AMERICAN FANTASY

“Maybe that was nostalgia after all, that the music was a direct vein to her own childhood, the least complicated part of her life … All around Annie, women were dancing and singing, and for a second, she closed her eyes and thought, no one else will ever understand this, except of course everyone’s standing beside her, who all understood it perfectly.”

Welcome to American Fantasy: a 90s boy band fan cruise filled with women seeking photo ops with their favorite Boy Talk member, and a fleeting chance to reclaim their youth. Annie, who finds herself solo on the ship, is at a career crossroads and reeling from a romantic rejection. She is not looking to relive her lovestruck teen years - but an unexpected connection with her favorite, now middle aged band member may be just what she needs to start her off-the-ship real life, and chart a course all her own.

Emma Straub always knows just how to harness our yearning for our younger selves, and everything we loved and obsessed over during those simpler years. But she also holds a mirror up to the wobbly present, letting us love that version of ourselves too. This Time Tomorrow played with this theme in a more somber way. But here, in this novel, the cruise is a joyful, bubblegum take on that idea, with teen heartthrobs, frothy cocktails, and anonymous inhibition. Come for the premise, stay for the 90s nostalgia vibes - boy band fandom is 4eva.

Unless you count cruise buffet fare with an abundance of Jello, there’s not a lot of food in this book. BUT there is plenty of drinking, especially the ship’s signature cocktail, the “Sexy Sunrise,” which inspired this pineapple upside down cake spiked with Malibu rum, a dash of orange zest and ofc maraschino cherries. It’s a sweet, sweet fantasy - just with more flour, sugar and butter. Cheers!