Thank you to the lovely people at BookSparks for my copy of Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

The Details:

Title: Daisy Jones & The Six
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Genre: Fictional interviews
Pub date: March 5, 2019
Read if you like: A Star Is Born, Sound City, sex, drugs, and all things rock and roll. And the interview collection Everyone Loves You When You’re Dead: Journeys into Fame and Madness.

Morgan’s Thoughts:

Taylor Jenkins Reid’s last novel, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, was one of my favorite reads of 2018, so I knew I had to get my hands on a copy of her latest novel ASAP.  My endless gratitude to Courtney at BookSparks for making that happen – I owe you girl – and a multitude of apologies for sharing this review five months before the release date.  I know, that does just seem cruel, but I wanted to get the things I’m feeling about this book out there before they slip from my mind.  Have no fear, I will remind you infinity times about the release date when we get closer to March.

So, where do we begin.  At the beginning, as Maria von Trapp would recommend.  Daisy Jones & The Six tells the story of one of the most epic (fictional) rock albums ever created.  It was a collaborative effort between Daisy Jones, the young, reckless, and extremely talented solo artist, and The Six, a rock band on the rise, lead by Billy Dunne.  Through a compilation of interviews of members of the band and the people who surrounded them, the tale of the creation of this album comes together to form a full picture.

It’s rock and roll: there are drugs, sex, and booze on every page.  Reid explores addiction from many sides: to drugs, to alcohol, to people, to the limelight.  This book, and the people in it, are intoxicating.  I picked it up a day after seeing the newest remake of A Star Is Born (and, I’m sorry, but WHAT are you doing with your life if you haven’t seen it yet?  Run, don’t walk, to the nearest movie theater).  And it filled that part of me that was craving more of the rock and roll life.  It’s my answer to the question of what I would be if I knew I would succeed: a rockstar.

Like Seven Husbands, love courses through this novel as a motivation for every decision the characters make: love for family, for each other, for the band, for the music.

I think I’ll revisit this story again before its release date, but for now, let me say this: this is a damn good story.  If you’re like me and you love stories about music (whether it be rock and roll or classical), you’re going to need to get your hands on this one.  It will make you want to rush out and create something.

In the meantime, here’s a playlist of songs made by musicians who (at some point in their careers) dated (okay, and one fictional couple of musicians, but did you seriously expect me not to include “Shallow”???).  What other songs/bands/artists would you add?

Synopsis: (as told by the back of the book)

Everyone knows the band Daisy Jones & The Six: Their album Aurora came to define the rock ‘n’ roll era of the late seventies, and an entire generation of girls wanted to be Diays.  But no one knows the reason behind the group’s split on the night of their final concert at Chicago Stadium on July 12, 1929… until now.