 277
And much more.
Themes: Straightwashing, #MeToo, workplace harassment, toxic work environments, abuse of power, gaslighting, protecting entitled and privileged bigots in a patriarchal society, mansplaining, powerful men protecting powerful men and "witch hunts", "Straight pride" (what perfect timing!), classism, social media as a tool to change the world, and just calling your mum.
Anyone who cares about representation in TV and film should definitely check 'Going Off Script' out. Additionally, it's a great, delightfully-addictive summer read that can be read in a single afternoon. Another geeky YA romance from Jen Wilde that you can just eat up.
It's super funny and sweet, too. Example: the meet-cute of the redheaded, bespectacled main character, Bex Phillips, and her Indian love interest, Shrupty Padwal, is Bex feeling lonely, dejected and reality-checked at a celebrity party, then, "*gasp* THAT DOG HAS A PUFFY TAIL!" and she follows puppies that lead her to Shrupty.
'Going Off Script' is queer as hell, and it won't take any more homophobia. It won't take any straight white men's bullshit.
That ending. I don't care if it's overly optimistic and twee, it's earned and deserved. It's for everyone who is in "the minority", who has ever been erased, mocked, ignored, gaslighted, intimidated, threatened, or outright attacked and harassed just for being who they are. They deserve positive representation, and their happy ending.
The only real criticism I can give 'Going Off Script' is the unresolved question regarding the gender identity of Bex. It is hinted a couple of times that she might be considering herself genderqueer, but then it's never brought up again. That's a real shame in a book like this, and for the protagonist, at that. Imagine how much more groundbreaking it would be to have an open genderqueer gay protag in YA. Bex is also on Ritalin; think of that!
Maybe it should have mentioned queerbaiting, as well?
Add in cameos from Jen Wilde's 'Queens of Geek' and 'The Brightsiders' (though Alyssa Huntington is part of the main cast, as a TV actor), and the work is done. Except it isn't, as the issues that 'Going Off Script' raises are still happening. Hopefully it will help in the fight to end them.
Do what's right, put the power to the people, and fight for their freedoms.
Representation matters.
Final Score: 4.5/5
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