Kiss & Tell

## **Chronology**

***Kiss & Tell*** is a 2022 young adult romance novel written by Iranian-American author Adib Khorram. It was first published on March 22, 2022 by Dial Books.

The book centers on openly gay member Hunter Drake of the diverse pop Canadian boy band, Kiss & Tell. After having broken up with his boyfriend, Hunter's relationship is scrutinized by the public when their sexts get leaked and the accusation of cheating. As a way to save his image, The Label organizes a fake relationship where Hunter dates drummer Kaivan Parvani of the trio, PAR-K, the band's opener on tour. Interspersed throughout are interviews, transcripts, emails, and tabloid articles concerning the characters in relation to the entertainment industry and media consumption.

## Synopsis

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.

## Dedication

*For everyone who's ever been afraid to sing along to boy bands—but secretly wanted to*

Khorram explained of this fear: "Most boy bands cater to the female gaze, particularly the young female gaze, but boy bands are also five boys hanging out all the time, goofing off on stage, so there's always going to be subtextual stuff there. When you're young and gay and trying to pretend to be straight, rejecting anything that girls like is a toxic, but unfortunately common, strategy. It's an outcropping of toxic masculinity and the patriarchy to kind of demonize and diminish anything that even hints at the feminine." He directly addresses this with Kaivan's confession of bearing negative attitudes towards Kiss & Tell in interviews to pass off as straight.

## Background

> When you create things, in a way, you become the product; how do you draw the line between what you share and what you keep to yourself? When you're rich and famous and privileged, what is your responsibility to the world and what's your responsibility to yourself? I don't think there are any easy answers, and everyone has to find the right balance for themselves.
>
> Khorram to *Publishers Weekly*

The author explained that the idea sprung around 2014, upon "watching an awards show and wondering about the bands and what sorts of shenanigans might be going on backstage." It was also about struggling with being open about your personal identity in a professional setting. He wrote the draft in 2020, where he noted of the shift of concerns: "how we consume identity, about the pressures of fame, and about how we take advantage of young celebrity." While the individual members are not based on anyone specifically, it has the standard five-piece group, naming the Backstreet Boys, \*NSYNC, and One Direction as examples; he has watched concerts of the latter for research. He added of the portrayal of fandoms in both positive and toxic aspects:

>
> To see parts of your own self reflected back at you in a way that's bigger than you are. But at the same time, I've seen the ways that people can lose track of their own better natures when love trips into obsession, and when we dehumanize our idols, demand perfection, and refuse to forgive people for being messy humans. I think that's something we all have to learn to balance for ourselves.
>
>
> I also think that our society constantly undervalues things that are popular with teen girls, and I wanted to push back against that. Teen girls shape so much of pop culture!
>
>
>
>

In an interview with *Publishers Weekly*, he told them he grew up with \*NSYNC and Backstreet Boys, and has been surrounded by music in terms of participation in concerts and theater during his adulthood.

## Plot

The Canadian boy band Kiss & Tell embark on their North American headline tour, Come Say Hello, with Iranian-American musical trio PAR-K as their opener. Kiss & Tell are comprised of members Ashton Nightingale, Ethan Nguyen, Ian Souza, Owen Jogia, and Hunter Drake, who all hail from Vancouver, B.C., and went viral with a video that had them scouted by manager Janet Lundgren, who signed them a distribution deal with The Label. PAR-K is composed of brothers Kaivan, Kamran and Karim Parvani, who are fellow labelmates.

Hunter has recently broken up with his boyfriend a month ago, who is Aidan Nightingale, the twin brother of his bandmate, Ashton. After a meet and greet, he converses for the first time with Kaivan, the drummer of PAR-K. They exchange stories of experiences with The Label and Hunter mentions how nice it is to talk "with another gay guy" his age. They are interrupted by Hunter's security lead, Nazeer, to head home. Later, Hunter texts Kaivan, who responds back if there are any good places for food. Hunter invites him to the sandwich shop Sammies at Harbour Centre; tabloids have caught hold of their outing and suggest there to be budding romance. Aidan catches wind of the rumors and leaves behind jealous texts.

At the Seattle, Washington stop of the tour, Kaivan contacts Hunter to hang out at a restaurant. They spot onlookers, and briefly meet their fans. While Hunter finds growing attraction for the fellow musician, Ashton delivers the news of Aidan leaking their sexts online and the accusation of cheating. The Label suggests of turning Hunter's public image into "femme" and to fake a romantic relationship with Kaivan. They also work with their respective management to arrange dates for positive publicity.

When Hunter complains about being casted as the "gay guy" and the only one having to "perform" in the band, Kaivan points out other factors like racism and ethnic discrimination that both his band mates and PAR-K face that also result in performance.

On Park-K's release date of their new single, it clashes with gossip of Hunter possibly getting back with Aidan. Kaivan receives questions about his romantic life instead of the trio's music, and feels frustrated, resulting in Hunter being worried that he's upset with him.

Before the meet and greet, Hunter gets a visit from Aidan and discloses the possibility of a fight with Kaivan. Aidan explains it "sucked, [to be] in [his] shadow," having the similar experience. Aidan adds of what Kaivan had thought of Kiss & Tell's music, including the negative "safe and vapid" comment, which makes Hunter hurt. He feels like he was being used and that Kaivan didn't actually like him if the opinion towards the band was branded as talentless. At the Chicago show, Kaivan stops by with doughnuts and apologizes for the previous day. Hunter parrots the unkind remarks received from Kaivan's interviews of the band. They get into another argument, Kaivan stating of Hunter's privilege for being white, and not thinking of anyone but himself.

At the New York stop, Hunter breaks down in an interview, lashing out at his band mates and running away, leaving the band to perform without him. He finds himself being whisked off to the gay club, BOIZ, and gets drunk. He meets a man named Jared, and they go to the bathroom for sex, despite Hunter being a minor and inebriated. Meanwhile, his band mates start a group chat to discuss how to find him, seeing a recent online article that reports his whereabouts. The group decides to send Kaivan, who successfully finds Hunter and they go out to meet Nazeer. After a shower and a change of clothes, Hunter gets a visit from Ashton, who discusses the real reason of quitting hockey, was because Hunter will be amazing at something else, and Ashton wants to be there.

The next day, Hunter apologizes to his bandmates and manager. Some time after he visits Kaivan's dressing room for the Madison Square Garden concert to apologize. Kaivan also expresses regret for the comments made about the band, admitting of passing as "straight," which was what straight guys did towards pop boy bands like Kiss & Tell. They kiss and forgive each other.

Two months later, Kiss & Tell perform at their concert in São Paulo, Brazil, and introduce their new song, "Crossover," composed by Ashton and written by Hunter.

## Critical reception

*Kirkus Reviews* wrote, "Hunter's myopic focus on his own queerness and objectification in the music industry opens the door for important conversations about the impact of identity, particularly as other members of the ethnically diverse band engage with him in ways that cleverly complicate readers' reactions." *School Library Journal* described it as "An entertaining read that feels a bit like One Direction fan fiction," while *Booklist* assessed, "Khorram does a terrific job of taking readers inside the world of pop music, especially showing the stress involved in celebrity…[he] handles these dramatic complexities like a master, and readers will be grateful for his skill."

*Publishers Weekly* applauded, "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."

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Schulman, Martha (March 10, 2022). "Q&A with Adib Khorram". *Publishers Weekly*.
2. ↑ Kirichanskaya, Michele (November 22, 2022). "Interview with Adib Khorram". *Geeks Out*.
3. ↑ Yao, JoAnn (March 22, 2022). "Q&A with Adib Khorram, Kiss & Tell". *Diverse Books*.
4. ↑ Williams, Jazmin (March 21, 2022). "Interview: Adib Khorram Talks His New Book *Kiss & Tell*, His View on Fandom and Which Boybands Influenced His Story". *The Honey Pop*.
5. ↑ "*Kiss & Tell*". *Kirkus Reviews*. December 23, 2021.