(Trigger Warning: Sexual assault, sexual harassment, anxiety)

Off The Record by Camryn Garrett follows Josie, a black bisexual teen journalist who wins a competition and gets the opportunity to write a celebrity profile on an up-and-coming actor Marius Canet. However, during the press tour, a young actress confides in Josie and tells her that she was sexually assaulted by a well-known and well-loved director. After hearing this Josie wants to expose the man who is responsible, but is reluctant to speak up and isn’t sure if it’s her story to tell. What will she end up doing? Will this end her journalism career before it’s even begun? Read the book to find out.

Off The Record started off really strong and I felt like I could relate a lot to the main character and her love for writing. As I read on there were many sensitive topics brought up, which were covered well. It mainly addressed sexual harassment and mental health. I think that Garrett made a good job of making sure that these topics were well addressed, and she was also able to add her own experiences. 

Even though I enjoyed most aspects of the book, I do believe that there was a lot going on. I understand that the author wanted to address multiple issues and I do think they were properly addressed, however, I feel like the overall plot ended up getting lost. There was just too much getting crammed into a relatively short book. If the focus would have been narrowed down, I believe that I would have enjoyed the book much more.

Overall, I believe that Off The Record was good, but it had so much potential to be great. I think it’s still worth reading, especially for those who enjoy realistic fiction.