Superfan

Zhang (Four Treasures of the Sky) explores the line between fandom and idol worship in her sharp sophomore outing. Minnie, a college freshman, feels isolated until she discovers the boy band HOURglass, who draw inspiration from K-pop. She obsessively follows the group online and connects there with fellow fans, finding a reprieve from her real-world failures. Zhang alternates Minnie’s story with that of band member Eason, the group’s “bad boy,” who’s harboring a dark secret involving his older sister, Faye, which the group’s Svengali-like mastermind, a record label executive known as The Duke, uses as blackmail to keep him in line. The plot verges on melodrama, whether in revelations about Faye via flashback or a present-day attack on another HOURglass member by a rabid fan. Still, Zhang draws intriguing connections between Minnie and Eason by showing how they each become increasingly dependent on HOURglasses’s fame, as Minnie derives satisfaction from her deepening parasocial relationship with the band, while Eason comes to rely on fans’ adoration, to the point that he finds it “increasingly difficult to leave the stage.” It’s a perceptive take on the limits to a relationship between fan and star. Agent: Stephanie Delman, Trellis Literary. (Feb.)