Date Me, Bryson Keller: TikTok made me buy it!

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The more time they spend being fake boyfriends, Kai realizes there’s so much more to Bryson than he thought. And even though he knows Bryson is straight and this whole fake relationship thing is just for fun, Kai starts falling for him. But a little piece of him can’t help but wonder. Is Bryson straight? Is it just for fun? Where the quibbles arose for me is... probably my annoyingly erratic inability to suspend disbelief. So the location of this story which is (as far as I can deduce) about 15-20 minutes outside Los Angeles in contemporary times. They attend a prestigious private academy wherein all the students are vying for spots at places like Stanford. California is arguably one of the most liberal and open-minded states in the union and these students are the new generation so the notion that the vast majority of the student body would not only be homophobic but viciously so was a bit hard to swallow in California. Maybe Alabama or Idaho but Cali? Big city, intelligentsia Cali???? And when he said that Kai coming to his games was different from any girl coming... like I get it we have to paint Kai as the perfect, obvious choice, but why doing it at the cost of degrading the girls that dated Bryson to fangirls? I’m so glad he was the narrator because, as I stated in the title of this review – the last ten chapters make the book.

The good news? Kindle not only provides me easy breezy reading at the push of a button, but I just discovered there’s also a Netflix app. Now we can sit in the same room, he can watch his mafia hitman do their thing and I can watch movies meant for teenagers. I’m expected to look a certain way or act a certain way or like certain things. It’s like there’s a list of things I’m meant to be, and if I’m not, then I’m not authentic enough. I thought a day of this nature would only make sense in that environment, because in a public school I don't think it would matter that much. But rich people are weird, and I think it invited the potential for this story to unfold.

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He does that to other people as well. He has a crush on a boy whom he never really talked to and knows nothing about. (Which is the nature of crushes, of course.) And the whole time he just assumes that said boy is straight. Because straight is the default and people can ever only be straight or gay, right? He actually gets called out on it, but then just keeps doing it for the rest of the book. But then, what else happens to this kid? He gets outed, multiple times, including to his mother and to his whole school. His mother turns out to be as homophobic as you would expect from a straight Catholic, and needs literal days to come around. Both he and his boyfriend get in fights with homophobes. Even though I had fun reading this book, I think the writing definitely could’ve been better. It was like someone was telling me a story word by word.

Hi Everyone. So great to be here. I hope you’re all safe and well! I’m Kevin van Whye the author of Date Me, Bryson Keller . I was born and raised in South Africa, and currently call Johannesburg home. Since this is The Nerd Daily, are there any nerdy things you’re enjoying at the moment and would like to share with us? KVW: Surprisingly, a lot. The funny thing is, I attended a prep academy for, I think it was six months of my life, and I was surrounded by these extremely wealthy people. And it's such an interesting dynamic. I know a lot of people say that they didn't really get why Kai would feel othered, [because] rich people in an academy are really friendly. They know your name, they show an interest, [but] I remember one memory that comes to mind where a girl was having her sweet 16, and she came with invitations and we'd hung out and stuff, but she invited a select few. Those were the people that were the in crowd. 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) MC: I love it. Kevin, thank you so much for joining us and talking about your debut, Date Me, Bryson Keller. Thank you for saying that. Being an ex-film student that makes me happy! I don’t exactly have a dream cast but I did use certain actors for visual reference. When I was drafting the late Cameron Boyce was my Kai and for Bryson it was a French model/actor Maxence Danet-Fauvel. I also think actor Brandon Flynn gives off some Bryson Keller vibes. With Date Me, Bryson Keller releasing in May, what’s next for you? Are you working on another project already? If so, can you spare a few tidbits with us?MC: That's really interesting. Another layer that I wouldn't have necessarily considered. I was a public-school student myself. It's just a different world. Never say never, but as of right now no. Date Me, Bryson Keller was always intended to be a standalone. That being said there might be a story with Yazz in a few years’ time because I’d love to see her when she’s Kai’s age. Date Me, Bryson Keller livens up the fake-dating and friends-to-lovers trope. It showed so well that a well-loved concept can be given a new and gripping spin! What are some of your favorite tropes to encounter in literature? Okay,” I say as I climb from the Jeep. I watch as Bryson drives off. He stops in front of the neighbor’s house and reverses. Bryson rolls down the window and I bend to look into the car.

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. MC: I couldn't agree more. And thank you so much for telling your story and giving us this amazing lesson. Their interactions were everything and on multiple occasions I found myself laughing alongside them and deeply caring for these two young boys. Bryson Keller is captain of the soccer team at Fairvale Academy and the most popular guy in the senior class. He’s never really dated anyone because he isn’t sure he believes in love, and he's afraid of hurting people.MC: Exactly. It's escapism at its finest. And this is an own-voices story. You add that extra element. It's an LGBTQIA+ story, which is something that those '90s rom-coms didn't have, so it's taking that medium and that mode of storytelling and reinventing it. Reclaiming an asian work as one of your own to supposedly "critique" it does not sit well. Trying to perfect another person of colour's work by contextualizing it for a western audience is so wrong. This simply isn't 'inspiration', it is ripping off the hard work of another author without giving credit where it is due. The fact that he would have said nothing about his supposed 'heavy inspiration' if people didn't catch him speaks volumes. This author thought he could escape and profit from stealing someone else's work. I love a good trope, and have spent countless hours on tvtropes.org. Three of my faves are first and foremost the fake-dating trope. I also love “Oh no! There’s only one bed.” Another trope that I adore is ‘enemies-to-lovers’. I love it in all its shapes and forms. Your debut novel had a very cinematic feel to it! If Date Me, Bryson Keller were to get the big screen treatment, who would be your dream cast for Kai and Bryson?