A review by zerenreads
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Daisy Jones & The Six is the story of the titular rock band's rise to fame and the ever-shifting and changing dynamics between its members throughout this period. 

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, which I feel is due in large part to my enjoyment of this genre of book. It has all the classic elements of being in one of the world's most famous bands during what many see as the golden age of rock music - tour buses, drinks and drugs, groupies and gorgeous women etc. However, this book also acknowledges the cracks in this facade. It is an interesting and, I believe, important commentary on addiction, and how normalised and glamorised this lifestyle was both at the time and today, and how it is unsustainable to live that way. I think it was so effective because addiction was seen from both sides - from the people themselves, only some of whom were willing to acknowledge that they were endangering themselves, and from those around them who could see the dangers in the way they were acting. There was a passage on page 339 which rang particularly true. "You can't love someone back to health and you can't hate someone back to health and no matter how right about something you are, it doesn't mean they will change their mind." That paragraph perfectly captures the feeling of "throwing someone you love out to see and praying they float on their own, knowing they might drown and you'll have to watch.'

This is now the third Taylor Jenkins Reid book I have read, and I have rated all of them 5 stars. I love her style of writing in general, and how the main characters of her book always include strong, determined, unique women who feel so vibrant and realistic that I almost find myself googling them to learn more about their lives.
An example of this is when Karen is pregnant and decides to have an abortion and Camila decides almost instantly to support her and go to the clinic with her, knowing that Graham's lack of support was difficult to deal with. She says, "A part of me wishes you wanted kids, because my kids make me so happy. But... I think in order to be happy like I'm happy, you need different things. And I want you to have whatever those things are." I thought it was one of the best parts of the book and I was devastated to find it was cut from the television series.


One thing that made this book very unique was the format. It was written as a series of quotes from individual interviews with the characters, but formatted almost like a play.
Eg. Billy: Warren was wearing a red jacket.
Warren: I wore a red jacket everywhere that summer.
I think this format ran the risk of being extremely confusing and/or boring and repetitive with each character telling the same story in slightly different words, however it ended up being extremely effective in my opinion. It was so interesting, and quite funny at times, to see how different members of the band remember and retell the same moments differently in order to make themselves seem better, and reading from the points of view of several people at the same time really felt like it gave readers a full understanding of the bigger picture. 

I rated this book five stars because it was gripping, entertaining, tackled nuanced issues with grace and subtlety and had vibrant, realistic characters who were so clear in my minds eye. I loved Warren because he was simply so unbothered throughout the whole thing - while other characters were bickering and arguing he was in the corner smoking a cigarette waiting for everyone to get back to playing music. However, my favourite character was hands down Camila. She is determined and absolutely formidable, and her take on relationships, love, trust and loyalty was so unexpected and different to the mainstream one yet I found myself agreeing with her. She is unwaveringly committed to her family,
and she told Daisy Jones what she needed to hear at a time when nobody else was able or willing to, and in doing so saved her life.

In conclusion, I wholeheartedly recommend this book - it is brilliant and emotional and definitely a great one to ease you out of a reading slump.
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