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That was what was important to me for Kai and why it resonated so much. I was able to tap into my lived experience because, in a sense, that was what I went through as a teen. So it was easy to translate that into this fictional world. Granted Kai is from the States, I've never been, so it was easy to find moments where that could translate into his world. What If It's Us meets To All the Boys I've Loved Before in this upbeat and heartfelt boy-meets-boy romance that feels like a modern twist on a '90s rom-com!
Date Me, Bryson Keller is a love letter to the 90’s/early 2000 Rom-Coms that I grew up on. It’s the story of seventeen-year-old, gay-but-not-out Kai Sheridan, who asks popular Bryson Keller out on a date as part of a dare, which changes both their lives forever. The book is best described as a coming out story but with a rom-com sensibility. Readers can expect a tale of first love. There will be trials and tribulations, you may cry but you will also laugh, and I promise that this gay love story has a happy ending. Date Me, Bryson Keller feels nostalgic for the 80s/90s romantic comedies but with a very needed queer twist. I couldn’t put it down! What inspired this fun story? And do you have a favorite romcom? The attention to detail on that front helped with Bryson Keller, to make him the dreamboat. I remember when I sat down to write Bryson Keller, I wanted a queer Peter [Kavinsky] from To All the Boys. I wanted that for the queer community, and for me as a teen. And I think I've gotten pretty close with Bryson Keller, to making him my own dream. Official Couple: By Friday night of the first week, Bryson and Kai cemented themselves as boyfriends, sealing it with a tender yet passionate kiss. Kai Sheridan didn't expect Bryson to say yes. So when Bryson agrees to secretly go out with him, Kai is thrown for a loop. But as the days go by, he discovers there's more to Bryson beneath the surface, and dating him begins to feel less like an act and more like the real thing. Kai knows how the story of a gay boy liking someone straight ends. With his heart on the line, he's awkwardly trying to navigate senior year at school, at home, and in the closet, all while grappling with the fact that this "relationship" will last only five days. After all, Bryson Keller is popular, good-looking, and straight...right?In a word, in a phrase? It’s a preachy bulshit. If you’re looking for a light, cute gay romcom, you should keep looking. This book is not it. This was a read-in-one-night kind of book—which are far and few between for me these days, and subsequently deserves all the stars for entertaining me so completely. People have an idea of what love should be, and my parents loving each other doesn’t fit into everyone’s perfect vision. To clarify, Bryson Keller has this dare: Every week, he must date somebody new, namely the first person who asked him out on Monday morning and continue to do so until Friday afternoon. Very few think this is possible as while he may be the king of Kingvale Academy, Bryson has never seriously dated anyone before. This adorable, good-hearted debut novel by Kevin van Whye totally hit the spot! It was the perfect antidote for all of the heaviness and emotion I've been experiencing lately.
MC: It's so exciting to get these different perspectives. Like, yes, we got the American story first, and now we're going to get that second one that feels more home to you and more natural to you. I'm excited to see what you have next for us. MC: It definitely sounded like it. Like I said, it's that extra second element that adds another layer of own voices and really makes this story unique and that much more profound. We're seeing such an influx of own-voices stories, rightfully so, right now. But I feel like a lot of times you don't also get that extra element of an own-voices performer, so it feels so much more special and so much more important.Kai Sheridan didn’t expect Bryson to say yes. So when Bryson agrees to secretly go out with him, Kai is thrown for a loop. But as the days go by, he discovers there’s more to Bryson beneath the surface, and dating him begins to feel less like an act and more like the real thing. Kai knows how the story of a gay boy liking someone straight ends. With his heart on the line, he’s awkwardly trying to navigate senior year at school, at home, and in the closet, all while grappling with the fact that this “relationship” will last only five days. After all, Bryson Keller is popular, good-looking, and straight . . . right? If you know me you are aware that I’m not much of a television watcher. Especially since the invention of subscription services - mainly because I’m terrified that I might become one of these people . . . . Don't get me wrong the relationship between Bryson and Kai is sweet and romantic which I enjoyed and kept me engaged but (a) I wish it was more the focal point and (b) every time I turned around Kai was being subjected to yet another awful event in his short life. Any of those things would make me dislike a book. And yet, even with all that? After those amazing last 10 chapters that made me laugh and cry, I will relisten to Date Me, Bryson Keller over and over again. To once again relive Kai’s struggles. To once again watch him find home with the best looking guy in his high school, a romantic guy who truly notices and watches and understands Kai. To once again watch his parents rise up and fight for him. And, as annoying as it is, to also see that those who caused the problem will probably have nothing happen to them. Because that’s unfortunately how life is. (no matter how much I would have loved to see Shannon flattened)
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