Akari's obsession is fatalistic and intense and Usami's prose (translated by Asa Yoneda)
renders it and the hold it has on her tenuous life ably and affectingly. . . . it will
especially resonate with readers familiar with real-life superfandoms such as One Direction's
at the height of its fame down to details such as sought-after exclusive merch and hateful
online comments sections. A short engrossing novel that captures the essence of obsessive
fandom. -- Kirkus (starred review) What's impressive about this novel is the author's ability
to empathize with Akari's all-consuming love for Masaki while showing just how damaging this
relationship is to Akari and everyone around her. The book left me heartbroken yet hopeful and
excited for more Usami novels to come. -- NPR.org Haunting and sincere Idol Burning subverts
and astonishes. Rin Usami balances humor obsession heartbreak and sacrifice in her debut
crafting a story that's both enveloping and expansive. Usami's writing is thrilling and deft
and her novel illuminates the shadows cloaking our digital lives leaving us with honesty and
grace in equal measures. Idol Burning is a barnburner and a prayer and a testament to the
lengths that we'll go to reach for our dreams.-Bryan Washington award-winning author of
Memorial and Lot The novel that lit the Japanese publishing world on fire: From a breathtaking
up-and-coming writer a twenty-first century Catcher in the Rye that brilliantly explores toxic
fandom social media and alienated adolescence. Akari is a high school student obsessed with
oshi Masaki Ueno a member of the popular J-Pop group Maza Maza. She writes a blog devoted to
him and spends hours addictively scrolling for information about him and his life. Desperate
to analyze and understand him Akari hopes to eventually see the world through his eyes. It is
a devotion that borders on the religious: Masaki is her savior her backbone someone she
believes she cannot survive without-even though she's never actually met him. When rumors
surface that her idol assaulted a female fan social media explodes. Akari immediately begins
sifting through everything she can find about the scandal and shares every detail to her
blog-including Masaki's denials and pleas to his fans-drawing numerous readers eager for her
updates. But the organized knowledgeable persona Akari presents online is totally different
from the socially awkward unfocused teenager she is in real life. As Masaki's situation
spirals his troubles threaten to tear apart her life too. Instead of finding a way to break
free to save herself Akari becomes even more fanatical about Masaki still believing her idol
is the only person who understands her. A blistering novel of fame disconnection obsession
and disillusion by a young writer not much older than the novel's heroine Idol Burning shines
a white-hot spotlight on fandom and stan culture the money-making schemes of the pop idol
industry the seductive power of social media and the powerful emotional void that opens when
an idol falls from grace only to become a real-and very flawed-person. Translated from the
Japanese by Asa Yoneda.
