Jen Wilde, the author who gave us Queens of Geek and The Brightsiders, is back with her third novel about Bex, who’s biggest dream is to be a screenwriter and make it into Hollywood. Her dream seems to come true when she gets an internship at her favourite TV show. Inspired, Bex drafts her own script for the upcoming episode and proudly gives it to the head writer for feedback. It turns out, that he took her script and passes it as his own. The bubble pops when Bex learns that Behind the Scenes nothing is all cotton candy and glitter.
Bex comes to L.A. with nothing much more than her dreams and hopes in her suitcase. Living at her cousin Parker’s house, she hopes to set up a future in the wild business of TV productions. If that wasn’t exhausting enough, she finally wants to come out to her cousin as a lesbian and simply does not know how. Close like siblings and Parker being gay himself, this should have been the easiest part on her To Do list.
Going Off Script is a reminder that Hollywood is not the glamorous place the industry wants us to believe in. I guess there is no other place that is hiding more dirt under their carpets. Bex soon has to face it as well. Not only did the head writer steal her work, but his only rewrite was the main character, who was previously a lesbian but now made into a straight character.
Wilde picks up the delicate topic and how people are still getting badly threatened simply for the fact that they are the way they choose to life their lives and to be with whom they want to spend it with. Using the power of social media, Bex finds a way to address the unfair treatment. Always remember that in order to stay true to yourself, you must find your own voice and stand for what you believe in.
As always, Jen Wilde provides a light reading that still contains a deep meaningful message which addresses and encourages the LGBT+ community and those who are interested in getting to what they are facing daily. I only wish that the book would be a bit longer so that every character could have been explored more and so that the story does not feel rushed through. I really cannot wait to see what Wilde will come up next!
Going Off Script is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
Will you be picking up Going Off Script? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
A TV writer’s room intern must join forces with her crush to keep her boss from ruining a lesbian character in this diverse contemporary YA romance from the author of Queens of Geek.
Seventeen-year-old Bex is thrilled when she gets an internship on her favorite 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 last straw! It’s time for Bex and her crush to fight back.
Jen Wilde’s newest novel is both a fun, diverse love story and a very relevant, modern take on the portrayal of LGBT characters in media.
