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Holy Boy
Four obsessed women kidnap a K-Pop idol with unexpected and devastating results in this chilling, thought-provoking literary thriller that blends the dark impulsions of
Butter
with the ratcheting tension of
Misery.
Four wildly different women are consumed by Yosep, a dreamy twenty-one-year-old K-pop idol known as “the boy.”
Ahna, a woman in her forties, first sought the company of younger men to quell the loneliness she experienced accompanying her husband on his trips abroad. When an affluent friend introduces her to the boy and she sees him on television, Ahna joins his cultish fandom. She soon bonds with Mihee, a beautiful, socially isolated woman in her twenties, who also worships the boy, and they eventually meet two other Nami, a young shaman, and Heeae, who worked as a maid for Ahna’s family and is Yosep’s birth mother. Heeae gave her son up for adoption to ensure him a better life but yearns to be reunited.
Fierce and unapologetic, each woman has her own reason for wanting Yosep—a yawning desperation that spawns a dangerous plan. After taking the young singer hostage at a mansion in the mountains of South Korea’s Gangwon Province, Ahna, Yosep, Mihee, Nami, and Heeae will go to extreme lengths to keep him there, no matter how coercive—or murderous—the means. But the fervency that united this formidable team begins to fracture them, igniting a holy war over that sets each woman against the other. Who will emerge the victor? And just how far will she go to win the boy for herself?
A probing, psychological novel as thrilling as a rollercoaster ride, told in exquisite, breathtaking prose, Holy Boy is a subversive, intricately plotted novel that explores the perils of objectification, the dark undercurrents of female desire, and the precarity of love.
Translated from the Korean by Joheun Lee
Four wildly different women are consumed by Yosep, a dreamy twenty-one-year-old K-pop idol known as “the boy.”
Ahna, a woman in her forties, first sought the company of younger men to quell the loneliness she experienced accompanying her husband on his trips abroad. When an affluent friend introduces her to the boy and she sees him on television, Ahna joins his cultish fandom. She soon bonds with Mihee, a beautiful, socially isolated woman in her twenties, who also worships the boy, and they eventually meet two other Nami, a young shaman, and Heeae, who worked as a maid for Ahna’s family and is Yosep’s birth mother. Heeae gave her son up for adoption to ensure him a better life but yearns to be reunited.
Fierce and unapologetic, each woman has her own reason for wanting Yosep—a yawning desperation that spawns a dangerous plan. After taking the young singer hostage at a mansion in the mountains of South Korea’s Gangwon Province, Ahna, Yosep, Mihee, Nami, and Heeae will go to extreme lengths to keep him there, no matter how coercive—or murderous—the means. But the fervency that united this formidable team begins to fracture them, igniting a holy war over that sets each woman against the other. Who will emerge the victor? And just how far will she go to win the boy for herself?
A probing, psychological novel as thrilling as a rollercoaster ride, told in exquisite, breathtaking prose, Holy Boy is a subversive, intricately plotted novel that explores the perils of objectification, the dark undercurrents of female desire, and the precarity of love.
Translated from the Korean by Joheun Lee
320 pages, Paperback
First published February 5, 2026
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tried-it
February 4, 2026This is weird & sinister & makes you feel a little uncomfortable (which I think is the point). The writing style is interesting and took a bit for me to get used to, but I think it’s very effective for increasing that uncomfortable feeling.
I think this will work for those who like weird lit. Something different. something uncomfortable and can handle the subject and content.
I was quite enjoying this, it’s not my usual genre, but I like to sprinkle in something different to break up the fantasy and romance and this was definitely that.
Unfortunately it is a DNF for me at 28% due to the nature of the content. I wish there had been a content warning or author’s note available for this. There are a number of heavier topics, please read with care.
Audio Narration: 4/5. Solid performance. Pacing and inflection were good. Pausing at the end of sentences was a bit exaggerated.
| IG | TikTok |
Thank you HarperVia for the gifted book. All opinions are my own.
I think this will work for those who like weird lit. Something different. something uncomfortable and can handle the subject and content.
I was quite enjoying this, it’s not my usual genre, but I like to sprinkle in something different to break up the fantasy and romance and this was definitely that.
Unfortunately it is a DNF for me at 28% due to the nature of the content. I wish there had been a content warning or author’s note available for this. There are a number of heavier topics, please read with care.
Audio Narration: 4/5. Solid performance. Pacing and inflection were good. Pausing at the end of sentences was a bit exaggerated.
| IG | TikTok |
Thank you HarperVia for the gifted book. All opinions are my own.
February 5, 2026
This book was going to be a 2star read up until the epilogue in which the daughter of the victim who was kidnapped basically calls her father a succubus and that he wanted to be raped because he was bored with his life??? What in gods name makes someone write that? I understand that it may be to show the depravity of these women's mental states but the daughter who was conceived during her father's kidnapping saying that feels insane.
The book also for being a thriller, has the same chapter lengths as Donna Tartt's the Secret History, why was every chapter 100pages long?
Not to mention that this book is premised around the kidnapping of an Idol and yet he has less time in the book than the random police officers and side characters?
Normally with a translated book there is debate about who messed up, the author or the translator. I this case I think its both. The writing in English felt incredibly dull and half hearted, there was no tension, no passion, no nothing in a book about literal obsession? The pacing was insane, I think we saw the main women go shopping about 3 times for absolutely no reason. The book seemed to focus more on the women's lives outside of their obsession rather than on what lead them to commit such a crime or how obsession changed them over time, nope nothing.
I actually feel like watching those videos of Idols get swarmed at the airports are scarier than this. While some depraved things do happen in this book it felt like the editor said to the author 'hey maybe we should actually mention the victim once in a while, you know? Have the kidnappers actually do something with their hostage', but it came across like begrudgingly bad hospice care workers who would rather be anywhere else.
I fully believe this book was written to capitalise of the global success of the Idol industry, and instead of showing how genuinely scary it can be in the world of stalkers, dieting, creeps so on and so forth. This book does very little in the way of actually highlighting any real issue and if anything downplays alot of the current fears surrounding fan culture.
Please do not read this absolute drivel.
The book also for being a thriller, has the same chapter lengths as Donna Tartt's the Secret History, why was every chapter 100pages long?
Not to mention that this book is premised around the kidnapping of an Idol and yet he has less time in the book than the random police officers and side characters?
Normally with a translated book there is debate about who messed up, the author or the translator. I this case I think its both. The writing in English felt incredibly dull and half hearted, there was no tension, no passion, no nothing in a book about literal obsession? The pacing was insane, I think we saw the main women go shopping about 3 times for absolutely no reason. The book seemed to focus more on the women's lives outside of their obsession rather than on what lead them to commit such a crime or how obsession changed them over time, nope nothing.
I actually feel like watching those videos of Idols get swarmed at the airports are scarier than this. While some depraved things do happen in this book it felt like the editor said to the author 'hey maybe we should actually mention the victim once in a while, you know? Have the kidnappers actually do something with their hostage', but it came across like begrudgingly bad hospice care workers who would rather be anywhere else.
I fully believe this book was written to capitalise of the global success of the Idol industry, and instead of showing how genuinely scary it can be in the world of stalkers, dieting, creeps so on and so forth. This book does very little in the way of actually highlighting any real issue and if anything downplays alot of the current fears surrounding fan culture.
Please do not read this absolute drivel.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I like nothing more than a strange and wonderful novel. However this had me entirely baffled after the first quarter and I had my head in my hands by the end, trying to work out what I'd just read. It is an interesting premise but I feel like the author simply tried to put too much into it.
Yosep is a member of a K-pop band. However he has had some personal problems which lead him into a dangerous situation whereby he is "kidnapped" by four women who all purport to adore him.
Ahnna has a penchant for young men, Nami believes that if Yosep sees her he will fall in love, Mihee who also worships the pop star and Heeae, who gave up the infant Yosep for adoption.
The women hole up with the unconscious Yosep in a mansion but after this their plans for his future begin to diverge and rivalries emerge with terrible consequences.
This is the basic story - I think - there are parts of the novel that are completely incomprehensible as the women begin to contemplate what they've done. There is also another thread narrated by a bodyguard (possibly) which explains why Yosep is found in his car on the night of the kidnap.
Unfortunately, the more I tried to unravel what promised to be an interesting look at stalking/fandom/hero worship, the more confused I became. Contemporaneous notes did not help.
Not for me.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Picador for the digital review copy.
Yosep is a member of a K-pop band. However he has had some personal problems which lead him into a dangerous situation whereby he is "kidnapped" by four women who all purport to adore him.
Ahnna has a penchant for young men, Nami believes that if Yosep sees her he will fall in love, Mihee who also worships the pop star and Heeae, who gave up the infant Yosep for adoption.
The women hole up with the unconscious Yosep in a mansion but after this their plans for his future begin to diverge and rivalries emerge with terrible consequences.
This is the basic story - I think - there are parts of the novel that are completely incomprehensible as the women begin to contemplate what they've done. There is also another thread narrated by a bodyguard (possibly) which explains why Yosep is found in his car on the night of the kidnap.
Unfortunately, the more I tried to unravel what promised to be an interesting look at stalking/fandom/hero worship, the more confused I became. Contemporaneous notes did not help.
Not for me.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Picador for the digital review copy.
October 22, 2025
Some people fall in love with a figure in an old painting while strolling through an art gallery . . . Compared to them, I would say I’m lucky. I dipped my feet in the same water as him, if only for a moment.
미술관을 걷다 불현듯 오래된 그림 속 인물과 사랑에 빠지는…… 그에 비하면 나는 운이 좋은 셈이지요. 적어도 한순간은 그애와 같은 강물에 발을 담갔으니까요.
Holy Boy (2025) is the translation by Joheun Lee of 성소년 (2021) by 이희주.
The figure, or perhaps the void, at the centre of the novel is Josep, a K-pop idol. The narrator, whose identity is clearer at the novel's end, opens by telling us that, as per the quote above, she was fortunate that her life overlapped with his, if only briefly, and, writing after his death, tells us that she is imagining more details of the story that 'that remains untold between those women and him'.
The story, which comprises much of the novel, has four women obsessed with Josep, some as pure fans, others for deeper reasons (their connection to Josep becoming clearer as the novel progresses): Ahnna, Nami, Mihee, and Heeae. Saju of the four women was under the strong influence of metal, earth, fire, and wood, respectively. Since Yosep’s had water, the five of them were destined to help each other.
Ahnna decides that the only logical outcome of her obsession is to kidnap Josep, concealing him in a remote and abandoned mansion, on the north-east coast close to the Korean border, and recruits the others to help her: After wandering the streets for a while, Ahnna went to the river. On an excessively wide and long bridge, she had only one thought. That she wanted to die. That she wanted to throw herself into the gray, gloomy water. She felt like she could be reborn if she could immerse herself in the rolling stream. She might become milky-white again like a lamb pulled out of a boiling cauldron. But she didn’t let herself fall to the river bottom. Yosep held her back at the last moment. Even if she were to go, she had to embrace him, Yosep, one last time. When she reached that thought, Ahnna scoffed at herself. Embrace Yosep? There was no way she could achieve that unless she kidnapped him or something. Yes, unless she kidnapped him ...
Much of the novel is the story of them holding Josep captive - he has lost his memory, and is convinced by the women that he has also lost the use of his legs in a car accident. Even as someone who has neither read the book, nor seen the movie, it's hard not to think of Stephen King's Misery, but the book acknowledges that by having one of his captors draw the same parallel:
Yosep might have lost his memory, but he hadn’t gone deaf. He might grow suspicious if he learned that the women were driving around when he believed they were marooned in the mansion. What if his memory came back? They wouldn’t be able to keep scaring him and bandaging him up like they were now. They might have to resort to breaking his leg, like in Misery. “That can’t happen. He needs to dance,” Nami said to herself loudly.
As the story progresses, the rivalries between the women come to the surface, each believing Josep's true fate is to be with them and the others are merely helping this destiny, and the level of violence, both to those who might interfere with their plan and between each other, cranks up to somewhat extreme levels, with the K-pop idol himself almost incidental to their machinations.
And the narrator concludes the story by revealing her identity, telling us the aftermath of the incident but perhaps also calling the story she's told us into question.
An effective, and rather different (the Misery link notwithstanding) K-novel. 3.5 stars rounded to 4
Thanks to the publisher via Netgalley for the ARC.
Some selected quotes:
A nod to a real-life hostage situation from Korean in 1988 that mirrors that in the novel (the song referred to The Bees Gees's Holiday, which the hostage-taker was playing as the siege ended)
When Mihee turned on the system and set the radio station, a familiar pop song started to play. “I haven’t heard this in a while,” she said. In a gleeful voice unbecoming of the tragic melody, Ahnna asked, “How do you know this song?” “I heard it on TV.” “Weren’t you only in grade school back when the incident happened? You remember all sorts of things, don’t you?” Ahnna started to hum excitedly. Filthy, unkempt heads began to barge into Mihee’s mind. The criminals who broke into a family’s home and took them hostage in a standoff against the police.
The real-life hostage situation is also famous for the phrase 유전무죄 무전유죄 - “If you have money, innocent. If you don't have money, guilty.” - shouted by the lead hostage-taker. The novel also draws on the Asama-Sansō hostage situation at a remote mountain lodge in Japan in 1972.
The CEO of Josep's talent agency, who is both horrified and impressed by the obsessive K-pop bands, comparing their efforts to those of the generation that rebuilt the country after the Korean War:
“How did we make it all this way from the devastated battlefield using only our bare hands? That’s all our people’s doing. That’s how relentless we are. Smart, diligent, persevering. Where do you think all that blood went to?” The CEO heaved a deep sigh, his admiration and disgust blending together.
“In my opinion, those girls are talented. It takes a special kind of patience to live on the street, stay up all night stalking, and use your brain to send things like these. If they’d been born under the Japanese occupation, they would have fought for independence. If they’d been born just a decade earlier, they would have made their name in pro-democracy protests. The problem is, why are these girls wasting their talent doing this? It’s just amazing. Amazing, but gross.”
“걔들은 말이다. 내가 봤을 때 보통 인재가 아니다. 웬만한 인내심으로는 밤새우면서 쫓아다니고, 길에서 살고, 머리 굴려서 이런 거 보내는 짓 못한다. 일제강점기 같은 때 태어났으면 독립운동했을 거다. 십 년만 일찍 태어났어도 운동으로 날렸을 거다. 문제는 인재들이 왜 이딴 짓을 하고 있느냐 이거다. 하여간 정말 대단하다. 대단한데 징그럽다.”
Ahnna's obsessive view of the need to preserve Yosep's beauty:
The shape of his head deserved to be preserved for generations to come. Along with the Happy Prince’s sapphire eyes, a green emerald plucked from a lion’s heart, and a blood-stained red ruby and a fist-sized white diamond that once sat on top of the mightiest tyrant on earth, Yosep’s smooth chin and cheekbones needed to be displayed under subdued indirect lighting, shrouded in the sweet dust of a museum. And one day, they would get shot by bullets, pouring down like rain at the heart of war, and crumble away along with the glittering blue beetles a model of an evolving human. Such sorrow was the pinnacle of Yosep’s beauty. But all of that was to happen after Ahnna died. She couldn’t let anyone else have Yosep before then.
The quote from the narrator that gives rise to the title, the author herself inspired by Yumiko Kurahashi’s Holy Girl(聖少女/Seisho-jo)
The moment I saw Father’s face—tinged with pity, loneliness, slight affection, and a peculiar sadness for mortal beings—I realized that, unlike those women, his body had meant nothing to him. Father had resigned himself to distributing his meaningless, bound-to-decay body to wretched women who could only satisfy their hunger with his flesh and their thirst with his blood. After this epiphany, I felt at peace, as if enveloped in a massive body of light. My father was a saint. A Holy Boy, who resolved to love no one yet loved everyone.
미술관을 걷다 불현듯 오래된 그림 속 인물과 사랑에 빠지는…… 그에 비하면 나는 운이 좋은 셈이지요. 적어도 한순간은 그애와 같은 강물에 발을 담갔으니까요.
Holy Boy (2025) is the translation by Joheun Lee of 성소년 (2021) by 이희주.
The figure, or perhaps the void, at the centre of the novel is Josep, a K-pop idol. The narrator, whose identity is clearer at the novel's end, opens by telling us that, as per the quote above, she was fortunate that her life overlapped with his, if only briefly, and, writing after his death, tells us that she is imagining more details of the story that 'that remains untold between those women and him'.
The story, which comprises much of the novel, has four women obsessed with Josep, some as pure fans, others for deeper reasons (their connection to Josep becoming clearer as the novel progresses): Ahnna, Nami, Mihee, and Heeae. Saju of the four women was under the strong influence of metal, earth, fire, and wood, respectively. Since Yosep’s had water, the five of them were destined to help each other.
Ahnna decides that the only logical outcome of her obsession is to kidnap Josep, concealing him in a remote and abandoned mansion, on the north-east coast close to the Korean border, and recruits the others to help her: After wandering the streets for a while, Ahnna went to the river. On an excessively wide and long bridge, she had only one thought. That she wanted to die. That she wanted to throw herself into the gray, gloomy water. She felt like she could be reborn if she could immerse herself in the rolling stream. She might become milky-white again like a lamb pulled out of a boiling cauldron. But she didn’t let herself fall to the river bottom. Yosep held her back at the last moment. Even if she were to go, she had to embrace him, Yosep, one last time. When she reached that thought, Ahnna scoffed at herself. Embrace Yosep? There was no way she could achieve that unless she kidnapped him or something. Yes, unless she kidnapped him ...
Much of the novel is the story of them holding Josep captive - he has lost his memory, and is convinced by the women that he has also lost the use of his legs in a car accident. Even as someone who has neither read the book, nor seen the movie, it's hard not to think of Stephen King's Misery, but the book acknowledges that by having one of his captors draw the same parallel:
Yosep might have lost his memory, but he hadn’t gone deaf. He might grow suspicious if he learned that the women were driving around when he believed they were marooned in the mansion. What if his memory came back? They wouldn’t be able to keep scaring him and bandaging him up like they were now. They might have to resort to breaking his leg, like in Misery. “That can’t happen. He needs to dance,” Nami said to herself loudly.
As the story progresses, the rivalries between the women come to the surface, each believing Josep's true fate is to be with them and the others are merely helping this destiny, and the level of violence, both to those who might interfere with their plan and between each other, cranks up to somewhat extreme levels, with the K-pop idol himself almost incidental to their machinations.
And the narrator concludes the story by revealing her identity, telling us the aftermath of the incident but perhaps also calling the story she's told us into question.
An effective, and rather different (the Misery link notwithstanding) K-novel. 3.5 stars rounded to 4
Thanks to the publisher via Netgalley for the ARC.
Some selected quotes:
A nod to a real-life hostage situation from Korean in 1988 that mirrors that in the novel (the song referred to The Bees Gees's Holiday, which the hostage-taker was playing as the siege ended)
When Mihee turned on the system and set the radio station, a familiar pop song started to play. “I haven’t heard this in a while,” she said. In a gleeful voice unbecoming of the tragic melody, Ahnna asked, “How do you know this song?” “I heard it on TV.” “Weren’t you only in grade school back when the incident happened? You remember all sorts of things, don’t you?” Ahnna started to hum excitedly. Filthy, unkempt heads began to barge into Mihee’s mind. The criminals who broke into a family’s home and took them hostage in a standoff against the police.
The real-life hostage situation is also famous for the phrase 유전무죄 무전유죄 - “If you have money, innocent. If you don't have money, guilty.” - shouted by the lead hostage-taker. The novel also draws on the Asama-Sansō hostage situation at a remote mountain lodge in Japan in 1972.
The CEO of Josep's talent agency, who is both horrified and impressed by the obsessive K-pop bands, comparing their efforts to those of the generation that rebuilt the country after the Korean War:
“How did we make it all this way from the devastated battlefield using only our bare hands? That’s all our people’s doing. That’s how relentless we are. Smart, diligent, persevering. Where do you think all that blood went to?” The CEO heaved a deep sigh, his admiration and disgust blending together.
“In my opinion, those girls are talented. It takes a special kind of patience to live on the street, stay up all night stalking, and use your brain to send things like these. If they’d been born under the Japanese occupation, they would have fought for independence. If they’d been born just a decade earlier, they would have made their name in pro-democracy protests. The problem is, why are these girls wasting their talent doing this? It’s just amazing. Amazing, but gross.”
“걔들은 말이다. 내가 봤을 때 보통 인재가 아니다. 웬만한 인내심으로는 밤새우면서 쫓아다니고, 길에서 살고, 머리 굴려서 이런 거 보내는 짓 못한다. 일제강점기 같은 때 태어났으면 독립운동했을 거다. 십 년만 일찍 태어났어도 운동으로 날렸을 거다. 문제는 인재들이 왜 이딴 짓을 하고 있느냐 이거다. 하여간 정말 대단하다. 대단한데 징그럽다.”
Ahnna's obsessive view of the need to preserve Yosep's beauty:
The shape of his head deserved to be preserved for generations to come. Along with the Happy Prince’s sapphire eyes, a green emerald plucked from a lion’s heart, and a blood-stained red ruby and a fist-sized white diamond that once sat on top of the mightiest tyrant on earth, Yosep’s smooth chin and cheekbones needed to be displayed under subdued indirect lighting, shrouded in the sweet dust of a museum. And one day, they would get shot by bullets, pouring down like rain at the heart of war, and crumble away along with the glittering blue beetles a model of an evolving human. Such sorrow was the pinnacle of Yosep’s beauty. But all of that was to happen after Ahnna died. She couldn’t let anyone else have Yosep before then.
The quote from the narrator that gives rise to the title, the author herself inspired by Yumiko Kurahashi’s Holy Girl(聖少女/Seisho-jo)
The moment I saw Father’s face—tinged with pity, loneliness, slight affection, and a peculiar sadness for mortal beings—I realized that, unlike those women, his body had meant nothing to him. Father had resigned himself to distributing his meaningless, bound-to-decay body to wretched women who could only satisfy their hunger with his flesh and their thirst with his blood. After this epiphany, I felt at peace, as if enveloped in a massive body of light. My father was a saint. A Holy Boy, who resolved to love no one yet loved everyone.
dnf
November 14, 2025DNF’d @ 60%
The writing was honestly impossible to get through. This book should have been an edgy thriller, delving into parasocial relationships, but instead I was bored out of my mind. The four women were severely underwritten and Yosep himself was as stiff as cardboard. There were also abrupt parts of the book that were overtly sexual and misogynistic for no reason. A let down.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #HolyBoy #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
The writing was honestly impossible to get through. This book should have been an edgy thriller, delving into parasocial relationships, but instead I was bored out of my mind. The four women were severely underwritten and Yosep himself was as stiff as cardboard. There were also abrupt parts of the book that were overtly sexual and misogynistic for no reason. A let down.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #HolyBoy #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
February 14, 2026
If you’re expecting a modern day Misery by Stephen King, you will finish this book feeling rather miserable.
Unsure whether it is that maybe some things were lost in translation, but I am still not entirely sure what happened in this book.
Unsure whether it is that maybe some things were lost in translation, but I am still not entirely sure what happened in this book.
December 12, 2025
2.5 Sad to say this was hard to get through. I appreciate the eARC from NetGalley and HarperVia though, so I felt I needed to finish it. I thought this was going to be a wild and fun ride where four women team up to kidnap a K-pop idol, who they’re all obsessed with and obviously have parasocial relationships with. But there was nearly no action or character development. We hardly hear from the Holy Boy himself. And I was bored for most of the book. The very ending picked up, and I wish that ending had been expanded as the crux of the book instead of what it is. I read that this book started as a story published with weekly installments. Maybe that’s why it seems disjointed with overlapping parts, and having difficulty to get to its point. I think the description and cover don’t set the right tone. Pub date Feb 17, 2026.
February 19, 2026
I honestly thought I was having a stroke until I realised it was just the writing style. Once I got past that, I then had to endure not one, not two, and nope not three either, but FOUR 2-dimensional women and their obsession with this young idol who you would think, as the victim, would have a lot more of a role to play in this, but nope, I'm wondering if he existed at all (and SPOILER - yes, as a last minute little twist they really tried to go there before taking it back- ridiculous).
The premise was great and a LOT more could have been done using multiple narrators which could have really fleshed out the plot and build on the 4 women's descent into madness and murder. But I feel like the author crammed as much as they could in as little pages as they could and so the execution, like the women's plan, was terrible.
The premise was great and a LOT more could have been done using multiple narrators which could have really fleshed out the plot and build on the 4 women's descent into madness and murder. But I feel like the author crammed as much as they could in as little pages as they could and so the execution, like the women's plan, was terrible.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
"Everyone harbors a weird fantasy or two. It just happens that some people actually have the means to carry them out."
In Holy Boy, four women come together to enact an unhinged plan: kidnap Yosep, their favorite K-pop idol. With Yosep under their control, they plan to show him just how much they love him. And hope that he comes to love them in return.
This book offers an interesting dive into how these four so-called fans turned into obsessed and dangerous individuals who think their actions are justified because of the "love" they have for their idol. Each woman has her own selfish reason for going along with this plan, this parasocial relationship taken to the extreme. What they do is bone-chilling, but also sad. Because these women clearly have nothing else to live for and so they pour everything they have and all that they are towards a K-pop idol who doesn't even know they exist. And the devastating part about this is, despite what they believe, they don't ~know~ Yosep, not truly. They can only fantasize and project their desires onto him.
As I read, I realized Yosep also remained a vague figure to me. We only ever see him the way other characters see him. As a brilliant young K-pop idol. A moneymaker for the company. A delicious young body. An angel of a lost son. A soulmate. A gift from Fate herself. A rival whose beauty and charisma you can never compete with. But the real Yosep? Is he even any of those things, or is he someone else entirely?
And while the four women have Yosep in their grasp, they won't be able to share him forever. Eventually they'll have to find out which one of them will get to win the ultimate prize: Yosep's love.
Thank you to Pan Macmillan and Picador Press for the ARC.
Holy Boy by Lee Heejoo (translated by Joheun Lee) is out today Feb 5, 2026 🫰🏻❤️
In Holy Boy, four women come together to enact an unhinged plan: kidnap Yosep, their favorite K-pop idol. With Yosep under their control, they plan to show him just how much they love him. And hope that he comes to love them in return.
This book offers an interesting dive into how these four so-called fans turned into obsessed and dangerous individuals who think their actions are justified because of the "love" they have for their idol. Each woman has her own selfish reason for going along with this plan, this parasocial relationship taken to the extreme. What they do is bone-chilling, but also sad. Because these women clearly have nothing else to live for and so they pour everything they have and all that they are towards a K-pop idol who doesn't even know they exist. And the devastating part about this is, despite what they believe, they don't ~know~ Yosep, not truly. They can only fantasize and project their desires onto him.
As I read, I realized Yosep also remained a vague figure to me. We only ever see him the way other characters see him. As a brilliant young K-pop idol. A moneymaker for the company. A delicious young body. An angel of a lost son. A soulmate. A gift from Fate herself. A rival whose beauty and charisma you can never compete with. But the real Yosep? Is he even any of those things, or is he someone else entirely?
And while the four women have Yosep in their grasp, they won't be able to share him forever. Eventually they'll have to find out which one of them will get to win the ultimate prize: Yosep's love.
Thank you to Pan Macmillan and Picador Press for the ARC.
Holy Boy by Lee Heejoo (translated by Joheun Lee) is out today Feb 5, 2026 🫰🏻❤️
February 17, 2026
“Those in love plunge to their lowest place.”
Happy pub day to the English translation of HOLY BOY by Lee Heejoo (translated by Joheun Lee). Thank you to HarperVia and Netgalley for this ARC. I was so thrilled about this release and it did not disappoint!
Set at the very end of the 20th century, Holy Boy tells the story of four very different women banding together to kidnap k-pop idol Yosep and hide him away in a mansion in the mountains of Eungrang (fictional town in real life Gangwon-do).
Other than being a psychological tilt-a-whirl, this book depicts parasocial fandom in a way that’s horrifying and at times uncomfortably familiar. As someone who follows k-pop news pretty closely, I see real headlines about crazed fans breaking into idols’ homes or showing up to their bias’s apartments with luggage, ready to move in (yep). And of course there’s the countless fans that dedicate their entire lives to following their idol’s every move, desperately trying to get close.
And as a k-pop fan, I’m well aware of the parasocial nature of this genre and the way “Holy Boys” tend to take up space in our brain in a very unique way. Lee Heejoo excellently depicts how this phenomenon can go wrong with just enough distance to make the reader shudder and a touch of familiarity that forces us to really sit with these characters.
I’ve seen some commentary that entirely missed the point of this book, but I personally thought it was brilliant. Unsettling, disturbing, fascinating, and rife with interesting historical context (please don’t skip the translator’s note!!).
Whether you love or hate this story and whether you love or hate k-pop, I can guarantee you will NEVER forget this book.
“Everyone needed a star in their hearts, an unreachable flower on the cliff to watch for the rest of their lives.”
Happy pub day to the English translation of HOLY BOY by Lee Heejoo (translated by Joheun Lee). Thank you to HarperVia and Netgalley for this ARC. I was so thrilled about this release and it did not disappoint!
Set at the very end of the 20th century, Holy Boy tells the story of four very different women banding together to kidnap k-pop idol Yosep and hide him away in a mansion in the mountains of Eungrang (fictional town in real life Gangwon-do).
Other than being a psychological tilt-a-whirl, this book depicts parasocial fandom in a way that’s horrifying and at times uncomfortably familiar. As someone who follows k-pop news pretty closely, I see real headlines about crazed fans breaking into idols’ homes or showing up to their bias’s apartments with luggage, ready to move in (yep). And of course there’s the countless fans that dedicate their entire lives to following their idol’s every move, desperately trying to get close.
And as a k-pop fan, I’m well aware of the parasocial nature of this genre and the way “Holy Boys” tend to take up space in our brain in a very unique way. Lee Heejoo excellently depicts how this phenomenon can go wrong with just enough distance to make the reader shudder and a touch of familiarity that forces us to really sit with these characters.
I’ve seen some commentary that entirely missed the point of this book, but I personally thought it was brilliant. Unsettling, disturbing, fascinating, and rife with interesting historical context (please don’t skip the translator’s note!!).
Whether you love or hate this story and whether you love or hate k-pop, I can guarantee you will NEVER forget this book.
“Everyone needed a star in their hearts, an unreachable flower on the cliff to watch for the rest of their lives.”
January 27, 2026
This book is absolutely bonkers. Holy Boy follows four women who are each vividly well written and, in their own ways, struggling with day to day life. They turn to their idol, Yosep, to bring brightness and hope into what would otherwise be an ordinary life amid the late 1990s South Korea.
The novel does a great job at discussing the human need for love and connection, and how far one will go to claim an idol as their own. There are so many parts of this book that made me flinch or want to stop reading, and Lee definitely doesn’t shy away from uncomfortable and completely outlandish scenarios. Some trigger warnings are needed I think, specifically regarding sexual violence and violence in general, even if the end of the novel puts this into question.
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, but I think some parts could do with some refining as there’s a lot going on. The structure felt bloated and all over the place, like Lee was trying to do as much as possible in a short span of time.
I liked that Lee was unflinching in their discussion of how far these women were willing to go, as it definitely shows the ugly side of fan culture, especially when things go too far. I think it’s also an important subject with the current culture of unhealthy parasocial relationships.
Thank you to Picador / Pan MacMillan and NetGalley for the arc.
The novel does a great job at discussing the human need for love and connection, and how far one will go to claim an idol as their own. There are so many parts of this book that made me flinch or want to stop reading, and Lee definitely doesn’t shy away from uncomfortable and completely outlandish scenarios. Some trigger warnings are needed I think, specifically regarding sexual violence and violence in general, even if the end of the novel puts this into question.
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, but I think some parts could do with some refining as there’s a lot going on. The structure felt bloated and all over the place, like Lee was trying to do as much as possible in a short span of time.
I liked that Lee was unflinching in their discussion of how far these women were willing to go, as it definitely shows the ugly side of fan culture, especially when things go too far. I think it’s also an important subject with the current culture of unhealthy parasocial relationships.
Thank you to Picador / Pan MacMillan and NetGalley for the arc.
Review of advance copy
Despite the wild premise, this book was boring and full of victim blaming. Rape content warning.
Yosep, our central figure, gets no agency whatsoever and disappears from the story almost entirely. Everyone is both unintelligent, useless, and unhinged—but not in the fun way, but the way that makes you wanna tear out your hair because they all just suck that much.
I had hoped it'd go into parasocial relationships and the toxicity of idol culture, but it kind of just... lightly mentions it and then somewhat forgets. There's no tension whatsoever, and the incredibly stilted translation just makes it that much worse.
More people should've died. Everyone but Yosep should've died.
The daughter victim blaming him for being raped by everyone in the end is crazy. The fact that they won't even really show it is also crazy. They kind of just TLDR everything that could even be remotely suspenseful or shocking and then you're supposed to care that something crazy happened but you don't get to see any of it. Sure.
This book says nothing other than the age old "bitches be crazy". There is no nuance, nothing that can make you even slightly get on board with and/or see how people can get like this. There's just horribly annoying women sucking the whole book and one guy also sucking. And then the victim exists somewhere in the background. Whatever.
Yosep, our central figure, gets no agency whatsoever and disappears from the story almost entirely. Everyone is both unintelligent, useless, and unhinged—but not in the fun way, but the way that makes you wanna tear out your hair because they all just suck that much.
I had hoped it'd go into parasocial relationships and the toxicity of idol culture, but it kind of just... lightly mentions it and then somewhat forgets. There's no tension whatsoever, and the incredibly stilted translation just makes it that much worse.
More people should've died. Everyone but Yosep should've died.
The daughter victim blaming him for being raped by everyone in the end is crazy. The fact that they won't even really show it is also crazy. They kind of just TLDR everything that could even be remotely suspenseful or shocking and then you're supposed to care that something crazy happened but you don't get to see any of it. Sure.
This book says nothing other than the age old "bitches be crazy". There is no nuance, nothing that can make you even slightly get on board with and/or see how people can get like this. There's just horribly annoying women sucking the whole book and one guy also sucking. And then the victim exists somewhere in the background. Whatever.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 18, 2026
Idols exist within every facet of the entertainment industry; with the music sphere breeding particularly hardcore followings of artists. Eminem accidentally penned the verb used by many to describe their support: ‘I stan’ youths now text, tweet and post. Whilst Donald Glover explored how far fans are willing to go in ‘Swarm’.
Lee Heejo takes us down the dark side of devotion through her novel ‘Holy Boy’. An unhinged tale traversing the minds of four women all expressing deep admiration (turned addiction) for a young Korean idol. The twists and turns of this book had me hooked from the first chapter. Themes of femininity, motherhood, and age all play a part in the lives of our protagonists. Time is played with in an interesting, if not slightly convoluted way, taking us back and forth across different POVs.
Overall, a greatly uncomfortable read (meaning it most definitely achieved what it set out to do), with plot twists galore, making it very reminiscent of a thrilling kdrama (fingers crossed somebody picks it up for production).
Would highly recommend!
Lee Heejo takes us down the dark side of devotion through her novel ‘Holy Boy’. An unhinged tale traversing the minds of four women all expressing deep admiration (turned addiction) for a young Korean idol. The twists and turns of this book had me hooked from the first chapter. Themes of femininity, motherhood, and age all play a part in the lives of our protagonists. Time is played with in an interesting, if not slightly convoluted way, taking us back and forth across different POVs.
Overall, a greatly uncomfortable read (meaning it most definitely achieved what it set out to do), with plot twists galore, making it very reminiscent of a thrilling kdrama (fingers crossed somebody picks it up for production).
Would highly recommend!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
1.5/5
First, thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this eArc in exchange for an honest review.
I'm really so disappointed right now. The cover and the description really promise something completely different than what is given. What the description suggests: Kpop Idol life, a cunning plan, and missteps. What you get: Pedophilia, barely any mentions or interactions the Holy Boy (the idol), rape, and a ton of discomfort.
First, the pedophilia in this is completely unnecessary. This is such an icky thing to write. I truly considered marking this, "dnf" but felt weird about doing so as it was an ARC. I haven't felt so sick reading something maybe ever. This book is supposed to be about a kpop idol, so what was all of that and why.
My second gripe is that we hear from Holy Boy a whopping ONE CHAPTER? He's literally just a plot device when he is supposed to be the entire plot. He's just kind of vaguely mentioned in the background unless he's being sexually assaulted while asleep... which... also... huh? Did anyone predict that being the vibe of this? Not me!!
Also... did the author just forget about the other corpses showing up in town?? What was all of that?? This wasn't the only inconsistenty. The timeline would change, characters would go from a bob cut to long locks the next chapter... I could go on, but I really want to pretend I never read this.
The ending of this is the only thing giving this book an extra half star, and it can thank me for it.
Tl;dnr: Avoid this at all costs as it is not what is described and heavily focuses on absolutely unnecessary vile actions.
First, thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this eArc in exchange for an honest review.
I'm really so disappointed right now. The cover and the description really promise something completely different than what is given. What the description suggests: Kpop Idol life, a cunning plan, and missteps. What you get: Pedophilia, barely any mentions or interactions the Holy Boy (the idol), rape, and a ton of discomfort.
First, the pedophilia in this is completely unnecessary. This is such an icky thing to write. I truly considered marking this, "dnf" but felt weird about doing so as it was an ARC. I haven't felt so sick reading something maybe ever. This book is supposed to be about a kpop idol, so what was all of that and why.
My second gripe is that we hear from Holy Boy a whopping ONE CHAPTER? He's literally just a plot device when he is supposed to be the entire plot. He's just kind of vaguely mentioned in the background unless he's being sexually assaulted while asleep... which... also... huh? Did anyone predict that being the vibe of this? Not me!!
Also... did the author just forget about the other corpses showing up in town?? What was all of that?? This wasn't the only inconsistenty. The timeline would change, characters would go from a bob cut to long locks the next chapter... I could go on, but I really want to pretend I never read this.
The ending of this is the only thing giving this book an extra half star, and it can thank me for it.
Tl;dnr: Avoid this at all costs as it is not what is described and heavily focuses on absolutely unnecessary vile actions.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Four, wildly different women bond over their love for a male K-pop idol. Each for their own reasons decide to work together to kidnap the young man. Holding him in a remote mansion in the woods, the women do what they have to do to keep their secret from getting out. Slowly, they start turning on each other.
This was definitely not what I thought it was going to be. I was expecting more action and thriller but instead this is very much a psychological horror. Its not bad though. The plot is interesting and the story is weird. I feel it left a bit in the air too for reader interpretation and speculation. I thought it was interesting that we got multiple perspectives but they all were related to one person, who we didn't get to hear much from. Knowing what I know now I kind of want to read it again.
This was definitely not what I thought it was going to be. I was expecting more action and thriller but instead this is very much a psychological horror. Its not bad though. The plot is interesting and the story is weird. I feel it left a bit in the air too for reader interpretation and speculation. I thought it was interesting that we got multiple perspectives but they all were related to one person, who we didn't get to hear much from. Knowing what I know now I kind of want to read it again.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
1.75⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
I found this to be a muddled, confusing account of four women holding a young man hostage - or, alternatively, four fans keeping their K-pop idol hostage. For something so inherently serious, this was told in such a mundane way that I felt like the author wanted us to assume that it was all a bit of fun.
I was not engaged in the characters or their back stories. The structure was obviously trying to be somewhat nonlinear, but the result was a mess that I could not untangle. The strange ending practically rendered the entire work pointless. It asked some questions and answered nothing.
Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
I found this to be a muddled, confusing account of four women holding a young man hostage - or, alternatively, four fans keeping their K-pop idol hostage. For something so inherently serious, this was told in such a mundane way that I felt like the author wanted us to assume that it was all a bit of fun.
I was not engaged in the characters or their back stories. The structure was obviously trying to be somewhat nonlinear, but the result was a mess that I could not untangle. The strange ending practically rendered the entire work pointless. It asked some questions and answered nothing.
January 19, 2026
With thanks to Pan Macmillan for the proof!
Lee Heejoo offers a thoughtful and unusually tender perspective on the parasocial relationships that grow between idols and their fans. The novel’s ensemble cast, all drifting into the orbit of the enigmatic Holy Boy Yosep, feels vivid and deliberately constructed. The pacing is gentler in the first half but ramps up noticeably in the second, with a few great jaw dropping plot twists throughout. A compelling and original concept that will resonate with readers interested in fame, adoration, and the people behind the spotlight.
Lee Heejoo offers a thoughtful and unusually tender perspective on the parasocial relationships that grow between idols and their fans. The novel’s ensemble cast, all drifting into the orbit of the enigmatic Holy Boy Yosep, feels vivid and deliberately constructed. The pacing is gentler in the first half but ramps up noticeably in the second, with a few great jaw dropping plot twists throughout. A compelling and original concept that will resonate with readers interested in fame, adoration, and the people behind the spotlight.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This was an interesting read as it's not the typical cosy crime i normally read from South Korea. The 4 women were all very distinctive in tone and characterisation and i thought that the idol side with Yosep and his manager were also written really well. This felt like it had a distinctive look at idol culture and it felt layered in it's approach. I enjoyed this and can see myself recommending this to other people who enjoy crime novels that blend popular culture and unhinged women.
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
February 17, 2026
1⭐️ I am SO disappointed with this book as I really thought I was going to love it. First of all, there’s only 3 chapters - with the last chapter being 200 pages. It’s hard to follow and frequently changes perspectives. The plot did not correlate to how this book was pitched to me and I found it very boring. I skim read the last 50% of this book and the ending is just disturbing. *check trigger warnings*
Want to read
January 19, 2026this seems like a mess, i’m so in
February 15, 2026
Great premise, but it really over complicated itself for no reason. Lacked a lot of the parasocialism I was interested in.
December 21, 2025
Thanks Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for my advanced reader copy!
Actual rating: 3.25 stars.
As a K-pop fan of nearly 20 years, the synopsis of Holy Boy stood out to me: four saeseng K-pop fans kidnap their idol, Yosep, to keep him all to themselves. Framed as the ultimate act of love, Yosep is entrapped in a secluded mansion as his kidnappers slowly lose their grip on reality.
I really enjoyed this unhinged thriller for a few reasons: the concept was hilarious to me as somebody that got into K-pop during its second-generation and saeseng fans were a dime a dozen, and the slow unfurl of the four women’s character really stood out. While a little unevenly told in parts (and I believe this is because the story was originally published in weekly instalments, a bit like a webtoon), I found it fascinating to try and unpick what was happening, to add more story to the characters myself. Yosep wasn’t very well developed as a character, which I was a bit gutted about, and, in hindsight, neither were the women. But, this added a layer to the mystery of it all, and I found it to be a pacey, twisting look at par asocial relationships and celebrity worship.
Actual rating: 3.25 stars.
As a K-pop fan of nearly 20 years, the synopsis of Holy Boy stood out to me: four saeseng K-pop fans kidnap their idol, Yosep, to keep him all to themselves. Framed as the ultimate act of love, Yosep is entrapped in a secluded mansion as his kidnappers slowly lose their grip on reality.
I really enjoyed this unhinged thriller for a few reasons: the concept was hilarious to me as somebody that got into K-pop during its second-generation and saeseng fans were a dime a dozen, and the slow unfurl of the four women’s character really stood out. While a little unevenly told in parts (and I believe this is because the story was originally published in weekly instalments, a bit like a webtoon), I found it fascinating to try and unpick what was happening, to add more story to the characters myself. Yosep wasn’t very well developed as a character, which I was a bit gutted about, and, in hindsight, neither were the women. But, this added a layer to the mystery of it all, and I found it to be a pacey, twisting look at par asocial relationships and celebrity worship.
November 10, 2025
A bit of a disappointing read. The pacing felt very clunky, perhaps because the book was originally published in weekly instalments online. I also felt the character development of the four women was unbalanced, with Ahnna receiving a lot of focus, leaving the others neglected. I would have loved to understand them a bit better, particularly Nami, who I felt quite distant from.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
*Thank you Netgalley and HarperVia for the e-ARC and the finished copy*
What a mind-f*ck.
"Holy Boy" is a strange and and disturbing literary fiction/horror novel that follows 4 sasaengs (Korean stalker fans) who kidnap a K-pop idol out of sheer fanaticism. The book delves into the psychological aspect of these women and how they are so deep in a parasocial relationship with Yosep, a 21-year-old pop star, that they cross the lines of fantasy versus reality and act on their darkest impulses.
A piece of dialogue that stuck out to me was said by the CEO of Yosep's company. He said, "In my opinion, those girls are talented. It takes a special kind of patience to live on the street, stay up all night stalking, and use your brain to send thing like these [disturbing gifts like letters written with the blood of used feminine products]... The problem is why are these girls wasting their talent doing this? It's just Amazing, but gross."
This specific line of dialogue that appears halfway through the book really stuck with me because it's true. The 4 women who kidnap Yosep all have their own unique ways to survive in the world prior to the 2000s, they all are able to formulate plans to make the kidnapping a reality, and yet that's all they are at the end of the day. They are obsessed individuals who choose to cross boundaries. It's an interesting concept, and the book does a good job at highlighting the fact that these women are so blinded by their obsession that they cannot see clearly, but also the companies who manufacture these idols sort of allow this behavior to be tolerated/overlooked.
If anything, the concept of this novel is what made me rate this book higher than 3 stars. Unfortunately, I wasn't the biggest fan of the translation and the structure of the novel. I usually try to give translated works the benefit of the doubt because it's difficult to translate a piece of work in a whole other language, but I feel like the sentence structure was a bit stilted and clunky. Sometimes the paragraphs would be a whole page long, or there would be dialogue without dialogue tags making it hard to know who's speaking, and I found the chapter structure to be odd as well (there's a prologue, three very long chapters titled Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc., and then the Chapters are titled after days of the week rather than a continuation from Chapter 3,) so it felt very inconsistent.
I don't think I would recommend this book to the average k-pop fan because it a horrifying representation of what acting on your darkest impulses can look like, but also if you aren't able to suspend the way you view the English language, this might be a very difficult read due to how it was translated.
This is a really haunting read in the sense that it makes you wonder how far someone will go to make their dark fantasies a reality.
What a mind-f*ck.
"Holy Boy" is a strange and and disturbing literary fiction/horror novel that follows 4 sasaengs (Korean stalker fans) who kidnap a K-pop idol out of sheer fanaticism. The book delves into the psychological aspect of these women and how they are so deep in a parasocial relationship with Yosep, a 21-year-old pop star, that they cross the lines of fantasy versus reality and act on their darkest impulses.
A piece of dialogue that stuck out to me was said by the CEO of Yosep's company. He said, "In my opinion, those girls are talented. It takes a special kind of patience to live on the street, stay up all night stalking, and use your brain to send thing like these [disturbing gifts like letters written with the blood of used feminine products]... The problem is why are these girls wasting their talent doing this? It's just Amazing, but gross."
This specific line of dialogue that appears halfway through the book really stuck with me because it's true. The 4 women who kidnap Yosep all have their own unique ways to survive in the world prior to the 2000s, they all are able to formulate plans to make the kidnapping a reality, and yet that's all they are at the end of the day. They are obsessed individuals who choose to cross boundaries. It's an interesting concept, and the book does a good job at highlighting the fact that these women are so blinded by their obsession that they cannot see clearly, but also the companies who manufacture these idols sort of allow this behavior to be tolerated/overlooked.
If anything, the concept of this novel is what made me rate this book higher than 3 stars. Unfortunately, I wasn't the biggest fan of the translation and the structure of the novel. I usually try to give translated works the benefit of the doubt because it's difficult to translate a piece of work in a whole other language, but I feel like the sentence structure was a bit stilted and clunky. Sometimes the paragraphs would be a whole page long, or there would be dialogue without dialogue tags making it hard to know who's speaking, and I found the chapter structure to be odd as well (there's a prologue, three very long chapters titled Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc., and then the Chapters are titled after days of the week rather than a continuation from Chapter 3,) so it felt very inconsistent.
I don't think I would recommend this book to the average k-pop fan because it a horrifying representation of what acting on your darkest impulses can look like, but also if you aren't able to suspend the way you view the English language, this might be a very difficult read due to how it was translated.
This is a really haunting read in the sense that it makes you wonder how far someone will go to make their dark fantasies a reality.
February 17, 2026
Nueva inmersión en la literatura coreana, de la mano de uno de los libros entre los elegibles para los International Booker Prize 2026. Se trata de una nueva novela sobre un misterioso asesinato, la originalidad estriba en la forma de contar la historia, intrincada, como toda literaria asiática, y poniendo el foco en el fenómeno fan.
La historia da comienzo a través de la tercera persona, quien nos cuenta un misterioso crimen acaecido en una casa: dos murtos y una persona desaparecida. Tras ese prometedor inicio, la historia recuerda un poco a Misery de Stephen King. Un joven en cama, que tiene la sensación de que la persona que lo cuida no es del todo sincera con él. Al igual que ocurre en otra gran novela asiática de The Hole de Hye-Young Pyun, hay ciertos lazos que unen al protagonista, y a la mujer que lo cuida. Él va a queer escapar de ahí, algo que también recuerda a The hole. En este primer capítulo se abandona la narración en tercera persona para recuperar la primera persona, del enfermo que está en la cama, de quién no conoceremos su nombre hasta el capítulo 2
Tras ese inquietante inicio, la historia cambia de perspectiva y de ambiente. A partir de ese momento conocemos a Yohn, un cantante exitoso, que vive rodeado de mujeres, de fans, que lo idolatran. En ese ambiente aparecen tres figuras femeninas. Una figura que dice ser la madre de él, y dos mujeres que suspiran por él y que se han ocupado de él. Todas ellas desean que él las mire con ojos diferentes, y se sienten frustradas al ver que no consiguen sus objetivos. A partir de ese momento, la historia trata de darnos un poco de bakground de los protagonistas, de su historia y va conduciendo lentamente, a través de giros intrincados, hacia el punto de partida. Pero la gran sorpresa llega con el desenlace de la historia, en la cual cobra fuerza esa tercera persona que contaba la historia, y a la que conoceremos al terminar la historia y que nos lleva a plantearnos si la historia es verdadera o fruto de la imaginación de esa persona.
Otro aspecto interesante, es el estilo, utiliza un estilo sugerente, reflexivo, donde las mujeres reflexionan sobre la maternidad, el rol de madre o de los propios actos cometidos. Ellas se preguntan si lo que sienten es amor o tal vez sea obsesión.
Quizás lo más interesante sea el contexto histórico que Joheun Lee ofrece al lector una vez termina la lectura. Él encuadra la novela en los años 90, en que sucedieron algunos hechos históricos que se reflejan en la historia.
Creo que tal vez lo más interesante es el punto sórdido y mostrar el aspecto oscuro del fenómeno fandom, que llega a límites insospechados en esta historia.
La historia da comienzo a través de la tercera persona, quien nos cuenta un misterioso crimen acaecido en una casa: dos murtos y una persona desaparecida. Tras ese prometedor inicio, la historia recuerda un poco a Misery de Stephen King. Un joven en cama, que tiene la sensación de que la persona que lo cuida no es del todo sincera con él. Al igual que ocurre en otra gran novela asiática de The Hole de Hye-Young Pyun, hay ciertos lazos que unen al protagonista, y a la mujer que lo cuida. Él va a queer escapar de ahí, algo que también recuerda a The hole. En este primer capítulo se abandona la narración en tercera persona para recuperar la primera persona, del enfermo que está en la cama, de quién no conoceremos su nombre hasta el capítulo 2
Tras ese inquietante inicio, la historia cambia de perspectiva y de ambiente. A partir de ese momento conocemos a Yohn, un cantante exitoso, que vive rodeado de mujeres, de fans, que lo idolatran. En ese ambiente aparecen tres figuras femeninas. Una figura que dice ser la madre de él, y dos mujeres que suspiran por él y que se han ocupado de él. Todas ellas desean que él las mire con ojos diferentes, y se sienten frustradas al ver que no consiguen sus objetivos. A partir de ese momento, la historia trata de darnos un poco de bakground de los protagonistas, de su historia y va conduciendo lentamente, a través de giros intrincados, hacia el punto de partida. Pero la gran sorpresa llega con el desenlace de la historia, en la cual cobra fuerza esa tercera persona que contaba la historia, y a la que conoceremos al terminar la historia y que nos lleva a plantearnos si la historia es verdadera o fruto de la imaginación de esa persona.
Otro aspecto interesante, es el estilo, utiliza un estilo sugerente, reflexivo, donde las mujeres reflexionan sobre la maternidad, el rol de madre o de los propios actos cometidos. Ellas se preguntan si lo que sienten es amor o tal vez sea obsesión.
Quizás lo más interesante sea el contexto histórico que Joheun Lee ofrece al lector una vez termina la lectura. Él encuadra la novela en los años 90, en que sucedieron algunos hechos históricos que se reflejan en la historia.
Creo que tal vez lo más interesante es el punto sórdido y mostrar el aspecto oscuro del fenómeno fandom, que llega a límites insospechados en esta historia.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for this ARC!
“Holy Boy” tells the story of K-Pop Idol Yosep, who is kidnapped by four of his fans who are working together. Hiding him away in a secluded mansion, their plan seems to have worked, but challenges to their perfect little world are about to reach them… and misfortunes never come alone.
This book sounded right up my alley. I love explorations of fan culture and when it goes too far, and I think K-Pop culture is especially conducive to unhealthy fan-idol relationships. I do think that aspects of this book explored this well, but to me it isn’t the central theme, being a fan isn't even the motive all of these women have for their obsession with Yosep and their kidnapping of him.
I did like the motives of two of the women, I thought the backstory was really interesting, and the fan
I really wanted to like this, and I was excited to read it, but unfortunately I just don’t really have anything positive to say. I often think Korean must be pretty difficult to translate, because I find that many translations of Korean to English end up sounding a bit flat, and this was the case here too. Now this is something I can easily overlook if the story is good, sadly it wasn’t here.
There are many different elements to this story and many different POVs, I would even say too many. I did think that it was nice to have each of the women’s POVs, get their backstories and how they came to be the type of person who kidnaps an Idol. Two POVs especially were intriguing to me, but they also don’t really fit what you are told is the premise of this book – Fans being obsessed. But then there are several other POVs, which I honestly think were largely unnecessary and could’ve easily been switched to scenes we see through the eyes of characters we already know, instead of introducing more POV characters. There is also one character whose POV I would've liked to read more from, but I can also understand why there wasn’t more of it. But TL;DR: Too many different POVs, most not on a straight timeline, which makes the book feel disjointed and the story a bit hard to follow.
I think if you approach this book as a thriller telling the story of a young man who is kidnapped by four women, all of whom have different motives for why they participate in this crime, and if you are used to reading Korean works translated to English, you can still have a good time with this, but as an exploration of fan culture I did not find this compelling, and I would not recommend this if that is what you are looking for.
“Holy Boy” tells the story of K-Pop Idol Yosep, who is kidnapped by four of his fans who are working together. Hiding him away in a secluded mansion, their plan seems to have worked, but challenges to their perfect little world are about to reach them… and misfortunes never come alone.
This book sounded right up my alley. I love explorations of fan culture and when it goes too far, and I think K-Pop culture is especially conducive to unhealthy fan-idol relationships. I do think that aspects of this book explored this well, but to me it isn’t the central theme, being a fan isn't even the motive all of these women have for their obsession with Yosep and their kidnapping of him.
I did like the motives of two of the women, I thought the backstory was really interesting, and the fan
I really wanted to like this, and I was excited to read it, but unfortunately I just don’t really have anything positive to say. I often think Korean must be pretty difficult to translate, because I find that many translations of Korean to English end up sounding a bit flat, and this was the case here too. Now this is something I can easily overlook if the story is good, sadly it wasn’t here.
There are many different elements to this story and many different POVs, I would even say too many. I did think that it was nice to have each of the women’s POVs, get their backstories and how they came to be the type of person who kidnaps an Idol. Two POVs especially were intriguing to me, but they also don’t really fit what you are told is the premise of this book – Fans being obsessed. But then there are several other POVs, which I honestly think were largely unnecessary and could’ve easily been switched to scenes we see through the eyes of characters we already know, instead of introducing more POV characters. There is also one character whose POV I would've liked to read more from, but I can also understand why there wasn’t more of it. But TL;DR: Too many different POVs, most not on a straight timeline, which makes the book feel disjointed and the story a bit hard to follow.
I think if you approach this book as a thriller telling the story of a young man who is kidnapped by four women, all of whom have different motives for why they participate in this crime, and if you are used to reading Korean works translated to English, you can still have a good time with this, but as an exploration of fan culture I did not find this compelling, and I would not recommend this if that is what you are looking for.
February 5, 2026
Heejoo opens this novel with a newspaper report about two dead bodies found in a mansion, and straight away we’re dropped right into the middle of the action. A young man (later revealed to be Yosep, a huge K-pop star), is bedbound and being cared for by several women. He can’t remember anything: how he got there, who these women are, or how long he’s been trapped.
The publisher’s copy says it all: “Kidnapping Yosep seemed like the ultimate act of love. For four of his adoring fans, a poster on the wall just didn’t cut it. They needed him all to themselves.”
The story unfolds from multiple perspectives: the immobilised boy, the fans driving the action, Yosep’s agent, the police, and others. A deep well of secrets and lies is slowly revealed, and just when you think you’ve got a handle on things, Heejoo pulls the narrative in a completely unexpected direction. I was totally absorbed, tearing through it in just a couple of sittings.
Heejoo organises her narrative with tremendous efficiency and clarity. I always felt safely guided through time and space, never lost in the criss-crossing storylines.
Heejoo does an excellent job of situating us within Korean culture, showing how politics, both past and present, shape the characters’ actions, emotions, and perceptions of one another. The novel powerfully illustrates how simply living our daily lives is a political act in itself, through relationships, social encounters, and power imbalances. All of this builds layer upon layer, offering a sharp and unsettling exposure to Korean society.
By the final chapter, Heejoo turns everything up a notch, delivering one of the most violent and beautifully bizarre endings I’ve encountered in a long time. I loved spotting echoes of Genet’s The Maids, alongside other European and Korean cultural references. I didn’t catch them all, and that didn’t stop me from having an absolute blast reading.
This is Heejoo’s first novel translated into English, and she is without a doubt a thriller writer to watch.
I also want to highlight Joheun Lee’s excellent translation. I especially appreciated the decision to leave certain cultural elements untranslated, which deepened my sense of immersion in the Korean context.
Boldly original, Holy Boy is an unsettling, gripping thriller that is as politically charged as it is compulsively readable.
Thanks to Book Break, Picador and PanMacmillan for the copy
#pudseyrecommends
The publisher’s copy says it all: “Kidnapping Yosep seemed like the ultimate act of love. For four of his adoring fans, a poster on the wall just didn’t cut it. They needed him all to themselves.”
The story unfolds from multiple perspectives: the immobilised boy, the fans driving the action, Yosep’s agent, the police, and others. A deep well of secrets and lies is slowly revealed, and just when you think you’ve got a handle on things, Heejoo pulls the narrative in a completely unexpected direction. I was totally absorbed, tearing through it in just a couple of sittings.
Heejoo organises her narrative with tremendous efficiency and clarity. I always felt safely guided through time and space, never lost in the criss-crossing storylines.
Heejoo does an excellent job of situating us within Korean culture, showing how politics, both past and present, shape the characters’ actions, emotions, and perceptions of one another. The novel powerfully illustrates how simply living our daily lives is a political act in itself, through relationships, social encounters, and power imbalances. All of this builds layer upon layer, offering a sharp and unsettling exposure to Korean society.
By the final chapter, Heejoo turns everything up a notch, delivering one of the most violent and beautifully bizarre endings I’ve encountered in a long time. I loved spotting echoes of Genet’s The Maids, alongside other European and Korean cultural references. I didn’t catch them all, and that didn’t stop me from having an absolute blast reading.
This is Heejoo’s first novel translated into English, and she is without a doubt a thriller writer to watch.
I also want to highlight Joheun Lee’s excellent translation. I especially appreciated the decision to leave certain cultural elements untranslated, which deepened my sense of immersion in the Korean context.
Boldly original, Holy Boy is an unsettling, gripping thriller that is as politically charged as it is compulsively readable.
Thanks to Book Break, Picador and PanMacmillan for the copy
#pudseyrecommends
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to Netgalley and HarperVia for the advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Here’s the thing. I think if the book was advertised differently than the blurb (and with the category of horror rather than categories of “general fiction” “literary fiction” and “multicultural interest”) it would get better reviews. This book is definitely more like a psychological horror. It’s a deeply uncomfortable story of four mostly-deranged women who decide to kidnap a Kpop star because they have unhinged obsessions with him. Things devolve the longer they hold him in the mansion and they turn on one another (although that part was rather rushed tbh). This book was dark, sometimes hard to follow / choppy, and very uncomfortable at times. It actually makes more sense when you get to the authors note and find out that this book was originally serialized, because it does read as a bit choppy. I’m between 3-4 stars on this one because what I expected (a whacky, wild, perhaps even darkly funny book with four crazed fans kidnapping a kpop star and then some of his perspective on the crazy fans) was the complete opposite of what I got (a disturbing horroresque vibe accompanying a choppy story that left many questions unanswered—who is the CEO? Why does he not have memory? What is the deal with the doll? What happened to Yohan? Etc.) I feel like a quick cleanup/editing of the description to set more accurate expectations would make this book a bigger success. The cover is amazing but also does not convey the type of book this is (again more horror than quirky darkly humorous thriller/fiction). I would recommend this to horror readers who like a weird story that makes you slightly uncomfortable (I would liken it to Jawbone). If you want a darkly funny thriller about crazed fans who love kpop? This is not it. That I would totally read though! Hah. I think this book suffers from appearing to be one thing but being another and I think if expectations were properly set, this book could be a great success! Kpop meets Misery… that’s what it is so that’s what to expect! Horror is great but it’s not for everyone so I hope this review helps the book find readers that will enjoy it rather than non-horror readers who leave disappointed. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early review copy.
This is a quirky little novel, and it will definitely appeal to the right reader. But that reader was not me.
This was a very odd book. It felt like a fanfic version of The Hole, with the caregiver figures attracted to the patient instead of hating him. I think it’s probably a lot more powerful than I realized, and I missed a lot of nuance that would be obvious to a Korean reader.
The blurb and many reviews give away a lot of information that is not made clear to the reader until well into the novel, which surprised me.
I struggled to stay focused on this one. Partly it might be a translation issue (there are some really weird phrases in here, and that's probably a product of both the author and the translator - the word “saliva,” for example, is used seventeen times), but mostly it's the characters and the pacing. The characters are not very interesting or likeable - they SHOULD be interesting, but they just aren't. Even the "holy boy" himself had all the personality of a store mannequin. And the pacing is all over the place, key information is deliberately withheld from the reader until later in the book. Perhaps that was an attempt to have a Big Reveal, but instead it just caused me to not care very much.
Each time a new character is introduced, we are treated to their FULL back story, most of it completely irrelevant to this book's plot. I don't understand that choice. Despite all this extraneous information, it can still be very confusing to know who each character is and how they are related to THIS story.
The first half of this vaguely written novel moves slower than a turtle in a snowstorm. FINALLY halfway through, things start to happen (but slowly).
I am really sad that I did not enjoy reading this more. Buried within it is an amazing and powerful novel. I should feel shook.
This is a quirky little novel, and it will definitely appeal to the right reader. But that reader was not me.
This was a very odd book. It felt like a fanfic version of The Hole, with the caregiver figures attracted to the patient instead of hating him. I think it’s probably a lot more powerful than I realized, and I missed a lot of nuance that would be obvious to a Korean reader.
The blurb and many reviews give away a lot of information that is not made clear to the reader until well into the novel, which surprised me.
I struggled to stay focused on this one. Partly it might be a translation issue (there are some really weird phrases in here, and that's probably a product of both the author and the translator - the word “saliva,” for example, is used seventeen times), but mostly it's the characters and the pacing. The characters are not very interesting or likeable - they SHOULD be interesting, but they just aren't. Even the "holy boy" himself had all the personality of a store mannequin. And the pacing is all over the place, key information is deliberately withheld from the reader until later in the book. Perhaps that was an attempt to have a Big Reveal, but instead it just caused me to not care very much.
Each time a new character is introduced, we are treated to their FULL back story, most of it completely irrelevant to this book's plot. I don't understand that choice. Despite all this extraneous information, it can still be very confusing to know who each character is and how they are related to THIS story.
The first half of this vaguely written novel moves slower than a turtle in a snowstorm. FINALLY halfway through, things start to happen (but slowly).
I am really sad that I did not enjoy reading this more. Buried within it is an amazing and powerful novel. I should feel shook.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
A Feverish Descent Into Fandom Gone Wrong
Lee Heejoo’s Holy Boy , translated by Joheun Lee, is a taut, dark novel set in modern Korea, spinning the thriller genre on its head. At its heart are four women, very different, equally consumed by their infatuation with K-pop idol Yosep. Their fixation pushes them to a point of no return: they kidnap Yosep, convinced their devotion is its own defence. As their plan careens out of control, the novel unspools layers of psychology, unresolved trauma, and the messy power of secrets.
What sets Holy Boy apart isn’t just the plot (as wild as it sounds), but Heejoo’s scalpel-sharp portrait of obsession and desire. Each woman brings her own fractured perspective, her wants and wounds cutting across the group and fueling the chaos. Through their eyes, Yosep morphs from distant celebrity to an almost mythic figure, the embodiment of everything they’ve longed for and can’t have. The story pulls apart the dangers of parasocial attachment and what happens when adoration turns into something monstrous.
Heejoo’s writing is remarkable, intense yet elegant, lyrical without flinching away from the darkness. The translation keeps the prose punchy and atmospheric, never letting the reader escape the sense of creeping dread. The result is a narrative that thrums with tension and psychological depth, examining not just fanaticism, but loneliness and the raw craving for connection.
For all its strengths, this is a story that deals in discomfort. The subject matter, kidnapping, manipulation, and the collapse of moral boundaries, is jarring and, for some, may prove difficult to stomach. But if you’re up for a thriller that puts its characters’ inner lives ahead of easy shocks, Holy Boy is hard to put down. It’s a chilling, unvarnished look at the human cost of obsession, and it lingers long after the final page.
Rating: 3.5/5
Lee Heejoo’s Holy Boy , translated by Joheun Lee, is a taut, dark novel set in modern Korea, spinning the thriller genre on its head. At its heart are four women, very different, equally consumed by their infatuation with K-pop idol Yosep. Their fixation pushes them to a point of no return: they kidnap Yosep, convinced their devotion is its own defence. As their plan careens out of control, the novel unspools layers of psychology, unresolved trauma, and the messy power of secrets.
What sets Holy Boy apart isn’t just the plot (as wild as it sounds), but Heejoo’s scalpel-sharp portrait of obsession and desire. Each woman brings her own fractured perspective, her wants and wounds cutting across the group and fueling the chaos. Through their eyes, Yosep morphs from distant celebrity to an almost mythic figure, the embodiment of everything they’ve longed for and can’t have. The story pulls apart the dangers of parasocial attachment and what happens when adoration turns into something monstrous.
Heejoo’s writing is remarkable, intense yet elegant, lyrical without flinching away from the darkness. The translation keeps the prose punchy and atmospheric, never letting the reader escape the sense of creeping dread. The result is a narrative that thrums with tension and psychological depth, examining not just fanaticism, but loneliness and the raw craving for connection.
For all its strengths, this is a story that deals in discomfort. The subject matter, kidnapping, manipulation, and the collapse of moral boundaries, is jarring and, for some, may prove difficult to stomach. But if you’re up for a thriller that puts its characters’ inner lives ahead of easy shocks, Holy Boy is hard to put down. It’s a chilling, unvarnished look at the human cost of obsession, and it lingers long after the final page.
Rating: 3.5/5
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