Book Review | Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

This fictional band managed to take over the world, but will it take over your heart?

Sometimes I feel as if I've read a whole other book than the one others have been raving about. I found Daisy Jones & The Six to be incredibly overhyped.

About Daisy Jones & The Six

Daisy Jones is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties. She's beauty, she's grace, she has the kind of voice that receives much praise.

The Six, a band started by the Dunne Brothers, Billy and Graham, but later led by Billy Dunne, is getting noticed by producers. They've started touring around the country, landing gigs bigger than the previous ones. On the eve of their first tour, Billy's girlfriend, Camila, finds out she's pregnant. Faced with the newfound success of his band and the pressure of his impending fatherhood, Billy does questionable things while he's on tour.

Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer finds that the way to reach immeasurable success is by combining the two stars together. Daisy Jones & The Six soon become full-blown rockstars, topping the charts and playing sold-out arenas.

Their music made them famous but their breakup made them legends. In Daisy Jones & The Six, we find out what really happened between the band members that led to their sudden disbandment.

Daisy Jones & The Six Review

I'm going to be honest, I thought Daisy Jones & The Six was a real band at first. I searched them up, fully expecting to find a whole discography on Spotify. The way it was written in an interview transcript made me think that I was reading a non-fictional book.

However, I hated this writing style. This oral history-style format where the characters are reminiscing about their days in the band was a great concept in theory, but I don't think it worked very well.

I found it difficult to get into the story. I was confused and lost. I had to put the book down a few times, then I picked it up again a few days later hoping somehow I might be able to get into it this time round. The book only became a little tolerable when I read it along with the audiobook. The audiobook helped a bunch and created a clear distinction between characters for me.

Even then, I had to fight the urge to put this book throughout my read.

The main reason why I found it difficult to continue was that everything we know about the book is told to us. It's practically what every English teacher tells you not to do; Show, don't tell. This makes the book fall flat because there isn't a chance for the reader to interpret the story in their own way.

This book took me a month to finish! I think it might've even put me in a tiny reading slump...

While I hated the way the book was written, I think the concept of the book is really cool. The world-building was immersive and put me right into the 70s. Taylor Jenkins Reid has obviously done her research and it shows in how the 1970s music scene in L.A. was written.

However, the characters were annoying and predictable. I hated most of them.

Daisy Jones is a spoilt, rich girl who thinks the world revolves around her. If something doesn't go her way then she'll throw a tantrum. Her need for drugs being her only personality trait is annoying. She's just a pretty girl who can sing. I tried to like her in the beginning but she's just an awful person.

I think the moment where I couldn't stand her the most is when she gets angry at Billy for not loving her back. As if he doesn't have a wife and kids? Who the hell does she think she is? And then she says confidential information Billy has told her in confidence to the whole world just because she's angry at him for not wanting to kiss her. Daisy Jones is an entitled brat and I despise her.

Then we have the rest of the characters.

Billy was alright, in the most alright way an arrogant rockstar could be. I appreciated his (very little) character development throughout the book though. Graham, Karen and Camila were mediocre. Warren was just there (I honestly don't remember much about him). Eddie was irritating. Pete was also just there (don't remember much about him either).

Everyone failed to make a lasting impression on me. The characters were bland. They don't have any personality, had barely any character development. And it didn't help that it was in an interview style so these characters felt even further away from me.

While the characters reminisce on their days as Daisy Jones & The Six, there wasn't much happening. The plot was predictable and repetitive. It's nothing we haven't heard from band documentaries.

My Recommendation

★★☆☆☆ (2/5)

I think this book had an interesting premise but it just failed to show in the end result. For one, the writing style does not work well, and the characters need to have a serious revamp.

I love how there's a visual adaptation coming on Prime Video though and I'm excited to watch it. Considering this oral history-style format, a visual adaptation (especially since this would be a TV series) would work splendidly.

And based on the teaser and trailer that's already out, it looks awesome so far. I'm hyped to watch it.

But the book? It's boring. I wouldn't waste my time reading it. But if you do choose to read it then read it together with the audiobook because you'd be scratching your head for hours without it.

Daisy Jones & The Six managed to strike a chord for the people of the fictional 1970s L.A., but it felt like a broken record that needed more tuning to me.

About Taylor Jenkins Reid

Taylor Jenkins Reid is the author of Malibu Rising, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and four more novels. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, their daughter, and their dog.