Today on the Rambling Realm, I’d love to highlight an incredible novel by debut author Christine Ma-Kellams. The Band is a whip-smart, darkly funny, and biting debut that follows a psychologist with a savior complex who offers shelter to a recently cancelled K-pop idol on the run.

Pitch

A Kpop boy bander finds himself cancelled after a viral song drudges up old ethnic rivalries, but when he escapes by hiding in the McMansion of an unhappily married therapist with a Savior complex, the solution is as disruptive as the problem.

About the Author

Intrigued? Well, why not read the full plot description?

Description

Sang Duri is the eldest member and “visual” of a Korean boy band at the apex of global superstardom. But when his latest solo single accidentally leads to controversy, he’s abruptly cancelled.
To spare the band from fallout with obsessive fans and overbearing management, Duri disappears from the public eye by hiding out in the McMansion of a Chinese American woman he meets in a Los Angeles H-Mart. But his rescuer is both unhappily married with children and a psychologist with a savior complex, a combination that makes their potential union both seductive and incredibly problematic.
Meanwhile, Duri’s cancellation catapults not only a series of repressed memories from his music producer’s earlier years about the original girl group whose tragic disbanding preceded his current success, but also a spiral of violent interactions that culminates in an award show event with reverberations that forever change the fates of both the band members and the music industry.
In its indicting portrayal of mental health and public obsession, fandom, and cancel culture, The Band considers the many ways in which love and celebrity can devolve into something far more sinister when their demands are unmet.

What else should you know?

Release Date for The Band is April 16, 2024. Don’t forget to add the book to your Want-To-Read! You can get your copy now by following this link. You can also keep up with Christine Ma-Kellam’s future work and latest updates by visiting her website or following her on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Goodreads.