LGBT

Kiss & Tell

Kiss & Tell

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-04-30 09:52:08
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Adib Khorram
  • ISBN：0593463110
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Summary

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 star of 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。

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Reviews

Kayla ✨readsbykayla✨ ，

I will forever love Adib Khorram's writing。More thoughts to come。 I will forever love Adib Khorram's writing。More thoughts to come。 。。。more

Bea ，

3。5The ending felt weird and rushedIdk

Michelle ，

**4 stars。** It didn't make me cry though。 I really liked this book。 About a boyband， it is similar to If This Gets Out， but that is really where the similarity ends。 Kiss& Tell has out and proud， Hunter， who is living his life as best he can。There was an authenticity to the way that teen boys were portrayed - and the candid attitude about love and sex was refreshing。 There aren't any explicit scenes within the book， but they weren't necessary。 You still get the romancy vibe without making every **4 stars。** It didn't make me cry though。 I really liked this book。 About a boyband， it is similar to If This Gets Out， but that is really where the similarity ends。 Kiss& Tell has out and proud， Hunter， who is living his life as best he can。There was an authenticity to the way that teen boys were portrayed - and the candid attitude about love and sex was refreshing。 There aren't any explicit scenes within the book， but they weren't necessary。 You still get the romancy vibe without making everything "PG"。 And now I'm rambling。。。 There is also the message made about Islamaphobia/racism in the media and the general attitude that celebrities who aren't white men will have to struggle more to gain a level of success that is given freely to cis white men。 It is not overbearing to the romance plot， but something that can be educational for younger， less educated readers。 LOVE IT！ Final notes:- Discussions of sex， safe sex， and a scene with dubcon/almost statutory rape？- Underage drinking- Ex sending sexts/texts related to sex to the media （revenge）- Islamophobia/ racism discussions- A manager that actually helps her clients :） 。。。more

Tara Lundmark ，

While I enjoyed the fun concept of the book and the important message underlying， there were things that held this back from being what it could have been。 I think the story would have been better executed without the romance and focusing more on the other members of the band as a friend dynamic。 The love story didn't land like it should have and simply felt like a physical attraction。 I could not really picture any of the other band members besides Ashton， and in group scenes I was always tryin While I enjoyed the fun concept of the book and the important message underlying， there were things that held this back from being what it could have been。 I think the story would have been better executed without the romance and focusing more on the other members of the band as a friend dynamic。 The love story didn't land like it should have and simply felt like a physical attraction。 I could not really picture any of the other band members besides Ashton， and in group scenes I was always trying to remember which nationality each guy was。 They didn't have fleshed out or memorable personalities and felt like stereotypes， which ironically， was one of the major points of the story （people are individuals and we shouldn't pigeonhole them into categories）。 Still， an enjoyable read that brings up some very good LGBTQ+ awareness issues。 。。。more

DK ，

READ IT IN ONE SITTING！！！！ VERY GOOD！！！

Kristan ，

3。5

Patricia ，

Hunter is part of a boy band and the only gay member。 When his ex-boyfriend posts information about their sex life， Hunter's life gets more complicated。 Told from Hunter's point of view， and through a collection of online articles， scripts from videos， and emails between the band's handlers， this is an excellent meditation about the pressure we put people who are young and also famous。One of the things I'm hoping that will come out of this period of social media culture are realistic expectation Hunter is part of a boy band and the only gay member。 When his ex-boyfriend posts information about their sex life， Hunter's life gets more complicated。 Told from Hunter's point of view， and through a collection of online articles， scripts from videos， and emails between the band's handlers， this is an excellent meditation about the pressure we put people who are young and also famous。One of the things I'm hoping that will come out of this period of social media culture are realistic expectations of famous people。 This book is a step in that direction。 。。。more

meep ，

I was not fond how it went from chapter of story to interview， article， post， ect then back to chapter I found my self just skipping them but overall I did like the story

Mae Crowe ，

Before we get into it， I don't think I'd choose to classify Kiss & Tell as a romance。 There is a romantic plotline， yes， but it's in service to the heart of Hunter's story， not the heart itself。 So don't go into this expecting the focus to be just two band boys getting together。 At its core， Kiss & Tell is more accurately about the treatment of young， queer celebrities and learning to ask for help。Kiss & Tell illustrated a lot of the frustrations I have about how the media treats queer celebriti Before we get into it， I don't think I'd choose to classify Kiss & Tell as a romance。 There is a romantic plotline， yes， but it's in service to the heart of Hunter's story， not the heart itself。 So don't go into this expecting the focus to be just two band boys getting together。 At its core， Kiss & Tell is more accurately about the treatment of young， queer celebrities and learning to ask for help。Kiss & Tell illustrated a lot of the frustrations I have about how the media treats queer celebrities， how fans treat queer celebrities and the celebrities they suspect/want to be queer， and just generally how we respond to celebrities and young stars in general。 Hunter is the only gay member of a boy band whose sexts are distributed by his ex in a fit of drunken jealousy over him even INTERACTING with another out gay celebrity。 And the way the media and his fans treat him。。。I'm not going to shy away from the fact that real-person fic REALLY squicks me out。 And honestly "squick" is probably a little too generous。 I am made actively uncomfortable by （primarily romantic/sexual） fanfiction that involves real people。 To me， there's something inherently invasive about it that I personally cannot shake。 I know plenty of people are cool to read/write it because a celebrity's public persona is essentially a character anyway， but that doesn't change anything for me， especially knowing that there are also groups of people who believe they know the person because they know their public persona。 And then there's truly earnest "pairing" speculations and。。。 It's uncomfortable to me。 And with queer identity thrown into the mix it feels all the more uncomfortable because it denies the person in question self-declaration。 Hell， even the couple thing does， it's just。。。 Queer identity can still be a lot more dangerous in the wrong situation， and coming out should always be a personal decision。 Especially if the world's going to know。A lot of these sentiments are reflected in Hunter's story。 The blurbs of fanfiction posts and Twitter comments drive home the fact that many fans believe they understand who he is and that he owes them something simply because he's in the spotlight and they like his work。 It's just as bad as the comments from parents lamenting that the revelation that he and his boyfriend have had sex makes him less "child-friendly。" And The Label continues to enforce this sentiment of public-ownership by policing Hunter's every move and not even allowing him to explore a new relationship with a boy he likes on his own terms。 And there's so much pressure on Hunter to be a "perfect queer role model" when he's not sure what the means， either in terms of the queer community or wider public。 He just doesn't know。 He's a kid。 He's seventeen。 Even if he wasn't， he shouldn't need to have all the answers or all the grace or all the poise and the fact is， he DOESN'T。Kiss & Tell is the identity crisis of a young queer teen living in the spotlight， feeling like the world's plaything not because he doesn't love his fans or what he does， but because everyone is convinced that they know him and - more to the point - that he owes them something。 He owes them wholesomeness， earnest queer representation， a relationship the public can admire， total disclosure of self， this， that， EVERYTHING。 I am the first to remind people that parasocial relationships are not inherently bad and can actually do good， but BOY HOWDY this is parasocial relationships gone wrong and driving a child into a dangerous situation。Anyway， very well done， very easy read that deals with some significant topics in a respectful way that leads the characters to a hopeful ending。 I really enjoyed Kiss & Tell and hope to get a copy to add to my collection。 。。。more

Yona ，

Well… I’m sorry but I found it quite boring。 Although it was interesting to learn about what comes with being constantly under the public eye and so on， it was overall really boring。 It was a fast read tho。

Kkamiyah ，

I wish I enjoyed this more。 I was very interested to hear about their touring life and how everything came together I enjoy the relationships。 Although I feel like certain characters didn’t have their own grown they just allowed other people to fix them without any belief that they were doing the wrong thing。 They only decided it was wrong when they were told even though that’s ignorant。

Missnöjd Konfirmand ，

2，6 i betyg。 Gosig men för mycket tidningsartiklar， sociala medier-inlägg， transkriberade intervjuer mm som gjorde att handlingen inte fick plats riktigt i boken。

Mads ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 3。75: I’m conflicted。 This book went in many， many directions and for the most part it had my attention。 I just wish the other band members， excluding Hunter， were fleshed out more。 I also think Kaivan and Hunter had little to no real chemistry。 Sure， it was cute but it felt surface-level at best。I loved all the social commentary: LGBTQIA+ youth struggles， celebrity privacy， fan girl possessiveness， POC voices and hate speech， proper use of celebrity platforms。 I really am impressed with how muc 3。75: I’m conflicted。 This book went in many， many directions and for the most part it had my attention。 I just wish the other band members， excluding Hunter， were fleshed out more。 I also think Kaivan and Hunter had little to no real chemistry。 Sure， it was cute but it felt surface-level at best。I loved all the social commentary: LGBTQIA+ youth struggles， celebrity privacy， fan girl possessiveness， POC voices and hate speech， proper use of celebrity platforms。 I really am impressed with how much was covered in less than 400 pages！Hunter’s realization of the world not revolving around only him and his gay issues was pretty great， too。 The side characters seemed so colorful and I can’t stress enough how robbed I feel that we didn’t get to know any of them。 I could barely keep track of who was who。Overall， a quick and refreshing read。 I just wish this one had a little more depth。 Still cute though！ 。。。more

Hayleigh Munoz ，

I read this because I like both of the Darius books， and really enjoyed this one too。 It tackled some big topics and ideas about representation， race， social expectations， and the LGBTQ+ community， in really poignant and thoughtful ways。

Tasha ，

Good but a little disappointing。 Was less of a romance than I was expecting。

Anna Smithberger ，

It isn’t Darius， but nothing else could be Darius。 Hunter and Kaivan are very sweet， and I love that this book exists for teens。 Khorram continues to be an auto-read for me。

Nicole ，

I loved this book， it was a fun read， and probably one I’ll want to read again。

jut ，

maybe it was not for me。

Denise ，

This book was really fun！ It tackles all the bits one would expect from a book about gay singer in a boyband: expectations of fame， pressure， homophobia， loneliness， stereotypes and being formed into something you’re not。Next to it blossomed a beautiful romance。 Those were the bits I enjoyed most with great dialogues that were so much fun and could get into some other themes。 Really enjoyed the conversation about racism and privilege throughout。 I would have wished the other characters to be mor This book was really fun！ It tackles all the bits one would expect from a book about gay singer in a boyband: expectations of fame， pressure， homophobia， loneliness， stereotypes and being formed into something you’re not。Next to it blossomed a beautiful romance。 Those were the bits I enjoyed most with great dialogues that were so much fun and could get into some other themes。 Really enjoyed the conversation about racism and privilege throughout。 I would have wished the other characters to be more fleshed out。 I feel like I barely know anyone but Hunter and Kaivan。 There were just glimpses of the others。 Ashton and Ethan a bit more， but I really wanted to get to know the band a bit better。 Overall a really enjoyable read！ 。。。more

Jamie Bland ，

This book has all the items I gravitate toward （boy bands， love， LGBTQ+ support， etc。）， but there was SO much going on there was little depth to any of it。 A super quick， breezy read， but not one I’d recommend to a friend。

Leigh Kramer ，

If this was written by anyone other than the author， I might not have picked it up。 I’m more of a hard rock listener than pop and I came of age during the New Kids on the Block era。 I don’t have much boy band knowledge post-NKOTB outside of the occasional radio hit。 Lucky for me， I enjoy Adib Khorram’s writing and there was no doubt in my mind I’d give this a go。 I’m so glad I did！Kiss & Tell is on its first stadium tour and Hunter is going through a whole lot， from struggling to write their thi If this was written by anyone other than the author， I might not have picked it up。 I’m more of a hard rock listener than pop and I came of age during the New Kids on the Block era。 I don’t have much boy band knowledge post-NKOTB outside of the occasional radio hit。 Lucky for me， I enjoy Adib Khorram’s writing and there was no doubt in my mind I’d give this a go。 I’m so glad I did！Kiss & Tell is on its first stadium tour and Hunter is going through a whole lot， from struggling to write their third album to dealing with The Label’s pressure around being an “acceptable gay” to reeling from a recent break-up with his bandmate’s brother。 Then his ex leaks some sexts and there’s a whole new media storm around him。 This explores the good， bad， and ugly of being in a boy band。 It doesn’t shy away from the sexual harassment， sexual assault， and image-based sexual abuse that unfortunately comes hand in hand with the territory。 My hope is that including these elements will open some eyes。 No one should have to deal with unsolicited dick pics or being groped or harassed， whether or not they’re a musician。 Full stop。 Boy bands face that at a greater volume and it takes a toll。 Hunter has to deal with homophobia and bottom shaming on top of that。 It would be a lot for anyone but Hunter is also 17。 He’s still learning and growing and doesn’t have the same coping tools as an adult。 There are times he rises to the occasion and there are times he behaves like any other teen。 He can be self-absorbed， especially in terms of thinking he’s the only marginalized member of the band when Owen， Ethan， and Ian have experienced racism。 I wasn’t sure it was completely realistic that Hunter wouldn’t have been aware of what they dealt with even on social media。 I would think a band of their size would have help with social media， even if the individual members post their own content， and that they’d be at least peripherally aware of the major issues。 But who knows。 It’s absolutely realistic that a white gay teen wouldn’t be able to see beyond themselves。Despite the heavier issues， this had a really delightful tone。 The band is excited about the tour and their performances and getting glimpses of the different cities they’re in。 Hunter starts fake-but-real-dating Kaivan， the drummer in the opening band， and it was fun to see their dates play out。 I wished The Label hadn’t been involved in encouraging them to fake date as part of Hunter’s image rehab， not just because The Label is the worst， but because the love story got a little lost amongst all the other things Hunter is dealing with。 It might have been nice if he could have had another queer friend on the tour instead of a romance or maybe they could have been friends but then headed in a hopeful romantic direction at the end。 I might have felt differently if （view spoiler）[his ex Aidan hadn’t come back。 （hide spoiler）] That subplot felt shoehorned in and I wish he’d been kept out of the picture completely。 Owen， Ethan， and Ian could have used further development。 They didn’t feel as fully realized as Ashton and Aidan， which is unfortunate since they’re the POC members of the band。 But these were the only off notes for me。 I enjoyed the meta elements of including interviews， tweets， articles， and emails with typos。 The behind-the-scenes of the tour gave me a whole new appreciation for musicians in general。 Hunter was a compelling character to root for and I enjoyed watching him figure out how to lean on his friends and how to do good with his platform。Characters: Hunter is a 17 year old gay white Canadian boy band member and a former youth hockey player with red hair and braces。 His bandmates are Ashton （white Canadian， twin brother to Hunter’s ex）， Ethan （Vietnamese Canadian）， Ian （Brazilian Canadian）， and Owen （Indian Canadian）。 Kaivan is a 17 year old gay Iranian American drummer。 This is set in stadiums/cities around the US and Canada。 Content notes: image-based sexual abuse （view spoiler）[MMC’s ex leaks sexts online after they break up， mentions of dick and butthole pics from fans on social media （hide spoiler）]， sexual assault by fans （groping）， sexual harassment， near statutory rape situation （view spoiler）[ MMC and Kaivan fought and broke up。 The next day MMC goes to queer club after having a meltdown on TV and hooks up with an older guy。 MMC has been drinking。 They kiss and go to the bathroom to do more but are interrupted before anything can happen。 It’s not clear how much older the guy is but he bolts once it’s pointed out that MMC is only 17。 （hide spoiler）]， slut-shaming by ex and fans， homophobia， homophobic slur （recounting）， microaggressions， racism （including by music label）， panic attack， false accusations of infidelity by ex， ex has drinking problem， past bullying， online harassment （including comments suggesting suicide）， past death of father （car accident）， diet culture， past knee injury， LGBTQ+ youth shelters， masturbation， underage drinking， inebriation， gendered pejoratives， ableist language， mention of colorism， references to sex with ex 。。。more

Ângela ，

4。5⭐I think it does an amazing job talking about identity， the pressure of being under the spotlights and the struggles to know were you end and the public persona starts。 Hunter just wants to be himself， and that should be more than ok， the same for the other boys in the group and anyone else under the spotlight。

noah ，

I love the boyband aspect。 I really liked the topics explored of how much pressure there is - even on a white cis gay guy- to conform to an image that has been crafted。 I really felt for hunter and the struggles he faces。 I think this story does really well in showing the sides of fame that are not pleasant。 Also how he is literally 17 years old， with a huge audience weighing in on his every moves。 I kind of wish you could’ve seen more of Hunter’s thoughts and emotions。 It felt distant at times。 I love the boyband aspect。 I really liked the topics explored of how much pressure there is - even on a white cis gay guy- to conform to an image that has been crafted。 I really felt for hunter and the struggles he faces。 I think this story does really well in showing the sides of fame that are not pleasant。 Also how he is literally 17 years old， with a huge audience weighing in on his every moves。 I kind of wish you could’ve seen more of Hunter’s thoughts and emotions。 It felt distant at times。 On the same note… the conversation of privilege are really needed and important。 But I also felt that yes- Hunter doesn’t seem to look past his own problems， forgetting those of the ones around him。 But at parts of the book I really thought he wasn’t treated with the compassion he actually deserved。 Yes， recognizing his own privileges is important but I thought the way it was diminished a lot rubbed me the wrong way。 But sometimes he apologized and the way his apology was framed was as if he didn’t have the right to be mad and hurt if that makes sense？ Kaivan did have fair points。 Absolutely。 But the small section where we got to see him appreciative of Hunter’s work wasn’t enough for me。 At least for the romance and the attraction。 I found that a bit sad and also would have loved more shown of that dialogue。All in all really cool idea and I still need to read the author’s other books！！ 。。。more

Shauna Yusko ，

3 1/2。All the boy band fans

Meli ，

A very lovely girl at the bookstore recommended this book to me and since i’m a hopeless gay （and an avid lover of all things boy bands and fandoms） i picked it up。I have very mixed feelings about this book， on the one hand i really love Hunter， i loved to read about his struggles， i loved that for once the story was about what it means to be an openly gay artist in a heteronormative world， about the pressure from the queer community to use his platform。I also really loved Kaivan， i understood h A very lovely girl at the bookstore recommended this book to me and since i’m a hopeless gay （and an avid lover of all things boy bands and fandoms） i picked it up。I have very mixed feelings about this book， on the one hand i really love Hunter， i loved to read about his struggles， i loved that for once the story was about what it means to be an openly gay artist in a heteronormative world， about the pressure from the queer community to use his platform。I also really loved Kaivan， i understood his frustration and his background， so I was glad that they both got their happy end。 What i also loved was the structure of the story， the emails between management and label， the interviews， the articles， the tweets。However， on the other side， when it came to the other characters they all seemed to not get enough spotlight for me to really love and connect with them。 Especially the band dynamic and them being best friends got so lost in between all the drama Hunter was facing。 The beginnings of Hunter’s and Kaivan’s relationship also felt so … rushed and idk？？？ it was lacking that spark for me， which might be because we readers pretty much knew from early on that Kaivan had said bad things about Hunter’s band。 Overall， i think it’s a good and enjoyable read that touches on a very important point that - as said in the book - the fight for queer rights isn’t over with just marriage equality。 We still suffer， we still get molded into whatever the heteronormative society deems as an “acceptable” queer， so there’s still work to do。 Especially to fight for our queer folk of color。 。。。more

Benjamin Rees ，

2。5

iivalexandra ，

sometimes u need to pick up a book on a whim and just read it in one sitting <3

Matthew Valdez ，

Bummed to give this three stars。 I really loved the setup of this book and it gave me major Daisy Jones and the Six vibes but for more of a younger audience。 There were things in this book that I felt were overly dramatic to the point of disbelief which made me not enjoy it as much。 Did I enjoy reading this book？ Yes。 Do I love the characters？ Also yes。 But overall the plot really lacked and it kind of just fell flat for me。

lluyi ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 i would actually give it a 2。5 maybe i dont know。 i didnt hate it， i actually enjoyed it pretty much。 it just。。 the whole hunter sexualisation thing made me really uncomfortable and i know its what the book wants but still it made me really mad。 i like how in the end everyone ends up committing to their mistakes but hell it was so tiring before that。 i hated every single moment people shat on hunter for talking about his feelings and calling him selfish when they didnt even try to voice their pr i would actually give it a 2。5 maybe i dont know。 i didnt hate it， i actually enjoyed it pretty much。 it just。。 the whole hunter sexualisation thing made me really uncomfortable and i know its what the book wants but still it made me really mad。 i like how in the end everyone ends up committing to their mistakes but hell it was so tiring before that。 i hated every single moment people shat on hunter for talking about his feelings and calling him selfish when they didnt even try to voice their problems。 but i really really liked the representation and the ending 。。。more

Shari Sinclair ，

3。5 starsCute with likeable characters and a fun storyline。 Definitely dramatic in a beginning relationship type of way。 The main character seemed sweet but self centered at times。 I would have liked for some of the other characters and friendships to be fleshed out more。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Kiss & Tell

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Kiss & Tell&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Kiss & Tell&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0