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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
What happens when you receive an advance copy of your anticipated 2022 release? Well, I finished it in one sitting last night (a win for me because I can't remember the last time when I finished a book in one go)
And yes, Kiss and Tell by Adib Khorram did not disappoint. (Disclaimer: this is not related to Darius and the characters in the book; please check last part of this review to know the reps, comps, and trigger warnings)
One thing I really hate about reading a good book is writing a decent review that will give justice to what I experienced.
Imagine this, a group of five teenagers from Canada suddenly went famous after their self-produced music video became an internet sensation. This led to the group (Kiss and Tell) receiving offers from labels (they signed up with one called The Label) and touring the 50 states of America!
But what if one of the members is openly gay and is proud in showing his colors to the world? This is what Kiss and Tell is in a gist.
If you think that the book will be full of homophobia right off the bat, then you're wrong. The first part of the book highlighted Hunter Drake's struggle after his public relationship with Aidan Knight (twin brother of his band mate Ashton) ended and how celebrities deal with so many opinion from the public which, most of the time, borders on bullying and harassment. Take note that Hunter is a gay teen so imagine all the hate he gets from social media all the time.
The other half focused on how the above factors affected Hunter's relationship with his bandmates and friends - and how people are so quick to jump on one revelation as long as it does not involve them. I want to elaborate that this book also discussed microaggressions against queer people and how white queers still have more privilege than queer POCs.
Also, Kiss and Tell includes Hunter Drake's romance as one of its key subplots since events are set after things went down with his ex-boyfriend. (Hint: prepare for swoons because an Iranian-American drummer will be present in the pages)
I want to write more about this book but I guess it's better to encourage you to preorder this book before it goes out March 2022.
Thank you Penguin Teen for sending an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Filipino mutuals, watch out for this book in Travelling Book Club!
What's in this book: Iranian-American rep, Gay rep, Asian rep (Indian, Vietnamese)
I highly recommend if you enjoy: It Goes Like This, If This Goes Out, or if you like reading books that includes music or the music industry
Trigger warnings: Homophobia, physical and verbal assault, toxic masculinity, gender-related microaggression, gaslighting
RATING: 4.5stars
And yes, Kiss and Tell by Adib Khorram did not disappoint. (Disclaimer: this is not related to Darius and the characters in the book; please check last part of this review to know the reps, comps, and trigger warnings)
One thing I really hate about reading a good book is writing a decent review that will give justice to what I experienced.
Imagine this, a group of five teenagers from Canada suddenly went famous after their self-produced music video became an internet sensation. This led to the group (Kiss and Tell) receiving offers from labels (they signed up with one called The Label) and touring the 50 states of America!
But what if one of the members is openly gay and is proud in showing his colors to the world? This is what Kiss and Tell is in a gist.
If you think that the book will be full of homophobia right off the bat, then you're wrong. The first part of the book highlighted Hunter Drake's struggle after his public relationship with Aidan Knight (twin brother of his band mate Ashton) ended and how celebrities deal with so many opinion from the public which, most of the time, borders on bullying and harassment. Take note that Hunter is a gay teen so imagine all the hate he gets from social media all the time.
The other half focused on how the above factors affected Hunter's relationship with his bandmates and friends - and how people are so quick to jump on one revelation as long as it does not involve them. I want to elaborate that this book also discussed microaggressions against queer people and how white queers still have more privilege than queer POCs.
Also, Kiss and Tell includes Hunter Drake's romance as one of its key subplots since events are set after things went down with his ex-boyfriend. (Hint: prepare for swoons because an Iranian-American drummer will be present in the pages)
I want to write more about this book but I guess it's better to encourage you to preorder this book before it goes out March 2022.
Thank you Penguin Teen for sending an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Filipino mutuals, watch out for this book in Travelling Book Club!
What's in this book: Iranian-American rep, Gay rep, Asian rep (Indian, Vietnamese)
I highly recommend if you enjoy: It Goes Like This, If This Goes Out, or if you like reading books that includes music or the music industry
Trigger warnings: Homophobia, physical and verbal assault, toxic masculinity, gender-related microaggression, gaslighting
RATING: 4.5stars
Received this as a gift. It was a little too fanfiction-y for me, but a easy fun read nonetheless.
loved this in theory, not as much in the execution, but i’m glad this exists for the baby gays out there. the formatting with news clippings, emails, and interviews was really cool too
much like iwbft and if this gets out. however, hockey & boybands? yes please. could’ve used more band dynamics.
favorite quote:
“society chronically undervalues teen girls”
favorite quote:
“society chronically undervalues teen girls”
love this! i did not think this was going to be this great with the cover, but i couldn’t put it down.
Hmmm.
It's a very thought-provoking book, that's for sure. The main character, Hunter, is a complete and utter mess and I think I like him for that. He deals with a lot of pressure, and he doesn't handle it in the best way, and that makes the book feel a lot more real. He's trying so hard all the time, the precious baby boy. I want to wrap him in a blanket burrito.
I loved how the book isn't about his romance as much as it's about him figuring out who he is. I had very different expectations, so that came as a pleasant surprise. I like the way the friendships were portrayed too, that's for sure. There's this bubble of wholesomeness surrounding all of Hunter's interactions with his friends and it was definitely my favorite part in the whole book.
It's also a very diverse book—there are people from all sorts of identities and communities but it still doesn't come off as forced or shoehorned. There was a teeny tiny line about Owen being Gujarati and that really made my day. It's not everyday that you see your Indian character's state identities being acknowledged.
Personally, though, I don't think I really enjoyed this book all that much. Something about it felt lackluster to me, I guess? I felt this sort of disconnect with the characters—I admire the way they're written but I just didn't feel very attached to them. I wasn't really invested in the main couple as much as I was vaguely curious. Plot-wise, I don't think it really kept me hooked.
I did rush through most of the book, though. I mean, I had trouble remembering all of the bandmates despite the fact that there almost isn't a single scene without at least one of them. So that might have something to do with my disinterest.
In conclusion: it's not a bad book, but I could've liked it better. Still willing to give it a re-read sometime in the future and see if I've changed my mind, but as of now: it just wasn't really my cup of tea ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It's a very thought-provoking book, that's for sure. The main character, Hunter, is a complete and utter mess and I think I like him for that. He deals with a lot of pressure, and he doesn't handle it in the best way, and that makes the book feel a lot more real. He's trying so hard all the time, the precious baby boy. I want to wrap him in a blanket burrito.
I loved how the book isn't about his romance as much as it's about him figuring out who he is. I had very different expectations, so that came as a pleasant surprise. I like the way the friendships were portrayed too, that's for sure. There's this bubble of wholesomeness surrounding all of Hunter's interactions with his friends and it was definitely my favorite part in the whole book.
It's also a very diverse book—there are people from all sorts of identities and communities but it still doesn't come off as forced or shoehorned. There was a teeny tiny line about Owen being Gujarati and that really made my day. It's not everyday that you see your Indian character's state identities being acknowledged.
Personally, though, I don't think I really enjoyed this book all that much. Something about it felt lackluster to me, I guess? I felt this sort of disconnect with the characters—I admire the way they're written but I just didn't feel very attached to them. I wasn't really invested in the main couple as much as I was vaguely curious. Plot-wise, I don't think it really kept me hooked.
I did rush through most of the book, though. I mean, I had trouble remembering all of the bandmates despite the fact that there almost isn't a single scene without at least one of them. So that might have something to do with my disinterest.
In conclusion: it's not a bad book, but I could've liked it better. Still willing to give it a re-read sometime in the future and see if I've changed my mind, but as of now: it just wasn't really my cup of tea ¯\_(ツ)_/¯