Daisy Jones and the Six (Review)

A book so good it feels real — now more than ever! Daisy Jones and the Six is a mockumentary-style book by one of my favorite authors, Taylor Jenkins Reid. It’s just released as a TV show on Amazon Prime AND the fictional band has its album out and it’s so good! I have to review all 3 — the book, the show (so far), and the album!

Annnndddd…. I have to give you some Daisy vibes.

The vibe

Book / Skort / Boots / Bodysuit / Duster (similar)

The book

Daisy Jones and the Six tells the story of the eponymous band that rose to fame fast, and fell even faster. Rather than constructed with any narrative, it’s written completely in interview style with the band members, friends, family, and other influences.

The Dunn Brothers was a growing band founded by brothers Billy and Graham just about to make it in California when they rebranded to The Six. Addiction hits Billy hard — right as his family grows from Camilla, his lovely wife, to make room for their daughter, Julia. Just down the road, Daisy Jones was getting drunk, high, or both at the same time while secretly harboring a dream to be a singer-songwriter. One man saw the opportunity for these two music acts to come together to be bigger than either could be on their own. The only problem is Daisy and Billy cannot get along for any amount of time. But, oh how thin the line is between love and hate.

It’s got rock counterculture, it’s got messy band drama, it’s got a gut-wrenching love triangle, and it’s got a beautifully shocking ending.

The audiobook — narrated by a full cast — is a stunning production. But honestly, whether reading or listening, you have to pay attention. SO many characters and details that move fast! I actually really don’t like that the entire book is completely interview style so I have high hopes for the show to SHOW me the scenes not just Daisy and Billy talking about it way after the fact. I mean it’s SUPER cool and unique, but I just sometimes wish it were written as a narrative.

The show

So, expectations were HIGH going into the first three episodes. After seeing all the actors on instagram for a literal year, it was so exciting to see them in the show FINALLY! I didn’t know how they were going to structure the show — of course there would still be the interviews from the future, but I didn’t know if they were going to bounce around the timeline or stick to chronological.

Unfortunately (IMO) they stuck to chronological. The first episode and a half moves a mile a minute. You get young Daisy and young Dunns for like a millisecond then we jump to teen years. It’s so fast — but that’s very much like the book. Because it was all interview style, you get a lot of telling and not showing, which I think takes more time.

The pace slows down a bit in episode three, and we finally get to see Billy and Daisy together — ahh! What the people want!

So far, only a few things have changed, and I’m not even sure why they were changed? None of the adaption differences seem that consequential.

I’m ultimately not disappointed or not into the show — want to make that clear! The cast is so great — especially Riley Keough, who is ELVIS’s GRANDDAUGHTER and is my fave fun fact. Like how stinking cool is this grandchild of a rockstar get to be a rockstar on a show!

The album

I am the farthest from a music critic I mean hello… I mostly have T Swift on repeat. BUT I will tell you I have been loving the album Aurora. My fave songs are definitely the two singles that were released first – Look At Us Now and Regret Me. I still need to warm up to the rest of the album and right now I’ve just been going to Aurora in lieu of Taylor this week and I have been thriving for it!