American Fantasy: A Novel
"I can hardly remember the last time I read anything that brought me such pure joy.”— Ann Patchett

American Fantasy is such a fun, delicious, big-hearted book.” –Taylor Jenkins Reid

“You will feel so understood by this novel.” –Rainbow Rowell

From New York Times bestselling author of This Time Tomorrow, an irresistible story about what happens when your teenage fantasy comes true after you’re already an adult.


When the American Fantasy cruise ship sets sail for a four-day themed voyage, aboard are all five members of a famous, nineties-era boy band and three thousand screaming women who have worshipped them since childhood.

Feeling slightly out of place amid this crowd is Annie, newly divorced, turning fifty with an empty nest, and here on a lark to appease her sister. Yet when the lights come up and the idols of her youth begin to sing, something is unlocked. Call it memory. Call it nostalgia. Call it the chemical reaction of hormones, hope, and sexual reawakening. Between the slushy alcoholic drinks, the familiar music, and the throngs of middle-aged women acting like lovesick teenagers, Annie finally reconnects to a long-submerged part of herself. By the time she meets one of the band members—not just a celebrity but someone in need of a friend—she has accessed a new sense of possibility.

In a smart and incisive book packed with laugh-out-loud reflections on fame, aging, marriage, and middle age, Emma Straub delivers a richly textured story that shows us real passion is never truly lost, that what we love makes us who we are, and that deep meaning can sometimes be found in a sea of screaming fans.
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American Fantasy: A Novel
"I can hardly remember the last time I read anything that brought me such pure joy.”— Ann Patchett

American Fantasy is such a fun, delicious, big-hearted book.” –Taylor Jenkins Reid

“You will feel so understood by this novel.” –Rainbow Rowell

From New York Times bestselling author of This Time Tomorrow, an irresistible story about what happens when your teenage fantasy comes true after you’re already an adult.


When the American Fantasy cruise ship sets sail for a four-day themed voyage, aboard are all five members of a famous, nineties-era boy band and three thousand screaming women who have worshipped them since childhood.

Feeling slightly out of place amid this crowd is Annie, newly divorced, turning fifty with an empty nest, and here on a lark to appease her sister. Yet when the lights come up and the idols of her youth begin to sing, something is unlocked. Call it memory. Call it nostalgia. Call it the chemical reaction of hormones, hope, and sexual reawakening. Between the slushy alcoholic drinks, the familiar music, and the throngs of middle-aged women acting like lovesick teenagers, Annie finally reconnects to a long-submerged part of herself. By the time she meets one of the band members—not just a celebrity but someone in need of a friend—she has accessed a new sense of possibility.

In a smart and incisive book packed with laugh-out-loud reflections on fame, aging, marriage, and middle age, Emma Straub delivers a richly textured story that shows us real passion is never truly lost, that what we love makes us who we are, and that deep meaning can sometimes be found in a sea of screaming fans.
14.99 Pre Order
American Fantasy: A Novel

American Fantasy: A Novel

by Emma Straub
American Fantasy: A Novel

American Fantasy: A Novel

by Emma Straub

eBook

$14.99 
Available for Pre-Order. This item will be released on April 7, 2026

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Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Set sail on a parasocial voyage of friendship, nostalgia and resurfaced teen angst. Emma Straub’s latest story follows Annie, who boards a ‘90s-themed cruise ship with her sister, and unexpectedly bonds with her favorite boy band while rediscovering the joys — and frustrations — of her youth.

"I can hardly remember the last time I read anything that brought me such pure joy.”— Ann Patchett

American Fantasy is such a fun, delicious, big-hearted book.” –Taylor Jenkins Reid

“You will feel so understood by this novel.” –Rainbow Rowell

From New York Times bestselling author of This Time Tomorrow, an irresistible story about what happens when your teenage fantasy comes true after you’re already an adult.


When the American Fantasy cruise ship sets sail for a four-day themed voyage, aboard are all five members of a famous, nineties-era boy band and three thousand screaming women who have worshipped them since childhood.

Feeling slightly out of place amid this crowd is Annie, newly divorced, turning fifty with an empty nest, and here on a lark to appease her sister. Yet when the lights come up and the idols of her youth begin to sing, something is unlocked. Call it memory. Call it nostalgia. Call it the chemical reaction of hormones, hope, and sexual reawakening. Between the slushy alcoholic drinks, the familiar music, and the throngs of middle-aged women acting like lovesick teenagers, Annie finally reconnects to a long-submerged part of herself. By the time she meets one of the band members—not just a celebrity but someone in need of a friend—she has accessed a new sense of possibility.

In a smart and incisive book packed with laugh-out-loud reflections on fame, aging, marriage, and middle age, Emma Straub delivers a richly textured story that shows us real passion is never truly lost, that what we love makes us who we are, and that deep meaning can sometimes be found in a sea of screaming fans.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9798217046867
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date: 04/07/2026
Sold by: Penguin Group
Format: eBook
Pages: 304

About the Author

About The Author
Emma Straub is a Guggenheim fellow and the New York Times bestselling author of seven books for adults, including American Fantasy, This Time Tomorrow, All Adults Here, Modern Lovers and The Vacationers. She and her husband own Books Are Magic, an independent bookstore in Brooklyn, New York.
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