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jailene's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Homophobia and Alcohol
this_momma_is_booked's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I don't remember a whole lot about this book seeing as I read it months ago, so here's what I do remember based on a conversation I had with my friend about it immediately after:
- It was cute, but I struggled throughout the entire book with something that irked me and I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was.
- I think part of the reason I didn't love this book is that everything felt very surface level. We didn't really dig deep into the feelings or situations present.
- It was never really explained why Hunter was into Kaivan, other than he was the only other gay guy in the vicinity. He was defensive the entire book about it NOT being a rebound when it so clearly was.
- The book just...ended. Like, there was no closure or explanation about everything that happened. It just ended.
- Hunter experienced a literal breakdown and the story glossed over it like, "he had a lot of bottled up emotions." Like what he experienced is entirely normal and a healthy part of growing up.
- The author himself is Iranian-American but the book is written from the perspective of the white guy in the relationship. Now, I'm not saying that just because the author is of this particular identity he has to write from the perspective of the other POC in the relationship - but there were so many instances of veiled racism in the text that were simply not explored BECAUSE it was from Hunter's perspective. I feel this is a missed opportunity.
- Basically this read as very surface-level One Direction fanfiction.
If this is the kind of story you're looking to read, I would suggest reading If This Gets Out instead.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcohol and Sexual harassment
Minor: Fatphobia and Death of parent
infinitefandomstrash's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexual content, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
sadie_g's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I enjoyed this book, it was a quick read that kinda read like a fanfic. I liked that the author did call out Hunter on his privileges as a cis white gay man, and that it also explored all the problems and discrimination he and other people in the bands went through. Im still not sure whether I like Hunter as a character through, he did have growth as a character but it was near the end of the book. And Im not sure whether I liked the end of the book just because it seemed like all the problems got wrapped up really fast, which lead to a bit as satisfying ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Racism
Minor: Alcohol
love_bookswillbetheendofme's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Hunter is a fairly self absorbed character, but that isn't unexpected considering he's 17 and has spent the last few years in the spotlight. I feel that a lot of the news articles consistently forgot the fact that he's still a child. That said, I do feel like he was able to grow up a bit during this story.
Kaivan didn't seem to do as much growing, but I felt that his relationship with Hunter was genuine and sweet.
Kaivan didn't seem to do as much growing, but I felt that his relationship with Hunter was genuine and sweet.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body shaming
jeanniea's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
A fun read! Rly spoke to the teenage me. Felt that the ending and character conflicts were a bit rushed, but enjoyed the format of the story telling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Homophobia and Toxic relationship
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, and Alcohol
bookhoarderbea's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Outing
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Death of parent
syllareads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This was my most surprising 5-star read of the year so far, I'm absolutely blown away.
Kiss & Tell is a YA contemporary book about a Canadian Boy Band (with the same name) focusing on the only gay member, our protagonist, Hunter Drake. The book deals with various struggles connected to queer identity, stardom, how celebrities are treated by their fans, how your own identity might feel like a struggle because you're asked to perform for people you don't even know... I could go on.
The plot itself was fairly generic but the characters, their relationships with each other, and the exploration of the themes above made this book a fantastic read in my opinion. I'm being a bit biased with the rating here, and I'm fine with that <3
The thing that made me give this book five stars despite any kind of minor complaints I might have (and the added difficulty of "this is actually not even my main genre, I don't know how I ended up here") is how the book handles intersectionality, personal growth and the difference between valid feelings and accountability for wrong actions. Hunter struggles a lot in this book, from the fact that his ex leaks messages of theirs (confirming that a) they've had sex and b) that Hunter is a "bottom" to MILLIONS of strangers - both things that are entirely fine but that Hunter preferred to keep private), the fact that the agency wants to market him as The Gay KidTM, going so far as to changing his entire wardrobe to make him appear more "femme" now that people have learned what sexual position he's experienced etc, the quite literally disgusting behavior some fans exhibit after the messages get leaked (Hunter gets groped multiple times during fan meetings, his shirt gets ripped etc)... he goes through a lot. As a consequence, when his feelings get too overwhelming and he can't bottle them up anymore, he explodes at people that have nothing to do with the source of his frustration, fear, and anger. Apart from when other characters answer with their own (understandable but misdirected) anger, he is never once disregarded or shamed for his feelings. He is, however, not excused from his wrong actions, and I found that to be beautiful. None of the characters get invalidated by the book (and by other characters only ever if things go wrong), but they get called out for wrong behavior - and our two main characters have several deep conversations where they take accountability for what they've said or done to the other person.
I believe this book is excellent for (specifically white) queer youth as perhaps a first read to spark some questions about intersectionality, "performing" your sexuality, and how messy it all is at the end of the day. It reads very quickly as well (it has this beautiful fanfic feeling where you completely forget how long you've been reading until you're done and wonder how that happened), and the mixed media aspects with inserted interviews, newspaper articles, and video transcriptions did the rest to make the time go by real fast.
TL;DR: this was a fantastically queer read and I highly recommend it!
Kiss & Tell is a YA contemporary book about a Canadian Boy Band (with the same name) focusing on the only gay member, our protagonist, Hunter Drake. The book deals with various struggles connected to queer identity, stardom, how celebrities are treated by their fans, how your own identity might feel like a struggle because you're asked to perform for people you don't even know... I could go on.
The plot itself was fairly generic but the characters, their relationships with each other, and the exploration of the themes above made this book a fantastic read in my opinion. I'm being a bit biased with the rating here, and I'm fine with that <3
The thing that made me give this book five stars despite any kind of minor complaints I might have (and the added difficulty of "this is actually not even my main genre, I don't know how I ended up here") is how the book handles intersectionality, personal growth and the difference between valid feelings and accountability for wrong actions. Hunter struggles a lot in this book, from the fact that his ex leaks messages of theirs (confirming that a) they've had sex and b) that Hunter is a "bottom" to MILLIONS of strangers - both things that are entirely fine but that Hunter preferred to keep private), the fact that the agency wants to market him as The Gay KidTM, going so far as to changing his entire wardrobe to make him appear more "femme" now that people have learned what sexual position he's experienced etc, the quite literally disgusting behavior some fans exhibit after the messages get leaked (Hunter gets groped multiple times during fan meetings, his shirt gets ripped etc)... he goes through a lot. As a consequence, when his feelings get too overwhelming and he can't bottle them up anymore, he explodes at people that have nothing to do with the source of his frustration, fear, and anger. Apart from when other characters answer with their own (understandable but misdirected) anger, he is never once disregarded or shamed for his feelings. He is, however, not excused from his wrong actions, and I found that to be beautiful. None of the characters get invalidated by the book (and by other characters only ever if things go wrong), but they get called out for wrong behavior - and our two main characters have several deep conversations where they take accountability for what they've said or done to the other person.
I believe this book is excellent for (specifically white) queer youth as perhaps a first read to spark some questions about intersectionality, "performing" your sexuality, and how messy it all is at the end of the day. It reads very quickly as well (it has this beautiful fanfic feeling where you completely forget how long you've been reading until you're done and wonder how that happened), and the mixed media aspects with inserted interviews, newspaper articles, and video transcriptions did the rest to make the time go by real fast.
TL;DR: this was a fantastically queer read and I highly recommend it!
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia and Racism
kwkich's review against another edition
funny
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Energetic Coming-of-Age
This was unexpectedly really cute and fun but also a really unabashed look at teens just trying to figure out life in the spotlight of fame. About toxic celebrity culture and the sexualizing of adolescents. With some real talk about boners and sex and homophobic stigmas, about racism and hatred and how that effects everyone in different ways that we may not always be privy to.
The book is extremely energetic and slightly chaotic. But it made me feel like I was immersed in their intensely chaotic and high profile, anxiety-addled life. (Probably should also add I was listening to this at 2x which is faster than I normally listen to audiobooks). I loved the use of a full cast for voicing the band members in the interview spotlights too, it was fantastic to give them each a unique voice.
This was unexpectedly really cute and fun but also a really unabashed look at teens just trying to figure out life in the spotlight of fame. About toxic celebrity culture and the sexualizing of adolescents. With some real talk about boners and sex and homophobic stigmas, about racism and hatred and how that effects everyone in different ways that we may not always be privy to.
The book is extremely energetic and slightly chaotic. But it made me feel like I was immersed in their intensely chaotic and high profile, anxiety-addled life. (Probably should also add I was listening to this at 2x which is faster than I normally listen to audiobooks). I loved the use of a full cast for voicing the band members in the interview spotlights too, it was fantastic to give them each a unique voice.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Racism
kfisher2024's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I thought this book would be similar to If This Gets Out, but it was a different take on a similar topic.
I thought the diversity was refreshing. There were a lot of different non-binary characters and it was good representation of the lgbt community as a whole.
I also liked how to author wrote news articles and Twitter threads of people speculating about the band and their relationships. I feel this book does a good job talking about how toxic fan culture can get.
The only thing I didn’t like was the ending. I felt it was kind of a rushed resolution to a large problem, but it wasnt horrible.
I thought the diversity was refreshing. There were a lot of different non-binary characters and it was good representation of the lgbt community as a whole.
I also liked how to author wrote news articles and Twitter threads of people speculating about the band and their relationships. I feel this book does a good job talking about how toxic fan culture can get.
The only thing I didn’t like was the ending. I felt it was kind of a rushed resolution to a large problem, but it wasnt horrible.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Racism
Minor: Addiction