American Fantasy

I can hardly remember the last time I read anything that brought me such pure joy. I was up too late reading, then got up too early to go back to reading. All I wanted was American Fantasy. It brims with truth and humanity and insight, and it made me snort like a pig. I loved it. I think the entire country will love it.

Ann Patchett

Wow, who knew that what my life was missing was a book about boats and boybands?! This is a treasure chest of a story, filled with Straub’s signature warmth, humour, compassion and insight. I rooted for these characters and worried about them, and by the end, much like the Talkers, I was completely swept away by my love for them. An unmitigated pleasure from start to finish. I did not want to return to dry land!

Coco Mellors

So much fun but with such depth to the characters. Looking at midlife through Annie’s lens is a buoying experience. Even though it's super accurate about the reckonings of mid-life, the tone is blithe and hopeful, and that is so NEEDED right now. I can’t TELL you the enjoyment it gave me.

Marian Keyes

Straub writes with such verve and sympathetic understanding of her characters . . . Reading this novel has all the pleasures of reading one of Anne Tyler's compelling family portraits

New York Times

Straub writes beautifully and amusingly . . . hard to beat for sheer charm and gentle wit

Daily Mail

Hugely talented . . . intelligent holiday reading

Woman's Hour, BBC Radio 4

A delicious novel about being a grown-up girl who once loved something very, very much. You don't have to be a fan of something to love American Fantasy, but if you've ever truly devoted yourself to a boy band or a TV show or even a series of books, you will feel so understood by this novel.

Rainbow Rowell

Emma Straub [is] the queen of the smart-girl summer read

Entertainment Weekly

It’s Straub, so you know it’s going to be funny, touching, and filled with family drama.

Glamour