Kiss & Tell
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
"Kiss & Tell is a total rush! Perfectly sweet and swoon worthy. I loved every page!" – Julie Murphy, New York Times bestselling author of Dumplin’
A smart, sexy YA novel about a boy band star, his first breakup, his first rebound, and what it means to be queer in the public eye, from award-winning author Adib Khorram
Hunter never expected to be a boy band star, but, well, here he is. He and his band Kiss & Tell are on their first major tour of North America, playing arenas all over the United States and Canada (and getting covered by the gossipy press all over North America as well). Hunter is the only gay member of the band, and he just had a very painful breakup with his first boyfriend--leaked sexts, public heartbreak, and all--and now everyone expects him to play the perfect queer role model for teens.
But Hunter isn't really sure what being the perfect queer kid even means. Does it mean dressing up in whatever The Label tells him to wear for photo shoots and pretending never to have sex? (Unfortunately, yes.) Does it mean finding community among the queer kids at the meet-and-greets after K&T's shows? (Fortunately, yes.) Does it include a new relationship with Kaivan, the drummer for the band opening for K&T on tour? (He hopes so.) But when The Label finds out about Hunter and Kaivan, it spells trouble—for their relationship, for the perfect gay boy Hunter plays for the cameras, and, most importantly, for Hunter himself.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Euphoria—that's what white Canadian Hunter Drake, 17, feels when he's singing with band Kiss & Tell, and what he used to feel playing hockey before an injury. But bliss, and his lyric-writing, become less accessible when the ethnically inclusive boy band starts an arena tour just as Hunter's first relationship ends and his ex reveals intimate details about their sex life. Though Hunter is publicly out, the record label goes into damage control mode, updating Hunter's wardrobe to embrace "a more... femme look." The label also suggests he date Iranian American Kaivan Parvani, whose band opens for Kiss & Tell; the two genuinely like each other, but it's difficult to start a relationship mid-tour and with the label stage-managing. Showing how Hunter's fame increases the spotlight, Khorram (Darius the Great Is Not Okay) incorporates fictional news ranging from celebrity gossip to think pieces about gay representation as the media weighs in on Hunter's life. Khorram deftly makes the story work, calling on readers to empathize with Hunter's pride and embarrassment, questions about how he should look and be, and maybe even his belated realization that the band's other members also receive public scrutiny. Ages 14–up.
