When you’re 10, it sounds like every line your favorite boy band sings is being aimed directly at you. Somewhere along the line, the illusion shatters. Teenagers are smarter than we give them credit for, and they eventually figure out how parasocial relationships operate: Basically, the fans do all the work, saving up for concert tickets and glitter-painting their idols’ names on their notebooks, while the lab-tested singers soak up all the love … and the allowance money. But what if, instead of the feelings flowing in one direction, a pop star fell hard for one of his followers? Or her mom?
Improving upon the popular beach read by
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