Just in time for summer, bestselling author Emma Straub invites readers on a whirlwind cruise of nostalgia, identity and really cheesy costumes in AMERICAN FANTASY. 

Boy bands like the Beatles, *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys and New Kids on the Block were capable of inspiring not just brief obsessions but lifelong love affairs. Boy Talk was the 1990s band. Formed by brothers Shawn and Keith Fiore --- the ringleader and the main talent, respectively --- the band also includes Scotty Sanchez, the beaming life of the party; Terrence Campbell, the weirdo; and, most famous of them all, Corey West, the youngest member who blossomed into a legitimate heartthrob and was the only one to successfully pivot from boy bander to Real Celebrity.

Although the band broke up decades ago, a reunion in 2009 has led to additional albums, more shows --- and now a cruise ship. Every year, its aging members descend upon the American Fantasy to greet scores of middle-aged women who still proudly wear the men’s teenage faces on their shirts, their lyrics tattooed into their skin.

"Perfect for those who had posters of iconic rockers above their bed, or for anyone at a major crossroads in their life, AMERICAN FANTASY is a glittery, nostalgia-drenched thrill ride that reminds readers of the magic of starting over…and maybe learning that the magic was in you all along."

Running the show is Sarah, a recently dumped woman who lives and breathes order and attention to detail. She’ll need it, because with the reunion has come long-buried hurts and resentments. Keith, in particular, is struggling with a creeping sense of dread that is only amplified by the dissonance between Keith the man and Keith the Boy Talker.

American Fantasy’s least likely passenger is Annie, who originally planned to attend the cringey cruise with her diehard fan sister. Now she finds herself alone and quite literally unmoored after her sister cancels due to a medical emergency. Like all the women on board, Annie grew up obsessing over Boy Talk. But unlike her sister, she never loved the group quite enough to adopt the title of Talker, the name for the band’s rabid fans. And now, newly divorced and recently demoted at work, Annie can’t quite see the point of it all: the mayhem, the glitter, the speed with which the women can recite every single fact about the band and their favorite member. Anchors aweigh, it’s time to head from Miami to the Bahamas for five booze-filled days.

Annie is quickly stunned by the women’s devotion to these men. But with nothing to lose and no one to see, she soon bonds with her roommate, Maira, and adopts the language of these ladies: inside jokes, whispers about Corey West’s latest scandals (a DUI and an affair with a twentysomething), and the outrageous costumes. Despite her initial side-eye of the nostalgia-driven excursion, Annie soon starts to enjoy the absurdity of it all. She notes, “This was why people turned to religion or watched the Super Bowl at a sports bar instead of alone in their living room. It felt good to be a part of something where your passion was celebrated instead of mocked.” Before she knows it, she is as starstruck as the rest of the ship. And for the first time since the dissolution of her marriage (and even before that), she is interested in men, sex and lead singer Keith.

Unbeknownst to Annie, Keith also is reeling. When she asks him if he’s doing okay during a photo line, he starts to wonder what his misery is costing him and everyone else. He loves his brother and other bandmates, and he adores the Talkers. But lately that hasn’t been enough. His marriage is crumbling, his wife is doing everything but divorce him, and frictions are arising within the group.

As Annie and Keith begin to get to know each other, they also are starting to get to know themselves for the first time. For Annie, this means rediscovering the youthful part of her that has been buried under school drop-off lines and divorce proceedings, and finally asking herself: “Is being alone better or worse than being unhappy?” Intoxicated by the nostalgia and the horny, drunk moms vibe, she begins to let loose. But then she must wonder if she’s just as insane as everyone thinks the Talkers are. Could Keith, the frontman of a band that sold millions of albums, actually be interested in her 50-year-old flailing self? Amid the bouncy tunes of the 1990s, pointy-breasted Madonna costumes and plenty of frozen Sexy Sunrises, Annie and Keith embark on their own American fantasy. But anything can happen when you pair hormones and hope, rum and resentment.

Emma Straub pens a truly delightful and immersive trip down memory lane in AMERICAN FANTASY. Cruiser or cringer, none of us can deny having a favorite band from our teenage years, and she dives deep into the feelings of obsession and hope that these one-sided affairs can inspire. Add to that the locked-room appeal of a giant floating city, and you have the makings of a novel that pulls you in and refuses to let go, much like one of Boy Talk’s hit songs.

Straub also probes questions of autonomy and agency as she follows the band through their biggest cruise yet. In one particularly poignant line, remarking on the ways in which they had to bend to their fans, allowing them access to every part of them, Annie thinks: “It was actually such a feminine way to go through the world --- people commenting on your looks, strangers pawing at you, people projecting their sexual fantasies on you while you were just trying to do your job.” Straub is comfortable facing it all head-on, but she expertly balances these harsher truths with pure fun, a reminder of how good it feels to scream your favorite lyrics and hope that the frontman might wink at you from the stage.

Perfect for those who had posters of iconic rockers above their bed, or for anyone at a major crossroads in their life, AMERICAN FANTASY is a glittery, nostalgia-drenched thrill ride that reminds readers of the magic of starting over…and maybe learning that the magic was in you all along.