A review by cozybec
Daisy Jones & The Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid

emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow, I am absolutely blown away by this book.

Daisy Jones grew up in California in the 60s. As a teen she snuck into clubs and followed bands while she chased after the high music brought her and the drugs that came with being a groupie. Billy Dunne and Graham Dunne started a band right out of high school and slowly brought together themselves and four other talented musicians to form The Six. When Daisy Jones and the Six collided via Teddy Price, rock and roll was forever changed and has never recovered since.

This was my first Taylor Jenkins Reid and I think I made the best call not only picking this one, but deciding to go into the audiobook version. I cannot say enough good things about this audiobook. It's full cast, featuring some wonderfully talented names, but I have to brag on Judy Greer and her narration of Karen throughout. I LOVED Karen. I felt immediately connected to her and it really solidified my connection with these characters and the way this book was formatted. I grew to recognize the voices, the tones which they spoke, and the way the characters finished each other's thoughts or contradicted each other. It was like a highly choreographed dance and I was enthralled the entire time.

I was okay with this book for the first 50%, a good chunk of the lead up had me questioning if this was just some really well written Stevie Nicks fanfiction, but even so, I really love a good memoir so I was absolutely adoring the way this book presents itself as a documentary. Once I hit the line, "Let me tell you this - don't ever doubt Daisy Jones." it was like a switch flipped in my brain and I was all in. I had to know what happened to these people. I wouldn't even call them characters at this point because they felt so real that I was having a hard time remembering that this is just a novel and none of this actually happened.

One of my final notes I wrote was, "This is a masterclass in how to develop characters who feel like real, breathing people. Karen and Graham?? Billy and Camila??? DAISY JONES????" And I think that sums up my feelings. This is a piece of art and I feel like it should be required reading for any author or aspiring author to understand how to develop and connect readers to characters and make them feel real. I just think everyone should read this, actually, so stop reading my review and go get a copy.

I think I've been forever changed by this book.

Content warnings: drug use and drug abuse (present throughout, major warning), alcoholism (present throughout, major warning), addiction, abortion, grief, death of a parent, eating disorder, infidelity, emotional abuse by a partner, toxic relationships

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