These girls are Nsane!
A group of teenage girls obsessed with a boy band wind up kidnapping one of the band members in the out-of-control new young adult novel “Kill the Boy Band.” The author of the black comedy, who will appear at Word bookstore on March 1, says it ain’t no lie — she can relate to the obsessions displayed by by by the characters in her debut novel.
“I definitely recognize that as a fan myself, I know what it means to be a very passionate fan in general. I know where that passion comes from,” said Gravesend author Goldy Moldavsky.
However, Moldavsky’s devotion to the band Death Cab for Cutie never got to the point of stalking the band members and holding them against their will, she says. But the felonious (and potentially murderous) actions of her characters are just an exaggerated result of feelings any fan can undertand, she says.
“I hope that people can relate to it even though it is outlandish,” said Moldavsky. “A lot of people know what it is like to be a big fan, to be passionate about something. I take that passion and make it into an extreme.”
Moldavsky was inspired to write the book after watching a British documentary about boy band-crazed teenage girls. She became fascinated by the outlandish things the fans said about the tightly-choreographed objects of their obsession, she said — “dark things about what they would do if they had access to these boys and if anyone came between them.”
She created her own fictional band “The Ruperts,” but used details from real-life fans she had witnessed or heard about, including a story about a teenage girl with the face of pop star Enrique Iglesias tattooed on her chest. The idea was so outlandish she had to include it in her book, Moldavsky said.
The Brooklyn native declined to reveal much about her follow-up novel, but it seems to involve a similar macabre combination of youth and violence.
“I can’t say too much about it,” she said. “But it’s about kids at a summer camp who are cut-throat idealists.”
“Kill the Boy Band” reading at Word [126 Franklin St. between Milton and Noble streets in Greenpoint, (718) 383–0096, www.wordb
