When Book FOMO Strikes- Daisy Jones & The Six

Disclaimer: I am not a Taylor Jenkins Reid fan, nor to I dislike her. I have listened to one of two of her books and while entertained while driving around, I wasn't blown away by her writing chops, in terms of the construction of her prose, the development of her characters, or the plot lines. That being said, I think that we're all on the same page that she's not exactly striving for a Pulitzer or Nobel. She has a style and a genre, and she does well for herself. And again, as I said, I was entertained, but not impressed. So, when I first heard of Daisy Jones & The Six several months ago, I figured I'd probably listen to it as well, especially since the subject matter was intriguing. 

And then everyone started reading ARCs and I kept seeing it EVERYWHERE. 

Book FOMO is a real thing, and with the convenience of the Amazon app, badda-bing-badda-boom, that sucker was delivered to my house on release day. Raise your hand if your a big fat sucker.

So, I read it. And I have thoughts. 

First of all, I loved the Behind the Music feel- I adored the series back on VH1 back when I was in high school. They covered all the bands I grew up listening to with my mom- it was an hour of sex, drugs, rock and roll. The book is told in an interview format and has the same confessional tone, which I was a nice approach for Reid to take and I appreciated her originality. I do think this was slightly problematic, though, as it prevented a level of depth to some of the characters that I think could have been achieved with a more complex narrative line. I know, she just can't win. I'm sorry, this is just who I am. 

Something else that I liked was the clear Fleetwood Mac homage- Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham are clearly Billy and Daisy. There's enough originality, though, where it definitely didn't feel like a rip-off or an attempt at a biographic novel or anything. I do think that Reid could have done a better job making it feel more authentic to that time period, though. I just didn't feel a true commitment to dating her story (the format admittedly has something to do with this, though). 

Without giving anything away, I do think there were certain plot points that were pretty predictable and the end "twist" was a little anticlimactic (but still a little endearing). 

I am excited about the series Reese Witherspoon's production company is going to develop eventually for this book. It is definitely one of those stories that I think would translate really well to the big screen or the small screen. 

If you love music from the seventies, the sort of confessional/interview format, or need a break in between heavier books, this is certainly the novel for you. It will probably make everyone's summer reads lists, for good reason. It's not going to be taught in college classes, but it's definitely fun read.