"Say what you want about crazy women, but you have to give us this: we get the job done."
The Band follows a Korean boy band. They're meant to play their roles and be perfect. One isn't and is canceled. But then no one in the band wants to talk about it. The canceled member hides in the home of a woman in LA who tries to help (I didn't quite follow this bit...how'd he end up living there? why was this a good idea?). This book was hard to rate as I liked most of it while reading it but at the end I decided not much had happened and I wasn't sure the point of the story.

OOF! I failed to read the description of this & this was totally not the type of book I thought it was going to be. However, I still enjoyed it. In under 300 pages this book takes you on a rollercoaster. You journey through the parasocial nature of the relationship between fandoms & their idols.
Quite the ride!

Thank you to the author, the publisher, & to NetGalley for the Arc!

I wanted to like The Band but never connected to it even with the themes of fame and music being things I enjoy in stories like this but Christine Ma-Kellams failed to connect the story and these themes in the best way.

DNF at 38%.

This is a story about a K-pop band experiencing a crisis because of the actions of one member. But it’s really about K-pop in general, cancel culture, fandom, Asian identity, and more.

I enjoyed the first quarter of this book a lot. I felt like I had to put my thinking cap on, and I liked the narrative voice with its wit and analysis.

But then the first person chapters started, with Luc and Duri. I just didn’t care about this lady and her family problems. It was all more mundane than I wanted to read about.

I’d still recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a book that looks at k-pop with a critical lens. I read and enjoyed Idol, Burning by Rin Usami - readers of that might enjoy this.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The paths of a bandmember fleeing controversy that otherwise mars his massive musical success and an unhappily married woman cross, bringing them together and providing an opportunity to finally face what each have been trying to avoid in The Band by Christine Ma-Kellams.
Duri is the oldest of a Korean boy band and known as the Pretty Boy, or visual, of the group of five, known collectively as The Band, which is at the height of their stardom. When Duri’s latest single winds up leading to some controversy he disappears from the band, his fans, and his management. While in hiding Duri visits a Los Angeles H-Mart where he meets a Chinese American woman, Mae, who vaguely recognizes him but treats him like an ordinary person instead of fawning over him; inviting himself to her home to cook a specific meal, Duri then resumes his hiding out in Mae’s home, along with her husband and two young sons. While Mae analyzes Duri from her psychologist’s perspective, she notices some behaviors that alarm her, mildly at first but in an increased capacity after Duri’s sudden disappearance from her life after a violent act during an award show that has implications for the fate of The Band as it strongly resonates with the dark history of The Band’s producer’s previous group that had a tragic disbanding.
Told through a few narrative threads flitting from one to the next as the story slowly progresses forward, a tale of stardom, for all its good and ill, and mental health emerges through a variety of pop culture references and textual asides. Though the story meanders through memories of the music producer and his first girl group, interactions between The Band within their group and with their fans, and the events in Mae’s life when Duri enters, the story is tied together well when the conclusion arrives while raising a heated topic of AI use in the arts. The use of endnotes at the end of each chapter instead of footnotes at the end of the page where the indicator appeared made the additional context provided too far removed from the point made such that it was easy to forget what the note was referring to, especially when reading in a digital format. Mae as a narrator was an odd choice that leaves questions lingering, particularly those of “how did she get all these very personal details?” and “why should I care?” about events in her previous and current life; the details included about her life and seemingly salacious tidbits of her history seem to be an effort to flesh out her character but there wasn’t adequate depth or exploration allotted to it for it to pay off in a substantial manner.
Overall, I’d give it a 3 out of 5 stars.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had been so excited to read this novel, but unfortunately it fell a little flat for me. I felt a little confused at some points of the story, didn’t feel cohesive enough. The pacing was lagging a little bit for me. I thought the idea for this novel was a great one, but the execution didn’t pan out well. I’m sad I didn’t enjoy this book and tried so hard to enjoy. I appreciate Christine Ma-Kellams, NetGalley and Atria for giving me this digital arc.

There's a lot in this story if you look for it. I enjoyed overall, and was not able to predict where it was going or the ending, and stayed mostly engaged.

Thanks very much for the free copy for review!!

Interesting read. Almost reads like a documentary or non-fiction. It's possible the author was going for this "feel".

The gist of the story is about the leader of a popular K-pop band who gets into a mess online by posting on social media his annual self-written birthday song. For a number of reasons his Korean following becomes offended. Because of the backlash, he decides to disappear without telling his bandmates or manager.

While browsing a Korean grocery, he comes up on this middle-aged woman whom he mistakes for Korean (she's actually Chinese American). He begins a conversation because he notices she's buying a Korean food item that he tells her he can make from scratch. In a whirlwind, he talks her into letting him make this dinner for her and her family.

She's impressed with him because she realizes who he is right away and decides to trust her gut and take him home. She realizes after arriving home that this guy does not know how to cook! She ends up making the dinner and finding out that he has nowhere to stay because he's on the run she lets him stay at her home with her family. Slowly over a number of days, he divulges what is going on and why he's on the run.

Taking to social media and watching the television reveals the aftermath of him leaving the band. While watching an awards show that he's supposed to be presenting on TV, they see him arrive and even speak at the podium and are shocked and puzzled as to what's going on.

I don't want to say anymore at this point, so as not the spoil the story for anyone else. Let's just say that the ending is a real blast!

thank you to netgallery & atria books for the free earc in exchange for a fair and honest review!

this book explored how psychology affected the story brilliantly, and as a psych student, i found this part of it extremely fascinating. i also enjoy kpop and pop culture references, two things that are slightly important to understanding most of this story. because of this, i think i'm a pretty ideal reader: the one thing that really bothered me throughout was the lack of a coherent storyline. no events really ever meant anything, and the things that were left unexplained stayed that way. don't get me wrong, the toxicity of the kpop industry (and the entertainment industry in general) definitely needs to be talked about, and by doing so through a fiction book it makes the topic much more palatable, but in my opinion i think many of the points discussed in this book would make a great non-fiction book. i would definitely read that.
the author is a great writer - word choice was very obviously important, and dialogue and movement were very streamlined to the point of the book being a breeze to read. i think this book may have just not been for me, because as good in quality as it is, it just didn't pull me in as much as i hoped. overall, though, a solid book and an important one.

I'm obsessed with K-Pop and the cultural impacts, so The Band felt like it should be right up my alley. Even though I know it is written with a dry, academic prose as a purposeful perspective, I found it hard to get into, which is too bad, because I really wanted to like it.

Thank you for the opportunity to read The Band but I didn’t find it enjoyable. Initially, I thought it was a non fiction book by a psychologist as the writing was quite dense. As I persevered, it became better but still not always co-herent. I was able to read it quickly which is something I like. I felt the potential of the story was greater than the resulting novel. The story of the first k-pop group seemed to start and then abruptly stopped before finishing up much later. The open marriage and their relationship seemed odd. The ability of a fan to wreak havoc on the self esteem of the band and a shows programming had a potential for more but was merely a blip as she did not seem to pursue it further nor were there any consequences for her. Are there other novels from this narrator? Why mention them? It did not seem to add to the story. Again, thank you.

So this was not exactly what I thought it would be. This was a pretty dark read but also kind of humorous. The tone was a little odd and the character development lacking. All in all just an okay read read. Loved the concept but wanted something different in the execution.

This book was fun, feels culturally right on time, and the characters/story felt fully flushed out. I think that KPop fans specifically are gonna love this!

"The Band" is a brilliant debut that takes readers on a rollercoaster ride through the dark and tumultuous world of fame, mental health, and the consequences of cancel culture. The story of Sang Duri, a K-pop idol in crisis, and his unlikely savior, a psychologist with her own demons, is a compelling and seductive exploration of complex characters.

The author's witty and biting prose keeps you hooked from start to finish, and the parallels drawn between Duri's plight and the music industry's dark history add layers of depth to the narrative. It's a novel that doesn't shy away from tackling tough topics, including mental health and the dangers of fandom, in an unflinching and thought-provoking manner.

What truly sets "The Band" apart is its ability to make you question the blurred lines between love, obsession, and celebrity. The characters are flawlessly developed, and their interactions are both captivating and problematic, making you question their motives and morality.

While it may not quite reach the elusive five-star status, "The Band" earns its four stars with its whip-smart writing, dark humor, and fearless exploration of the darker aspects of fame and adoration. Perfect for fans of "Mouth to Mouth" and "Black Buck," this book is a must-read for those who crave a thought-provoking and emotionally charged story that lingers in your mind long after you've turned the last page.

The Band is a brutal and unfiltered discussion of fandom culture and the obsessive entitlement fans feel toward those in the public eye. It's satirical and rightfully critical, dealing with mental illness and cancel culture through a lens that demands attention.

I want to speak concisely when talking about this book because it feels important to do so. Not only do I believe that anyone who considers themself a fan of a K-pop idol or group should read this, but anyone who labels themself a fan of any celebrity. Christine Ma-Kellams touches on individual issues within the K-pop sphere but also finds herself delving into conversations that any fan can relate to and/or understand.

There is something beautiful about this novel in that it feels as if it were a self-insert fan fiction, and I mean this with the utmost love as it adds to the story. When speaking of the narrator and the author's life, they blur between the lines of fiction and reality, crossing paths when necessary. There is something to be said for the way she can create a character modeled with the same career, race, and language abilities (I have gathered this much from the about the author section) and bring forth a story that so clearly is meant to negate this very ideal.

And trust me, I can find the irony in combing through her Goodreads before writing about public obsession.

While the synopsis of this story contains what you need to know about The Band before reading it, I want to clarify that it is much more than what you can fit into a few paragraphs. In all honesty, I feel that it could be much more than what the author fits within the small page count (according to Goodreads, 224 pages).

While the heart of the story is about Duri and the narrator's relationship and lives outside of one another, we see glimpses of The Band's producer, nicknamed Pinocchio, and his first attempt at gaining riches and fame through a girl group, while also getting The Band's perspective on Duri's unexpected departure from the group. In seeing the different lives of these characters you are able to see how they deal with fame and their circumstances, all wanting nothing more than for their dreams to become a reality.

The way Ma-Kellams deals with our narrator's savior complex teeters on the line of bizarrely inappropriate while finding yourself questioning whether you would do any different if placed in her position. The hints at having an intimate relationship with Duri and never directly saying so allow you to consider if you are truly any better than the obsessive fans she is describing or if she herself is one who balances between telling the truth and altering it slightly to sound more appealing and to feed her delusions.

K-pop and America
A moment that I find myself drifting back towards is the fictional group's appearance on an American talk show wherein they undergo a stressful situation that is foreign to them even more so than being in a foreign country. The members find themselves scared for their lives because the comedian host believed that she was surprising them. Without giving spoilers away, I wanted to mention this moment in the novel for the sheer reflection that it brings forth when speaking of America and its inability to see how it is perceived outside of its borders.

This section of the book brought a memory back from a year or so ago when Stray Kids were performing in the US on the fourth of July. I remember seeing jokes online about them not recognizing the holiday and the fireworks, believing that they were gunshots. In all honestly, I didn't think much about those jokes again until reading that talk show scene in the novel.

There is something to be said that I can't find the correct words for when speaking about America's belief that other countries and their citizens understand our lifestyles. As Ma-Kellams states in the novel, "America is a land so free—or perhaps so addicted to the idea of freedom—that its people can gun each other down in broad daylight with weapons they can find at the same place a man can get condoms." While some may gain no new knowledge from this moment in the novel or others for that matter, I do feel that there are times for readers to reflect deeply on their actions and/or beliefs.

Mental Illness
The last piece of The Band that I want to talk about is how it deals with mental illness. As it's a close subject to myself, going into this book I wanted to pay attention to how the author allowed the characters to approach that conversation.

We see Duri, who for the first time in seven years, isn't directly under a microscope. He finds himself struggling to cope with living when the world that knows him believes he needs to be canceled for his most recent music video. The metaphorical microscope lens is cracking, threatening to shatter on him.

Throughout the story, Duri finds himself struggling to keep afloat. It's a truly beautiful and simplistic approach to the discussion of depression and specifically how it pertains to those in the public eye who are treated as robots instead of humans.

Conclusion
In the end, I found The Band to be the perfect blend of satire and fiction. It never diverges from its initial path and keeps you from finding lackluster moments as there is so much to this story squeezed into the small page count.

Anyone who has ever considered themself a fan of someone in the public eye should pick this up as I truly believe that you can gain something from this novel. And for the K-pop fans, I will eternally recommend them to pick The Band up whether they read consistently or rarely. This is a book for them when it comes to learning and educating themselves about K-pop and Korean culture, while still being entertaining, funny, and heartwarming at moments.

A big thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

I received an e-ARC of this book from Atria in exchange for an honest review. This book was… interesting. I’m not one who is super into K-Pop, so I definitely don’t think I am the target audience. However, I was able to learn a lot about the culture behind K-Pop fame, various Asian communities, and the pressure that comes with fake.
Again, I am not super into K-Pop so I found myself being slightly confused through parts of the book, and for sure think it would be more enjoyable to read in physical form. There were a lot of footnotes that were harder to follow in e-book form, but I appreciate the author added them in to explain certain aspects of the book, character, culture, etc. I also was a bit confused with the changing POV’s, timelines, etc at points and wish that the shifts were done more clearly with more purposeful intent.
Might not have been the book for me, but I know anyone who enjoys K-Pop would LOVE this book and it’s characters.

Thank you Atria Books & NetGalley for the ARC!

The Band was an interesting book. I found the writing to be a double-edged sword: it was lyrically written, but then on the other hand it was hard to understand. I enjoyed the story, but found it a little wordy and hard to follow at times.

Thank you again for the ARC!

I really loved the highbrow/lowbrow mix here, of both k-pop and academe-speak. It is slow in the beginbut once it starts to come together, it really sings.

I am not going to publish this review. To be honest, I tried to read this. I got about 50 pages in and quit. I found the writing absolutely unreadable. The sentences were tortuously long. The descriptions were flat. I couldn’t really even follow what little of the story I read because the writing was so very unclear and tangled. My apologies.

I was extremely excited for the opportunity to review THE BAND! As soon as I saw the description on NetGalley, I knew it was something I had to at least attempt to get my hands on-- I've been involved fairly heavily in fandom culture throughout my young adult life, and the sociological dynamics behind it fascinate me. While I"m not a KPOP fan myself (and believe my perception of this book would be drastically different if I was), I observe the fandom implosions from afar with equal parts shock and intrigue.

THE BAND is an intellectual deep-dive into such parasocial relationships and infighting, told through the lens of a jaded Chinese-American psychologist. MC lives a perfectly stable and utterly unsatisfying life in a California McMansion with her negligent husband and interchangeable children. When she runs into Sang Du-ri at H-mart, a member of the international megahit The Band on the lam after facing internet cancellation, she shelters him in her home and begins a tumultuous and complicated relationship. The narrative flips between the narrator and Du-ri, The Band's manager, and the members of his failed girl group.

I found the beginning somewhat slow, and struggled to become fully invested in the story. I felt that it flipped a bit too frequently between perspectives and took a bit too long to really delve into the narrator's POV, which made it difficult to emotionally connect. However, I really enjoyed the opportunity to view the inner workings of the industry from various perspectives: band members, managers, fans, and outsiders, Korean and American outside. Once I reached a certain point, however, the narrative streamlined and the pace of events started to pick up, and I started to read at a much quicker pace, with more dedication. The hanging threads of the extraneous characters started to tie together and I found myself pulling out my phone between meetings and classes to keep following them.

Some characters in THE BAND were more fleshed out more than others, but the main narrator was in my opinion the most unique and most unexpected. The tone and voice of the book strikes a peculiar balance between detached and personally overinvested, academic and colloquial, cruel and compassionate, analytical and understanding. The style feels almost like a blend between a nonfiction report and a personal essay narrative, which sounds strange--- and it is--- but works for the tone of the story. The writing is wonderfully rich, extremely well-informed and well-researched, but still maintains humor, levity, and voice. I have to agree with one of the blurbs that THE BAND couldn't have been written by anyone else; Ms. Ma-Kellams possesses a unique talent for both prose and journalism that lends itself excellently to the bizarre and compelling nature of the story. The book delves into some dark and fascinating subject matter regarding the parasocial, toxic, and all-consuming nature of the fan-idol relationship, the exploitation within the industry, and the psychological phenomena behind it--- mirrored in smaller scale by the narrator and Du-ri's relationship. I would be remiss if not to mention the footnotes that pop up throughout each chapter. On my e-ARC, tapping them brought me to an index at the end of the chapter. I can't tell how I feel about them as a stylistic choice: on one hand, they inject both additional voice and supplemental information, but I also found them distracting and jarring. If I were reading on a physical book, I think flipping back and forth would have been a bit frustrating and would have removed me from the narrative.

THE BAND wasn't what I thought it would be, but I'm glad it wasn't; it's hard to think of a book quite like this one. I can see this blowing up upon its release due to the subject matter, but I can also (ironically) see the possibility of backlash from fans expecting something lighter. All in all, I look forward to Ms. Ma-Kellams' next release, and commend her for the achievement that is THE BAND.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.