Probably the best book of 2019 so far.

Jesus Christ I cannot believe how beautiful and badass and interesting and fantastic Daisy Jones and the Six is. I wasn’t expecting this.

Daisy Jones and The Six is a fictional biography of an entirely fictional band, written in interview snippets with the band members and those close to them. I was concerned the interview format would grate on me after a while, but I completely forgot it was even a thing because of how engrossed I was in the story. The Six are a great rock band with Billy as their lead singer. They’re on the cusp of stardom but their personality clashes and Billy’s control issues are keeping them from the big time. Daisy Jones is a songwriter and daughter of celebrities. Wherever she goes, trouble follows, but her writing and singing make her a standout. She is signed to the same record label as The Six, and after some collaborations, they meld together to form the supergroup, Daisy Jones and The Six.

One of the things this book does brilliantly is paint an incredibly detailed picture of life at this time (1970s) and you honestly feel like you’re watching a mini-series as you’re reading. I could see every outfit, understand the type of music they were playing and how it was working for their audience. The author does a masterful job of building a world within an era we’re already aware of. For a while you read and think Daisy Jones is the best thing in the world. Then your allegiance shifts to Karen or Billy or Graham or half a dozen others.

One of the things this book does brilliantly is tell the story of so many characters in a way where there is no real villain. Because it’s told through an interview format, the reader is exposed to the thoughts of every character through all the tumultuous drama. You get to read why people make the decisions they do, and because you have that insight, you have compassion and forgiveness for so many people who, on the surface, may be the bad guy of the story. Daisy Jones is a dug addicted woman, but she’s so myuch more than that. She’s an artist who grew up without anyone loving her. She has one friend in the world and right when she thinks she can love someone else, she finds out it;’s someone who cannot love her back and she’s not used to not getting what she wants. She rebels and acts like an idiot, but EVERY CHARACTER DOES. It’s great. It reads like real life. People are morally grey, but that doesn’t mean they’re not worthy of kindness.

There are too many great things I can say about this book. I’d buy it and read it again easily. I cannot wait until this (inevitably) gets made into an HBO mini-series because gosh, it’s brilliant.

Title: Daisy Jones and The Six
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 368
ISBN: 9781524798628

Three Descriptors: Compelling, Character-Driven, Complex

Read Alikes:
A visit from the Goon Squad By Jennifer Egan
Modern Lovers by Emma Straub
Girl in a Band by Kim Gordon
The Ensemble by Aja Gabel
The Commitments by Roddy Doyle