With heart and humor, Adib Khorram explores the cost of fame, relationship drama, and queer exploitation in his upcoming YA novel Kiss & Tell – and the cover is debuting exclusively on PRIDE.
"Hunter never expected to be a boy band star, but, well, here he is," the official book description reads. "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)."
It continues:
"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."
Ahead of the cover reveal, we had a quick chat with Khorram about the premise, the personal sentiment behind Kiss & Tell, and what LGBTQ+ readers can learn.
PRIDE: What were your first thoughts when you saw the cover?
Khorram: From the moment the cover showed up in my inbox I absolutely adored it. I think I probably gasped out loud! It's so fun and youthful and queer. Plus it made me feel like I was at a live concert—one of my favorite things, and something I've missed doing in the pandemic.
What does this book mean to you personally?
I wrote a first draft of what would become Kiss & Tell back in 2014. At the time I was navigating being out in my professional life so the story had a very different through-line, but it never quite worked. I came back to it early in 2020, before the pandemic, and found I was thinking about very different things: namely, the way that media consumes and commodifies identity, especially for marginalized people, and young people, and especially celebrities who are both. And then, as the pandemic happened, I found myself grappling with feelings of isolation and disconnection, which I think fed into the isolation one feels as a public figure. I don't know if this would've been the same book if the pandemic hadn't happened, as challenging as it was to write.
Ultimately, though, I think it's the best thing I've ever written. It challenged me (as did my editor, Dana, and my agent, Molly) to go deeper, ask tougher questions, extend more humanity to each and every character. I flexed new writing muscles, and discovered new elements of my own craft, and I'm really proud of it. (It feels weird to say that, since I'm not usually one to pat myself on the back, but it IS Pride Month!)
What do you hope LGBTQ+ readers glean from it?
I hope readers will come away from this book knowing that they do not owe any part of themselves to the world that they don't choose to share: not their queerness, not their love lives, not any part of their identity. They are full and complete human beings, not items for consumption. I also hope they'll take from it a sense of their own power and agency, and the ability we have as queer people to radically transform our world for the better.
Kiss & Tell is expected to be released on March 22, 2022.
