Book Review: Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Daisy Jones & The Six

Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid

Publication Date: 05 Mar 2019

Genre: Adult Fiction

Pages: 336

Publisher: Random House

Everyone knows Daisy Jones & The Six, but nobody knows the reason behind their split at the absolute height of their popularity . . . until now.

Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it’s the rock and roll she loves most. By the time she’s twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things.

Also getting noticed is The Six, a band led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she’s pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road.

Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes that the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend.

The making of that legend is chronicled in this riveting and unforgettable novel, written as an oral history of one of the biggest bands of the seventies. Taylor Jenkins Reid is a talented writer who takes her work to a new level with Daisy Jones & The Six, brilliantly capturing a place and time in an utterly distinctive voice.

When I first started hearing about Daisy Jones & The Six, I had absolutely NO interest in reading this book. I am not a fan of Rock N’Roll. I barely listen to music as it is, and when I do, I definitely do not listen to anything in that genre. I convinced myself that this plot would have little to offer me. Nevertheless, after @BookSparks announced this book as their final pick for #WRC2019, I caved and picked Daisy Jones & The Six for my March Book of the Month selection.

OH. MY. GOD. I am eating my words because the book was PHENOMENAL! I was devastated when I finished the book because I didn’t want this incredible story to end.

The first thing that immediately sucked me into this story was the format of the book. The story is told through a series of oral interviews featuring how Daisy Jones & The Six came to be. We are introduced to Daisy Jones, her best friend Simone, the six members of The Six (Billy, Graham, Karen, Teddy, Eddie, and Pete), and other important characters such as previous managers. While this sounds complicated with the multiple POVs, it’s executed brilliantly because the story feels is reminiscent of watching a documentary.

The story is set in the mid sixties – late seventies. Right off the bat, we are introduced to Daisy Jones who is devastatingly beautiful but desperate for love and attention since her wealthy parents are too busy to acknowledge her existence. At the age of 14, Daisy immerses herself into the infamous Rock N’Roll scene of Sunset Strip in L.A. by taking whatever drugs she was given and sleeping with whatever rockstars she hung around with. As she continues this trajectory in her teens, she begins to realize that the men she is surrounding herself with just use her for her natural musical talent then cast her aside as a used rag doll once they’ve had their fill. She decides that she will become a star on her terms, and she’s done being someone’s groupie.

I had absolutely no interest in being somebody else’s muse.

I am not a muse.

I am somebody.

End of f*cking story.

– Daisy Jones

This story is powerfully feminist. All of the female characters are strong, fierce, and a force to be reckoned with. My personal favorite is Camille. She would do anything for Billy and her family. What I loved most about is that she knows that she married a rockstar and never tries to change the man he is instead she is always there to help build him up no matter. This woman is incredible!

The story tackles themes of love, heartbreak, loss, betrayal, friendship, and addiction. I think Taylor Jenkins Reid does a spectacular job of tackling the raw truth of addiction without either downplaying or glamorizing it. She shows just how debilitating this disease is and that it is a constant battle every. single. day.

After finishing Daisy Jones & The Six, I am officially a Taylor Jenkins Reid fangirl. The woman is an absolutely brilliant storyteller. There were several times in the book that she 100% had me convinced that this was a real band (and yes, I did google to check!). This is one of those books that I will be recommending (more like shouting) to anyone who will listen to me.

Have you read Daisy Jones & The Six? Is it on your TBR? Let’s discuss!