Date Me, Bryson Keller

By: Kevin van Whye

Narrated by: Vikas Adam

Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

"One of the most adorable, big-hearted, charming books in existence." (Becky Albertalli, number one New York Times best-selling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda)

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!

Everyone knows about the dare: Each week, Bryson Keller must date someone new - the first person to ask him out on Monday morning. Few think Bryson can do it. He may be the king of Fairvale Academy, but he's never really dated before.

Until a boy asks him out, and everything changes.

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?

Drawing on his own experiences, Kevin van Whye delivers an uplifting and poignant coming-out love story inspired by classics like Venio Tachibana and Rihito Takarai's manga Seven Days: Monday-Sunday and the '90s rom-com She's All That. Listeners will root for Kai and Bryson to share their hearts with the world - and with each other.

©2020 Kevin van Whye (P)2020 Listening Library

You get lost in the story

It truly does understands the struggles of teenage life in modern times. Nothing is easy and coming into terms is so much harder when you're deemed not normal...

Date me, Bryson Keller

This was a sweet rom com about two people falling in love. I fell, too

A great read and very authentic

A must read (or listen) for any LGBTQ+ youth, their families and/or their friends. Though high school was many years ago for me, I couldn’t relate to this book more. I wish it had been around when I was a kid. The story was great and the characters were real. The best part, besides having a strong positive message about acceptance it is also an adorable love story. 5 Stars!

The story makes up for the narration

The writing, and the narrator weren’t my favorite but the story is fun and relatable warning 5 stars from me.

Great YA Coming Out story

Highly recommended for the gay young adult, adult or anyone close to this subject. With so much ultra-right wing oppression today this story is needed now more than ever!

WE Are The Main Character

I finished this audiobook within 24 hours. While I’m still trying to process that fact, when I still got sleep and went to work. I was debating over what to listen to with my monthly credit, and I’m glad I picked this one. As a mixed gay man, I related heavily with Kai. This book is a fun, roller coaster ride, with tropes of other typical romances making it all the more enjoyable. Nonetheless is unique in its own way. Definitely recommend.

Great story

very good story, it was hard to put down as it kept me interested all through the book. The narrator was great. I loved listening to his voice telling the story. it's a great combination.

Cute and not too predictable

There are serious moments but overall it's a very uplifting and realistic story. Great characters. I've read a lot of books like this and most are not nearly this good.

Loved this one!

I really enjoyed this story! It was well done and you could connect to the characters as they try to figure out how to navigate what is going on. Kai had been planning on staying hidden and not coming out as gay in high school but when the situation arises he ends up asking out Bryson. Bryson ends up saying yes, it's a dare about the first person asking him out he says yes to, and they decide to keep it quiet between them. I loved how they started to get to know each other and things continued to progress and Bryson had to start asking himself some very important questions. I love that he didn't hide from them. This story was really good and it pulled me in from beginning to end with these characters! I would love to get more and will definitely be checking out this author with other books.

dear god I didn’t want to cry, but I did. loved it

I don’t really know what to say. I mean the book is amazing, love the characters, the plot has great pace, and it feels a mix of experiences, anxieties, and truths I lived with for years. it was so validating to hear someone put words to the experience of surviving by being in the closet - not out of choice, but by sheer preservation.

I’m a queer man (amab), my spouse is trans. I’ve come a really long way since growing up in a relatively educated yet southern/religious part of the south. my parents are also on the spectrum and I didn’t know that at the time.

I relate strongly with the main character. I would have killed to have had someone like bryson in my life. obv that’s often not possible, hence why this is fiction. I don’t fault it for that

the author’s note at the end literally had me in tears. I didn’t have this type of narrative growing up. i’m so happy teens have this kind of thing today. that said, it’s also therapeutic in a sense I can see how someone with similar yet different circumstances, like navigating something like coming out with a loving significant other, might have faired better than I did. it doesn’t help how I was then - and honestly it’s a miracle I’m still here - but it gives me hope for the future that things might be better.

the story is great, recommend on all fronts, period. everything I said above is also true, but you don’t need to be dealing with decades of internalized homophobia to enjoy the story. strongly recommend to anyone interested.