Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The music, the fans, the choreography, the clothes, the merch, the hysteria... the hair. The pop phenomenon that dominated the 1990s and 2000s has left a long-lasting mark on culture, yet no book has fully celebrated them. Maria Sherman has a deep love of boy bands and has written extensively on them for Jezebel, where she currently works, as well as in Rolling Stone, Vulture, and more. In this book, her first, she celebrates the boy band revolution with a mix of serious fandom and a tongue-in-cheek attitude. Larger Than Life begins with a brief look at the history of boy bands starting with The Beatles and touching on groups from the 1970s and early 1980s like the Jackson 5 and Menudo. Sherman then moves on the heart of the book -- the boy bands of the 80s, 90s, 2000s, and 2010s. Bands including NKOTB, Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, One Direction, and K-Pop bands like BTS are given a capsule biography with spreads on solo careers (the good and the bad), one hit wonders, dating, in-fighting, haters, and more mini-essays interspersed throughout. Informative and funny but never fan-shaming, Larger Than Life is the ultimate nostalgic guide to the musical genre and proof that this once maligned musical genre should no longer be under-appreciated.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

At first glance, with its cartoony illustrations and pulpy feel, this book looks more like a fan magazine a smitten tween might buy to memorize details about her favorite boy band member--or bias, as the K-Pop kids say. But don't be fooled by the design--the F-bomb in the book's second sentence makes it clear that this isn't targeted at the YA crowd. Rather, it's a witty, irreverent, but almost scholarly primer on all things boy band. Music writer and cultural critic Sherman includes band profiles and member biographies, fashion and slang guides, and time lines and histories tracing boy bands all the way back to composer Frantz Liszt in the mid-19th century; other artists covered include Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, the Osmonds, New Edition, and the Backstreet Boys. This wry, incisive work notes that boy bands are often dismissed, loathed and--not without reason--seen as having been artificially manufactured by an exploitative entertainment industry. Readers are challenged to admit these realities, then empowered not to care, and, finally, urged to continue loving these groups anyway. VERDICT Most readers will appreciate this analysis and celebration of boy bands.--Jeffrey Hastings, Howell Carnegie Dist. Lib, Howell, MI

Booklist Review

Boy bands are an art and a science and don't deserve the widespread derision they receive, all of which Sherman lays out here. First, she illustrates the history of the boy band, from its precursor, Lisztomania, to New Edition, Menudo, New Kids on the Block, and One Direction to current K-Pop obsession, BTS. She deconstructs the boy band archetypes (the Hearthrob, the Bad Boy, the Quiet One) and iconic boy band fashion (so much era-defining denim!) and provides glossaries of boy band vocab. She also addresses predatory producers like Lou Perlman, who created and scammed Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC, the appropriation of Black music by "safe"-looking, mostly white performers, and the sexual politics of female fandom. Sherman neither claims to be unbiased nor definitive, and though she provides plenty of nostalgia, she also smartly explores the cultural landscape that allowed boy bands to flourish and the lasting impact of these groups. Readers will want to have a playlist queued up.

Kirkus Book Review

A music journalist examines the cultural mystique of boy bands. Since her early 20s, Sherman has been an exuberant fan of One Direction (currently on an indefinite hiatus), and this giddy fandom background and loyalty informs a vivid report on the history, influence, notoriety, and cultural impact of boy bands. In the opening timeline, the author lays out a century's worth of pop evolution, which complements her discussions of foundational origins, "commandments" ("Apologies for the sacrilege, but if you're into boy bands, you've already converted into the most persuasive spiritual practice there is"), and the archetypes ("heartthrob," "bad boy") common among such groups as New Edition, New Kids on the Block, Backstreet Boys, the Jonas Brothers, and *NSYNC. With splashes of color and illustrations befitting her buoyant subject, Sherman profiles these groups and other prominent male ensembles, highlighting their histories, defining moments, and lyrical messages--and, for the most part, objectively evaluating their impact on pop-music culture and society. While not a definitive history, the author does cover lesser stars in the boy-band firmament, such as 98 Degrees and Dream Street. Superfans who grow weary with Sherman's pop history lesson will find entertaining diversions in numerous sidebars, including the "Style Watch" section, which examines dress codes and fashion trends inspired by the bands. Recurring themes throughout the narrative are the manipulation and exploitation suffered by most of the bands, courtesy of swindling managers and sketchy founders like Lou Pearlman. In a particularly relevant section, the author chronicles the meteoric rise of BTS and the K-Pop explosion, illuminating how these groups both reflect and influence cultural changes in South Korea. Though the book is unabashedly enthusiastic, Sherman takes her subject seriously (even when many members of the bands did not). In the final chapter, the author offers a respectful nod to the future of the genre, spotlighting the notable groups that have sprouted up in the last decade. A flashy and knowledgeable foray into boy-band fever. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.