Date Me, Bryson Keller
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4.5 • 25 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
"One of the most adorable, big-hearted, charming books in existence." --Becky Albertalli, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
What If It's Us meets To All the Boys I've Loved Before in this upbeat and heartfelt boy-meets-boy romance that feels like a modern twist on a '90s rom-com!
Everyone knows about the dare: Each week, Bryson Keller must date someone new--the first person to ask him out on Monday morning. Few think Bryson can do it. He may be the king of Fairvale Academy, but he's never really dated before.
Until a boy asks him out, and everything changes.
Kai Sheridan didn't expect Bryson to say yes. So when Bryson agrees to secretly go out with him, Kai is thrown for a loop. But as the days go by, he discovers there's more to Bryson beneath the surface, and dating him begins to feel less like an act and more like the real thing. Kai knows how the story of a gay boy liking someone straight ends. With his heart on the line, he's awkwardly trying to navigate senior year at school, at home, and in the closet, all while grappling with the fact that this "relationship" will last only five days. After all, Bryson Keller is popular, good-looking, and straight . . . right?
Drawing on his own experiences, Kevin van Whye delivers an uplifting and poignant coming-out love story inspired by classics like Venio Tachibana and Rihito Takarai's manga Seven Days: Monday-Sunday and the '90s rom-com She's All That. Readers will root for Kai and Bryson to share their hearts with the world--and with each other.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
In his debut novel, Kevin van Whye tackles the challenges of coming out, but wraps his sometimes heavy subject matter in a sweet and romantic boy-meets-boy story. We follow shy, artsy Kai as he navigates high school while keeping a part of himself hidden from friends and family. As part of an elaborate dare, Kai finds himself secretly “fake dating” Bryson Keller, the most popular guy at Fairvale Academy. When the duo’s texts start to get suspiciously flirty, Kai wonders whether Bryson could be gay, too. Van Whye draws on his own teenage experiences—it shows in Kai’s authentic inner monologues as he copes with anxiety and the sting of homophobia. What makes the book really shine, though, is the way van Whye perfectly captures the giddiness of getting to know someone you really, really like.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Handsome, athletic senior Bryson Keller, who is white, is the king of Fairvale Academy, while classmate Kai Sheridan gets invited to parties only as his popular friends' plus-one. Kai is gay, closeted, and lonely, but he avoids coming out; he already stands out because he's biracial (his American mother is white, his South African father is "mixed race"), and he's reluctant to be reduced to "the gay one," too. Still, there's a dare on that says Bryson has to date, for a week, whomever asks him each Monday, so when Bryson indirectly causes Kai to get detention, Kai impulsively asks Bryson out. Broad-minded and friendly, Bryson agrees to go out with Kai and keep his secret, but by Wednesday, Kai can't stop thinking that maybe Bryson is gay, too. And if having a fake boyfriend is this good, what would having a real one be like? Debut author van Whye uses the dare to set up a book filled with good-natured sweetness: even when bad things happen (Bryson's jock friends are homophobes, Kai's parents struggle with his news), the boys' growing affection and trust, and the support they receive from Kai's little sister and Bryson's family, are heartwarming. Ages 14 up.
Customer Reviews
Blatantly plagiarized the work of Venio Tachibana and Rihito Takarai
We need more LGBT stories in this world, but plagiarizing another is not the way to go. The original story is from the manga “Seven Days”. Unlike what this sorry excuse of an author said, the manga is a very cute and relatable story that didn’t need to be “remade” to be “more realistic”. It pains me to see one of my favorite manga ripped off by an unscrupulous author who thinks he can get away with stealing a 10 years old book for his own benefits. Please don’t support this thievery.