Kiss & Tell
The ups and downs of pop-star life are illuminated during the first U.S. tour of Canadian teenage boy band Kiss & Tell. As the tour begins, Hunter is nursing a broken heart over his split with Aidan, the twin brother of one of Hunter’s bandmates. Like their highly publicized relationship, Hunter and Aidan’s breakup received a lot of media attention. But soon Hunter is moving on with Iranian American Kaivan, the drummer of Kiss & Tell’s opening act, and in retaliation Aidan goes public with old text messages revealing details of his and Hunter’s sexual relationship and drinking. It’s not only a violation of Hunter’s privacy but a public relations disaster from his record label’s perspective, revealing information counter to Hunter’s innocent public persona. The record label swoops in to run damage control: upping Hunter’s feminine image via his wardrobe and requesting he alter his behavior while out on dates with Kaivan. As the stress of maintaining an inauthentic image mounts, Hunter, who is white, feels that the pressures of celebrity are unfairly piled on him for being gay; he’s oblivious to the racism his non-white bandmates regularly experience. The intersections of fame, sexuality, and race are thoughtfully explored in a narrative that liberally incorporates tabloid articles, tweets, emails among record label executives, and fan fiction about Hunter’s romantic relationships. ©2022 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
CCBC Age Recommendation: Age 14 and older
Age Range:
Grades 9-12 (Age 14 and older)
Format:
Novel
Subjects:
Celebrity/Fame
Gays
Iranians and Iranian Americans
LGBTQ+ Persons
Love and Romance
Music and Musicians
Racism
Sex and Sexuality
Social Media
Diversity subjects:
Asian
Middle East
LGBTQ Character/Topic
Publishers:
Dial, Penguin Random House
Publish Year: 2022
Pages: 378
ISBN: 9780593325261
CCBC Location: Fiction, Khorram