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Last month, the Wall Street Journal declared this summer to be 

.”  Those would be boy bands who’ve grown up — think New Kids on the Block, Boys II Men and the Jonas Brothers — along with their fans, who now have more disposable income to fork out. Exhibit A: The Backstreet Boys residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas last summer grossed more than $55 million.

But it’s about more than the money. It’s about the mostly middle-aged women who are no longer afraid of the cringe — and the mostly middle-aged boys-turned-men who are no longer afraid to embrace the passion of their fans. 

Novelist Emma Straub saw that fandom first hand when she went on a New Kids on the Block cruise several years ago — and was blown away by the intensity and camaraderie of the now adult “Blockheads.” That visit inspired her new novel, “

,” which is a deep dive into the lucrative world of a fictional ‘90s-era boy band named Boy Talk and the woman who still worship them. 

Straub joins Kerri Miller on this week’s Big Books and Bold Ideas to talk about boy bands, the pleasure of enjoying them without shame and how aging changes our perceptions of our past — and current — selves.

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Come aboard the American Fantasy, where the (now middle-aged) fans of a (now middle-aged) boy band are congregating to celebrate the (mostly) uncomplicated joys of fandom. It’s a cruise — and a summer beach read — you don’t want to miss. 

Emma Straub celebrates the pleasure of fandom in 'American Fantasy'

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