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.  (Age 14 and older)

"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.