Hey, I'm Tinbeet Armias, and this is NPR's Book of the Day, boy bands, known for catchy music, impeccable dance moves, and often for being composed of youthful heartthrobs.

But what happens when those idols age and when their fame and fandom fade?

That's the topic of the new novel American Fantasy by Emma Straub. To write the book, Straub tells NPR's Justine Kennan, she delved into the

culture of boy band fandom. Before we get to the antics on board Emma Straub's seventh novel,

it's important to know that while the premise may sound silly, it's seriously heartfelt and bursting with joy.

In the fall of 2022, Straub saw a story online about new kids on the block taking an annual cruise.

Well, as a child of the 1980s, it was just like a bell started to ring, you know, because I knew it could be a novel, and I knew that it would bring me pleasure.

So that's why she invented the band, Boy Talk, and their rabid fans, the talkers.

In American fantasy, they set sail for five days of debauchery and nostalgia.

The boy band, of course, has aged.

They're all men in their 50s.

Actually, most everyone on the boat is over 50.

So that shapes the fun in all kinds of ways.

I mean, the women in the book, for sure, are like, they're not trying to recreate anything.

They're trying to enjoy themselves now. This is an escape. You know, this is,

this is a trip that they have looked forward to planned for a year and they are going to enjoy it.

They are going to enjoy every minute of it. At the book center is 50-year-old Annie,

who's recently divorced and whose job working for an opera

magazine is entering a third act. She was a big fan of Boy Talk, but it was her sister, Catherine,

who talked her into taking the American fantasy trip. Catherine ultimately can't make it,

so Annie sets sail on her own. Here's Emma Straub.

She suddenly had so many questions for her sister, information that Catherine would be spilling

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