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A review by elskabee
Kiss & Tell by Adib Khorram
emotional
reflective
fast-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
3.0
I mean you get what it says on the tin! It's a fairly straightforward teen romance starring an openly gay boy band member. The writing was very YA, easy to read and very simple. I felt like the discussions about fame were fairly surface level and at times very repetitive. The romance was sweet but it has the typical third act break up and the fight was messy in an uncomfortable way that made their getting back together at the end a little questionable. I might have given it a higher rating if it weren't for the rushed and messy breakdown the character has. It lasts all of like 1 or 2 hours despite how extreme it is and no one comes away with any genuine takeaways aside from "don't bottle up shit and tell your friends about said shit". I also could help but think throughout the book about how the character is a minor and his sexts got leaked and the public are speculating about his sex life and how the fact that he is only 17 is hardly ever mentioned? It might have been better if the characters were aged up a bit so that I wouldn't have to constantly be distracted and think "why are people talking this way about a minor without any of the implications being mentioned".
One aspect I really liked was the emails between the PR and management and co. They gave an extra insight that we don't get from the main character and the way they talk in the emails is brutal because it's where our main character doesn't see. They way they talked about him as if he was a product was - I'm not sure how to put it - disgusting as hell. However, it felt realistic in a painful way and I think that element of management controlling everything the group says or does should have been even more intense to be even more realistic. The other inserts of social media posts and articles were very hit or miss for me, some added while others just felt unnecessary.
The main thing that boosted this book's rating for me was that the main character was very self-centred in a very believable and somewhat sympathetic way. Like he did have a lot of shit to deal with and that made him make some questionable decisions and impact his relationships with others. But also, he was so self-involved that he didn't stop to consider things from anyone else's point of view and that ultimately made things worse. A teenager dealing with that much bullshit I could totally believe would act that way and then thankfully learn from it! The only part that this didn't work for was the poorly handled stuff in the third act I mentioned in the spoilers above.
One aspect I really liked was the emails between the PR and management and co. They gave an extra insight that we don't get from the main character and the way they talk in the emails is brutal because it's where our main character doesn't see. They way they talked about him as if he was a product was - I'm not sure how to put it - disgusting as hell. However, it felt realistic in a painful way and I think that element of management controlling everything the group says or does should have been even more intense to be even more realistic. The other inserts of social media posts and articles were very hit or miss for me, some added while others just felt unnecessary.
The main thing that boosted this book's rating for me was that the main character was very self-centred in a very believable and somewhat sympathetic way. Like he did have a lot of shit to deal with and that made him make some questionable decisions and impact his relationships with others. But also, he was so self-involved that he didn't stop to consider things from anyone else's point of view and that ultimately made things worse. A teenager dealing with that much bullshit I could totally believe would act that way and then thankfully learn from it! The only part that this didn't work for was the poorly handled stuff in the third act I mentioned in the spoilers above.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Alcohol, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual content and Racism
there's a lot of slut-shaming including internalised stuff with the main character.
The main character is harrassed by fans several times throughout the book, including non-consensual touching (e.g. being grabbed).
Near the the end of the book despite being underage he enters a gay club and is not in a good headspace, he gets drunk and nearly has sex with a man in the bathroom before being interrupted. He is underage and the other man is not.