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

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was the first novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid that I’ve read, and while it definitely has its faults, it was fairly quick and entertaining. It took me some time to get used to the format, but I ended up really digging the documentary/oral history style retelling of how the novel’s titular fictional band Daisy Jones & The Six came to be
and fell apart
. Additionally, Reid made excellent use of the unreliable narrator device with characters remembering certain moments very differently than others and letting us, the reader, piece it together. On top of that, even though most of the story was a retelling through the band members’ experiences, the novel still managed to exude that classic 70s vibe which I found quite remarkable. 

I loved how well each band member (with the exception of Pete although it’s clear why later on) was fleshed out, and there was plenty of drama to keep the reader engaged. I especially enjoyed the songwriting scenes between Daisy & Billy. I did, however, feel like halfway through, some of it became a little bit repetitive. I also felt like the drama could have gone a lot further…
the majority of the band members clearly harbored a lot of resent toward Billy and at times, each other, although they rarely really acted on it (with a few exceptions, mainly Eddie). I was waiting for it to culminate in a massive fight but it kind of let me down there.
Despite this, it was still an emotional rollercoaster of a book.

All in all, this was an interesting story that touched upon plenty of themes like relationships (romantic, platonic & family), addiction, grief, loyalty, power, and fame. Nothing truly ground-breaking, but entertaining nonetheless. If you like watching music documentaries or reading interview-format literature, and you have a soft spot for the 70s era, you’ll probably really enjoy this. 
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