Reviews

I should never have left this book sitting on my TBR for so long, this book was AMAZING.

The format immediately sucked me in, I could imagine it in both the interview format but also the retelling of the events wayyyy easier than I normally do when reading.

The storytelling kept me captivated and I was on edge when there was a conflict, thinking “Is this gonna break Daisy Jones & The Six up?” I was so invested in literally every member of the bands’ story.

The ending was so melancholic, I’m happy that every member of the band had the outcome they did, even if it resulted after major conflict and loss.

5/5 stars, definitely a reread for the future

cipotalectora's review against another edition

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4.0

So this is a girl that desperately wants to connect. But there’s no one in her life who is truly interested in who she is, especially not her parents. And it really breaks her. But it is also how she grows up to become an icon.

And that is what this is, a story about a girl who wanted to connect with the world and have anyone out there willing to spare some time out to listen to her, listen to every word she had to let out. It's a story about a girl who grew up to be an icon, an inspiration, a rockstar, a woman who independently grew up willing to do something in order to make her life better and live the life she had always dreamed to live. But that's not the only thing this story is about.

This story is about a band who rose to fame and called the top of the charts theirs, their name sitting on the throne like they owned everyone and everything. It's about a band who struggled with communication, love, jealousy, anger, drug abuse, addiction, and, most importantly, friendship. This is a story about these band members telling their parts of the story and how everyone settled in, letting out their secrets out so everyone can know what happened, why, when, and how. It's about people who dealt with love and loss and how giving up will not get you anywhere.

Content/trigger warnings:

Spoiler

Drug addiction/abuse, abortion, underage drinking.

Daisy Jones & The Six follows Daisy and the band she joined, The Six, which started off with the Dunne brothers, Billy and Graham Dunne, and then became The Six with the rest of the band members: Karen, Warren, Pete, and Eddie. It is filled with interviews, song lyrics, and it told as an oral history. We have Daisy, our coming of age girl who grew up in LA wanting to rise in the late 60s. She becomes independent as she is getting no moral support from her family and parents, so her only chances are moving out and living on her own, taking care of herself like she always has. She grows up going to bars, sleeping with older guys, and starts drinking and doing drugs at a young age, but she also wants people to see her for who she is: a girl who finds drugs and sex thrilling but also want to perform at the Whisky a Go Go as she also has a love for rock and roll. When she makes her debut, not only are her vocals getting noticed but so are her looks and her beauty.

The Six, a band started off by two brothers, are also hoping to make it to the music industry and rock out with the world. As they are making some progress and begin to hit the road together, Billy finds out his girlfriend, Camila, is pregnant. Unsure how to react and take the news, Billy turns to the drugs and drinks in order to hide his frustration and pour everything out. While on the road, the band and Billy are unable to settle in together as Billy is having trouble sorting everything out.

When The Six and Daisy are set to collaborate and make a duet together, arranged by their producer, the pathway and journey they all take together is still legendary. The rise to their fame happened this way, but so did many other things. Told by the members themselves in interviews and transcripts, the making of the band who was taking over the 70s is told chronologically by the members themselves, revealing their past and present, future plans, and why, after their last performance at the Chicago Stadium, the band decided to never again play together.

If the rest of the world was silver, Daisy was gold.

I want to say that I know a lot about the 60s through the 80s, but that would be the first thing I would be lying about. I hate to disappoint my history teachers this way, but the era and time of the 70s have never been an interest of mine. Not only that, but classic rock and roll and the rise of artists know as legendary today have never been my style. Growing up, I never found this type of history interesting. From the politics to the astonishing shift between the American system, to the movements and the rise of the artists, the years between the 1960s to the end of the 1980s has always been something I would consider boring. Not only that, but this was never something I learned about until I started eighth grade. Growing up with parents from a whole different country than America and hearing them say Oh yeah these songs have been out since I was very young but I never learned the name of the artists or the actual words was a constant struggle as legendary artists remain on top charts and sit on their thrones while, in the meantime, I'm trying to figure out the rest of the history that happened before and after everything else.

The tiniest bit of history—because we all love it—surrounds the book, but not so much as expected. We have this world in LA that is full of peace, love, drugs, sex, and so much rock and roll. The members take us to their past life as they embark on their journey to different cities and states. The rising artists that began their fame the from the 60s to the 80s still remain to be known, but the time and era of the 70s have even been quoted as "impossible to sum up" because so much happened during that decade. From band splits to new albums, future icons born, solo debuts to be out, serial killers being sentenced, the most magical place in the US built, and political statements and overviews released, the 70s hold a true and tremendous amount of cheerful yet dark sides, just like every era does.

If you're a fan of the 70s, this book won't give you anything you're asking for. It will not talk to you about the debut solo diva Dianna Ross made, The Beatles split and last album, the protests against the Vietnam War and the shootings made, the deaths of artists that remain iconic, inspiration, and as role models for rock fans. It will not give you the background of Nixon making political decisions, the first feminism wave, the goodbye's to fashion icons and hello's to the new fashion figures, the deaths made by serial killers, Walt Disney World being created, The Ramone's first album, the controversy about the Vietnam War, the smash hit tv shows, the legendary sport events and its history marks, the rise of artists varying from the genres rock, R&b and pop, including Pink Floyd, Queen, Aerosmith, David Bowie, Elvis Presley, Lef Zeppelin, Cher, Elton John, and so many more icons. It will not give any stories of history made by people of color, women succeding, and protests made against everything America did not agree on.

It was America. It was tits. It was sex. It was drugs. It was summer. It was angst. It was rock ’n’ roll.

Truthfully, I will admit, I wish there was more history. But then, this book was never about U.S. and world history anyway. I mean, I don't even though what this is classified as, historical fiction or contemporary. It's hard to classify it as a historical fiction though, because the book in this book is not something that would just be forgotten and be out of print, the setting is set after WWII, and the descriptions of everything in this are still in modern society, even worse in some cases. But, I didn't read this to talk about history, I read this to learn about the history of Daisy & The Six.

Daisy Jones & The Six was never calling my name, but Taylor Jenkins Reid was. It was as if she finally slammed the book to my face and telling me to read her latest novel because I'm the type of reader to join in the hype of every book years and years later, so Taylor probably knew I was never going to read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo until the hype of Daisy Jones was...kind of gone. Marking this book on hold was a bold decision, but now I have to understand the hype that keeps surrounding Evelyn Hugo's story, as it blew last year and keeps blowing up, determined to take her own high charts and sit on the throne she deserves.

Gosh. There is so much drama surrounding Daisy and The Six. For starters, every member tells different sides of the stories at times, and since they are being interviewed after many years have passed by, it can be difficult for them to remember every single detail about every band member, or, overall, everyone and not an individual in particular. The drama surrounding them makes everything more angsty, I will say, and it's what kept my hopes up for this book.

To begin, the writing of this is not the best for me. I didn't even know this was told as an oral history, written in interviews, set like transcripts, and told by the members themselves. I really just knew this was about a legendary band that broke up and that was it. Starting this book, though, reminded me that we should just never not just judge a book by its cover but also by its written format, and in this case, in a format of interviews. The author of the book in this book interviews the members and ask them to chronologically tell their side of their story from start to finish, and we don't only get to learn their story but also everyone else's. We get to understand every different perspective and understand the reasoning behind everything.

The biggest takeaway I got from this, in the beginning, was that it was solely about a rock band and their split, but Reid delivered so much more. I anticipatedly waited for this and starting it had my hopes up way to the top of the room that everyone in my neighboorhood was able to see it. Reading about every member individually tell their story and the rest was so relaxing. It felt like I was actually watching a documentary and learning about this band that is so fictional yet feels so real. Unlike Reid herself and everyone else who has read this book, I do admit, I couldn't imagine the songs in my head and not understand how the album and band was never real, but I could imagine the characters playing, being up on the stage and letting the audience know their feelings and their emotions, taking out their anger, sadness, and happiness.

Reading this felt like I was actually sitting in front of my television screen and watching "Behind the Music". Even though I've never actually watched every single episode, I've seen minor clips of some episodes, specifically about artists I particularly like. Now as I have finished this, I wish this was an actual documentary or any sort of adaption film, series or anything that can help me see for all the action for myself. Although I'm aware a 13-episode series is set to be adapted, I still wish this was actually a film instead of a series, but I can see why a series would be better, as the life of these ex-band members have been through the worst and best times and putting it all together in a 2 to 3 hour film wouldn't be the best. I'd also like to add that I read this and I didn't listen to the audiobook (as I am not a fan of them) but I do know there is a particular and whole cast that narrates the book, each given a specific member to voiceover, and I've also heard its highly recommended because not only are you reading but it's as if you're actually listening to the real members tell their story.

You know, I'm not a big crier with books. The only time I actually cry are the times when an animal dies, a male character is crying, or a female is so relatable that her crying reasons just hit me hard. We know what happens to the band. We know they split, but we don't know why, and when I started this, I was rooting for everybody, but, most importantly, I was rooting for the women. I know ~~for a fact~~ that Taylor creates unforgettable female characters in her books. After reading this, I've been wanting to binge-read every other book she has published and I was considering buying them on Amazon, but then I realized I'm on a book buying ban unless I really want the book. Gosh, reading every perspective of the three women—Daisy, Karen, and Camila—made me see how much progress has been made on women's rights and its empowerment. Although there is still so much controversy against feminism, Daisy Jones and the Six slapped me in the face and woke me up to realize women have always been strong, capable, independent, and can have so much capability to do so much in the world without men having to get up in their business. Although there is so much feminism in this, there is also ache and love for men the women have here, all three of them. Daisy and Camila are both in love with Billy, and we know that. We know from the synopsis that Billy has a family and we know that there is chemistry between Billy and Daisy, and although I wished I hated it, I didn't...not the fullest.

L.A. is full of men just waiting for some naive girl to believe their bullshit.

Daisy is seen as unlikeable by many, but I was rooting for her. She had everything settled and planned out, and every time she did, it went according to her way. She didn't take shit from anyone, men mostly, and she always had to have it her way, and it was fucking powerful. What I will admit is that Daisy was a character who did need someone in her life to love her back and care for her. She had her best friend, but I felt like Daisy needed someone in her life who could share everything with her, tell her their secrets, do things with her, fill her life with more happiness and send sparks of light along the way. This story also focuses on Daisy and her struggle with addiction, staying sober, and not bothering to listen to what anyone says. Sure, she didn't take shit from anyone, and it's so cool seeing a woman stand up for her beliefs during those years, but I truly believe from the bottom of my heart that Daisy needed someone to be able to understand what she's going through and be able to try and piece her back together, because Daisy could not handle doing it alone.

Daisy, to me, was a character who was lonely and needed to connect with someone. When she thought she found her true love, her person, her lover, her partner, her soul mate, the person she could feel the most connection with, she was right but she knew she couldn't have him, and it hurt man. Seeing Daisy breaking down even more over the fact that she's in love with the man who she has seen become a better person and see raise his family is so heartbreaking. But then, seeing Daisy not allow herself to be let down and just shut down from it is so strong of her too, and I truly think that if the year today was in the 70s and even early 80s, Daisy would have been such a role model for many people, and not just women. She was angry, jealous, loved, alone, and scared. She was a character with so much sympathy even at the times that you wanted to yell at her, shake her, and tell her to get a grip because all she was thinking about was herself and nobody and nothing else. But then, with the minor complaints I have about her, Daisy was such a radical woman.

I run hot and I always have. I am not going to sit around sweating my ass off just so men can feel more comfortable. It’s not my responsibility to not turn them on. It’s their responsibility to not be an asshole.

I never enjoy reading about love triangles, but Taylor can either rip you apart or anger you wish these three. She puzzles three different characters that begin to heal one another in different ways than the others do, and it either angers you or just breaks your heart. I said I'm not the crier, and instead of crying, I got mad. Frustrated. I got angry with Taylor for creating these broken characters that just didn't know what to do at times. She decided to make decisions difficult for all of them, but she also put barriers and signs in front of them that they were able to see and think of them as not only warning signs but signs that are meant for their future to keep growing and moving its way forward.

I really felt like I understood him. And I think he understood me. You know, things like that, that kind of connection with a person, it is sort of like playing with fire. Because it feels good, to be understood. You feel in sync with a person, you feel like you’re on a level that no one else is.

I know that this book also primarily focuses on the other band members, but every band member in this got in my nerves, other than Karen (at times). There was so much lack in communication that it made it very hard for the band to agree or disagree on everything, especially with Billy. I could understand where he was coming from, but Billy also needed to understand that there was really no leader in the band. What bothered me the most from his character was that he felt like he was a sort of leader and he referred to the band as his but never thought about everyone else. Sometimes he got on my nerves but then as we got to the ending, it all made sense as to why he was being so honest, so open, and unafraid to say the truth.

Another thing I'd like to point out is how Billy was making his best effort to stay sober, healthy, and ready for his family. Seeing as how he did everything because of his family and because of the chances Camila gave him was so beautiful. It was a true meaning of what family can do and how it can really change a person.

Although this book is called Daisy Jones and The Six, reading this felt like I was reading about Daisy and Billy struggling to understand they were not able to be together and the feeling they had for each other had to be forgotten. The angst they gave me because of the chemistry they had was attaching all the strings together. But Billy and Daisy were a puddle of their own: they knew they couldn’t be connected and there was going to be somebody to break them apart.

It’s an album about the push and full of stability and instability. It’s about the struggle that I live almost every day to not do something stupid. Is it about love? Yeah, of course it is. But that’s because it’s easy to disguise almost anything as a love song.

Honestly, I was unsure of my feelings when I finished this. Going into it, I was scared, especially because I didn't want to be on any minority. Seeing as how I'm feeling about this, this deserves much more than it's given. Daisy Jones & The Six delivers messages and portrayals about friendships that were never meant to last, families that were broken and love that was never meant to happen. It's all fun and games while it's lasting, but nothing ever lasts forever and knowing that this band was not going to make it until the end since the beginning brought actual anger to me because I hated that I was rooting for people I knew wouldn't root for each other.

Not everyone will like this, but I believe it had to be read by me. I'd like to end this by saying that I believe my feelings for this had to do with how I was feeling while I was reading it. If I'm being honest, while reading this from the 22nd to the 25th of March, I was not emotionally and mentally healthy in any way. I think one of the biggest reasons why I truly enjoyed this, even with the small quibbles I can point out, is because I lessened the pain I was feeling as I was reading about the pain these characters were feeling, and I just think that is so strong of the book to be able to do, have me experience compassion for fictional characters while healing myself.

heisenburger's review against another edition

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emotional 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

3.75

justjane22's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

ruby_mwh's review against another edition

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2.0

(I want to preface this by saying that this is my first review I have ever posted on this site despite being a member for a while, so I'm very new to this! + I'm extremely picky about books.)

Stars: ★★
Daisy Jones & The Six is a novel written as extracts from an interview: I'm all for unconventional styles, but I felt like this novel didn't really pull it off as well as it could have. Everything felt overly linear and oversimplified, and the novelty and humour of having characters give different accounts of the same events wore off very quickly. For a narrative meant to accurately chronicle the emotional turmoil surrounding its fictional band, many of the characters just failed to stir any sort of feeling in me and some contributed absolutely nothing to the story despite having sizeable chunks of dialogue. After being pleasantly surprised by The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo earlier this year, I was looking forward to what else Taylor Jenkins Reid had to offer, but unfortunately this one did not satisfy me, personally.

I don't want to post this review without saying something positive about the novel, because it was by no means terrible. It definitely managed to cover some heavy issues with more grace than it could have, and it was an easy read; despite its breadth of over 400 pages, I got through it pretty quickly. If you're looking for something undemanding to pass the time, this one might be for you.

edenbekkers's review against another edition

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5.0

Such a fantabulous book! Could not put it down.

klaireparavel's review against another edition

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5.0

I'm not sure I'd rave as much had I read this multiple interview format but I loved the audiobook. The cast was excellent, especially Judy Greer as Karen Karen and Jennifer Beals as the titular Daisy Jones. Behind the Music in book form. It was sex, drugs, rock and roll but it was more. It was love and fragility, addiction and vulnerability. It was unrequited and never realised. Talent, egos, and turmoil. I've never wanted to hear an album more than I want to hear the fictitious Aurora. I'm thrilled it's being adapted and I can't wait to see and hear it.

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