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A review by syllareads
Kiss & Tell by Adib Khorram
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