By Olivia Serio (’23)

Today, I am going to be telling you about my favorite book of the year, Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Daisy Jones is a 5 star read. It is heartbreakingly beautiful, very quotable and shockingly real. This book is to die for. 

Set in 60s and 70s L.A., Daisy Jones and the Six is about a legendary band, their rise to fame, their biggest hit, and unveiling the truth about why they broke up. Readers hear the story of a young woman named Daisy Jones, whose beauty and soulful voice catches the eye of the rock n’ roll industry, and of a band called The Six, with their brooding lead singer, Billy Dune. Daisy Jones later collaborates with the Six to form the band, Daisy Jones and the Six. Daisy Jones and the Six also follows the “will they won’t they” romance between the two lead singers, Daisy Jones and the married Billy Dune. The setting and time that Daisy Jones and the Six is set in is perfect. I felt transported into another era. The 60s and 70s Los Angeles vibe made for some very cool style choices as well. While this novel has a great story to tell, it also has a very unique structure. Daisy Jones is told in interview format, therefore the entire text is dialogue, and the reader must sort out the truth in each character’s testimony. The cast of Daisy Jones and the Six is well rounded, full fleshed, and seems to leap off the page. More than once while reading the novel I asked myself, is this band actually fictional? Daisy is a complete mess, yet I love her dearly. She is strong and broken, beautifully lost, and she only wants someone to love her, see her, and accept her. Her want for acceptance shouldn’t be confused with groveling. She knows she is talented in songwriting, but she wants people to feel her pain and tell her she is not alone. She gets caught up in drugs and pursues the wrong men. Billy was the lead singer and head of The Six before Daisy joined. He is a control freak, has an obsessive personality, loves his wife with all his heart, and is undeniably talented. His brother, Graham is also in the band. Billy is a very captivating character. He fights going wild and drug addiction throughout the novel while he also fights with his fellow bandmates. I like Billy a lot and you root for him, though in my opinion, a little less than Daisy. I think you root for Daisy a little more because she is in such rough shape. Billy is on the edge about to fall, but Daisy has jumped and is falling fast. I won’t spoil what happens between Daisy and Billy, but it is one of my favorite aspects of the novel. Daisy and Billy have this chemistry and passion, but they torture each other. I will say though, I thought the ending of the novel was perfect. Some other characters are Sloane, Daisy’s best friend, Karen Karen, my favorite character, Camilla, Billy’s independent, strong wife, and Warren, the true comic relief of this novel. These other characters seemed as fleshed out as Daisy and Billy. Though I am a very character driven person, the story captivated me as much as the characters did. Readers get to go along for the ride with the band while they write their music, go on tour, party, make mistakes, and fall in love. The author, Taylor Jenkins Reid, even wrote the lyrics to Daisy Jones and the Six’s hit album, “Aurora”, in the back of the book. These lyrics add to the realism of the band, and made me want to buy tickets to their next show. Luckily, this beloved novel, Daisy Jones and the Six is being turned into a show for Amazon Prime! This added fact is just another reason why you should read this book. Fans of the movie, Almost Famous (which is one of my favorites, and all of you should totally watch it) will love this novel as well. The oral history style of writing was genius, the ending was raw and real, and the author is amazing. I really enjoyed this read. That’s it. It was truly great. 5 stars. Easy. 

If you read this and enjoy it, or you want me to read another book and review it, email me at serio.olivia92@bloomfield.org 🙂 I hope you enjoy and happy reading! -Liv Serio

P.S. Just a little PSA, this book is adult. I think it can definitely be enjoyed by high schoolers, but if you are worried about it, Goodreads is a great source for content warnings 🙂