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Mr. Yay

by Emily Jane

A vanished TV show meets an Ohio-to-Los Angeles reinvention

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Awards & Recognition

  • Author recognition

    USA Today bestselling author

    The metadata identifies the author as a USA Today bestselling author and names On Earth as It Is on Television a...

AlbakiReads Editorial

A vanished TV show meets an Ohio-to-Los Angeles reinvention

A stray dog becomes the catalyst for budding musician Fatty Bratty to leave his Ohio apartment and pursue music in Los Angeles with his best friend. At the same time, therapist Miriam remembers Mr. Yay, a children’s-show character whose existence her husband Jack—and seemingly much of the world—cannot confirm. Their contrasting experiences link a suburban mystery to a story about sudden changes in reality, fractured memory, personal expectations, and the search for a more authentic life. The novel’s setup brings together rap, a missing piece of pop culture, and a cast of people making abrupt changes to their routines.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in humorous science fiction with a suburban mystery and speculative elements.
  • Readers who enjoy stories about music, changing personal expectations, and uncertainty about shared memories.
  • Readers curious about Emily Jane’s Branches multiverse.

Themes

Reality and memorySelf-discoveryPersonal expectationsMusic and reinvention

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

Part speculative adventure, part suburban mystery, totally hilarious and delightful. Rappers, dogs, detectives, children's shows--and second chances to embrace your true self.

Enter the Branches multiverse of Emily Jane, the Queen of Quirk and USA Today bestselling author of On Earth as It Is on Television.


"Whimsical and completely chaotic. This book is for those who loved Everyone, Everywhere, All At Once" --Flair Magazine

Budding musician Fatty Bratty wakes up in his terrible Ohio apartment to a random dog. A dog that acts like he belongs there. Except Bratty doesn't own a dog. He always wanted to but never did. So maybe this random dog is a sign: screw his parents' expectations. Forget business school. Goodbye, Midwest. Hello Los Angeles. Over a manic week, Bratty and his best friend write and record their first rap album. They call themselves Mr. Yay.

Bratty's therapist, Miriam, remembers a different Mr. Yay, the one from the old children's TV show, the washed-up actor turned first mate who sailed a boat captained by a dog and taught people to be themselves. To just be. But strangely, her husband, Jack, has no memory of the old show at all.

As Mr. Yay headlines Vegas shows and climbs the charts with his rap songs, Miriam watches her life unravel. Jack is increasingly absent, more secretive, reckless--he hardly resembles the man she married. Their friends start acting weird, too: drinking excessively, splurging on motorcycles, quitting their jobs, not washing their hair, harboring raccoons. Jack also doesn't remember things he should about his relationship with Miriam. But he suspects his memory hole is more than it seems. It's not just that he's forgotten the Mr. Yay show--it's that, on the internet, and according to the studio and half the population, there is no Mr. Yay. There never was.

Witty, heartfelt, deeply weird, and utterly original, Mr. Yay explores how we grapple with inexplicable sudden shifts in the world around us and how to live when the past is different than what you remember.
(And don't forget to check out the other books in the Branches multiverse, including Here Beside the Rising Tide, American Werewolves, and Give the People What They Want; or, How Our Dad Caused the Funpocalypse.)
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