Thank you to Dial Books for sending me a copy of Adib Khorram‘s Kiss & Tell for an honest review.
Summary
From the publisher:
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.
What Works
I love author Adib Khorram’s wit and sarcasm. There were several times throughout reading Kiss & Tell that I was lol’ing. Some of those laughs come from the humor of the everyday — like, yah, foot massages are not as sexy IRL as they are in our minds. Some of those laughs came from Khorram’s scathing social criticism of just about, well, everything. I mean, I filled my Kindle with notes and highlights of passages that tickled me.
I particularly enjoyed how Khorram incorporated media interviews, articles and fanfic into the book as a way to highlight racism and homophobia in the entertainment industry. It was especially on the mark with regard to how we in the queer community can uplift each other or eat one another alive.
To give credit where it’s due, I do not think I’ve read so much about the ins and outs of gay sex in a YA book ever! Especially concerning the social stigma related to positional preferences. Y’all know how I feel about sex-positivity in YA, so this was a major win.
Related: Book Review: If This Gets Out
So too was the inspection of how and where queer and racial politics do and don’t intersect. I mean, 👨🍳 😘. And the way the media constantly misspelled Kaivan’s name and fetishized his band’s Iranian-American heritage?
“Memories” demonstrates an exciting evolution of their exotic, Middle East-infused sound … saffron-flavored bubblegum pop … a delightful and unexpected single, delivering poppy fun with diverse elements. – (quoted from an uncorrected, advanced reader copy)
Obviously, Canadians will be the final judge of this, but Khorram did a good job incorporating Canadian English into the book without it being overkill, eh? Overall, he does a lot of small things with language I really loved, like a mention of a flashing lights warning! And not automatically assuming someone’s gender, etc.
What Doesn’t Work
Unfortunately, a lot of what’s great in Kiss & Tell lends itself to the things that ultimately didn’t work for me. Notice how much of my praise involves words such as “commentary” or “criticism?” At times, I felt like I was reading a persuasive essay more than a novel. More often than not, the characters felt more like ciphers for the cause than, well, characters.
The book spends so much time criticizing the way the entertainment industry treats people of color; but the only other member of Hunter’s band — wow, this is the first time I’ve mentioned the main character in this review — who gets any real development is the only cishetero white guy.
I’m not criticizing that Khorram is criticizing a gay white guy for not recognizing his own privilege or that a bunch of teenagers don’t know how to call each other out “properly.”
I just didn’t quite understand how these conversations hadn’t happened yet, in 2022? I don’t see how the band members could even possibly hide the racism and homophobia they faced from each other.
Related: Book Review: Right Where I Left You
To be honest, I don’t feel like I know much of who Hunter is either, and after rereading the summary, perhaps that’s on purpose. He spends much of the book being whatever “glayvor of the week” The Label wants him to be. Kaivan was much more developed, even though his motives were often thrown into question.
I think that leads into why I had trouble buying Kaivan’s and Hunter’s relationship. I love a good insta-love story, truly. And I totally understand insta-lust. The thing is, Hunter constantly tells us he likes Kaivan so much, but I couldn’t see why. Especially when they’re not particularly kind to one another
Photo credit: Afsoneh Khorram
Final Thoughts
I’m an avid re-reader of books, and while I’m glad I read Kiss & Tell for the interesting ideas it sets forth, it’s not one I’ll come back to. I will say that Khorram has been on my TBR list for a while now and this novel has made me more excited, not less, to read his other works. Kiss & Tell is worth a read if you’re interested in internet and entertainment politics, but you probably won’t be aching to “kiss and tell,” as it were.
Kiss & Tell is out on March 22. This is definitely one to pick up at your local library.
https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/sex-positive-ya-books-lgbtq/
- Millennial Misremembers: THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS - December 2, 2024
- Millennial Misremembers: THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL - November 20, 2024
- The Origin of Tropes: Enemies-to-Lovers - November 14, 2024
