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A review by drakoulis
Kiss & Tell by Adib Khorram
4.0
Kiss & Tell is a book about a boyband that tries to tackle a lot of issues concerning the world of entertainment, media, management agencies and societal prejudices.
The main character, Hunter, is one of the members of the boyband "Kiss & Tell", a boyband he formed with his friends during high school and rose to stardom after a song he wrote for fun went viral on YouTube.
He is coming off a painful breakup with the twin brother of one of his bandmates, and is left confused about himself, where he stands, if he's ready to move on (and the sweet drummer of their opening group, Kaivan is confusing him even more) and how to deal with all the pressure, a pressure he feels strangling his creativity (he is the group's main songwriter), straining his relationship with his bandmates and questioning how much of his real self he shows and how much is his management's carefully created persona.
The book nails the way it deals with some topics: the prejudice of the society regrading how a gay teen celebrity should be and act, the "acceptance" of gay idol but "repulsion" when anything related to gay sex is aired, the media focusing on gossip and the personal life od musicians instead of their art, the invasion of privacy, the management and publicity agents trying to project a stereotypical image. I especially enjoyed the articles and media interviews in this book.
On this note, I disagree with what Khorram was insinuating in some other topics. He made it look as if Hunter was selfish because he was focusing on his own struggles and not seeing that some other people have it harder. Which was technically true, but it isn't a competition. One's problems aren't trivial because someone else is more unlucky than him. For example (mild scene spoiler) : when Kaivan was confronted about his comments trash-talking boybands in a past interview, he snapped at Hunter because "he doesn't get it, he has it easy, he isn't brown and of immigrant background". Like, what? Not necessarily wrong, but...apples and oranges? I also don't like how it was implied that Hunter, who was helping LGBT shelters and donating at them, "wasn't doing enough". Again, it isn't a competition, and someone who helps one cause doesn't have to help ALL causes. I'm sorry if it comes out harsh, but these two parts of the book felt like preaching, and preaching a view I don't agree with.
All in all though, Kiss & Tell it is a solid and entertaining book with strong messages about how gay people are portrayed in mass media, boybands, the world of music and a coming-of-age story of sorts.
The main character, Hunter, is one of the members of the boyband "Kiss & Tell", a boyband he formed with his friends during high school and rose to stardom after a song he wrote for fun went viral on YouTube.
He is coming off a painful breakup with the twin brother of one of his bandmates, and is left confused about himself, where he stands, if he's ready to move on (and the sweet drummer of their opening group, Kaivan is confusing him even more) and how to deal with all the pressure, a pressure he feels strangling his creativity (he is the group's main songwriter), straining his relationship with his bandmates and questioning how much of his real self he shows and how much is his management's carefully created persona.
The book nails the way it deals with some topics: the prejudice of the society regrading how a gay teen celebrity should be and act, the "acceptance" of gay idol but "repulsion" when anything related to gay sex is aired, the media focusing on gossip and the personal life od musicians instead of their art, the invasion of privacy, the management and publicity agents trying to project a stereotypical image. I especially enjoyed the articles and media interviews in this book.
On this note, I disagree with what Khorram was insinuating in some other topics. He made it look as if Hunter was selfish because he was focusing on his own struggles and not seeing that some other people have it harder. Which was technically true, but it isn't a competition. One's problems aren't trivial because someone else is more unlucky than him. For example (mild scene spoiler) : when Kaivan was confronted about his comments trash-talking boybands in a past interview, he snapped at Hunter because "he doesn't get it, he has it easy, he isn't brown and of immigrant background". Like, what? Not necessarily wrong, but...apples and oranges? I also don't like how it was implied that Hunter, who was helping LGBT shelters and donating at them, "wasn't doing enough". Again, it isn't a competition, and someone who helps one cause doesn't have to help ALL causes. I'm sorry if it comes out harsh, but these two parts of the book felt like preaching, and preaching a view I don't agree with.
All in all though, Kiss & Tell it is a solid and entertaining book with strong messages about how gay people are portrayed in mass media, boybands, the world of music and a coming-of-age story of sorts.