American Fantasy

Brought to you by Penguin.

EMBARK ON THE JOYOUS AND NOSTALGIC JOURNEY OF A LIFETIME IN THE LATEST NOVEL FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THIS TIME TOMORROW AND ALL ADULTS HERE

Annie is on a journey straight back to her past.

When the American Fantasy cruise ship sets sail for a four-day themed voyage, aboard are all five members of a famous 1990s boyband, and three thousand women who have worshipped them since their youth.

Newly divorced and with an empty nest, Annie is on board as a lark to appease her sister. Once a diehard fan of the band as a teen, she now feels out of place amid the sea of bedazzling t-shirts bearing the singers’ faces. Yet when the lights go down, the cocktails are poured and the band starts singing, Annie finally reconnects to a long-submerged part of herself.

As she encounters Keith, the band’s slightly depressed, fifty-something lead singer – not just a celebrity but someone clearly in need of a friend – she feels like anything is possible.

But is the connection between Annie and Keith just a fantasy? Or is this the beginning of a new chapter for them both?

Full of laugh-out-loud reflections on fame, nostalgia, marriage and growing up, American Fantasy celebrates the magic of revisiting our youth, and the even greater magic of starting anew.

'Pure joy' Ann Patchett 'Fun, delicious, big-hearted' Taylor Jenkins Reid 'Criminally readable' Maria Semple 'I can't TELL you the enjoyment it gave me' Marian Keyes 'I was completely swept away' Coco Mellors 'You will feel so understood by this novel' Rainbow Rowell

© Emma Straub 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

© 2026 Penguin (Lydbog): 9781405976046

Udgivelsesdato

Lydbog: 14. maj 2026