Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Set in the mid sixties – late seventies, Daisy Jones & The Six transports readers to the most iconic age of rock n’ roll. The atmosphere and story composition create and authentic tale that I almost refuse to believe isn’t real! Taylor Jenkins Reid is a master of fiction – her characters possess an uncanny ability to charm readers and settle into their hearts. Her novels are multi-faceted and unlike any other books I’ve read, especially due to the oral history storytelling of Daisy Jones. (Side note – the audiobook? SPECTACULAR. If you have access to the audio version, you will not want to miss this experience) Full of timeless quotes, glamorous scandals, and heart-breaking loss, you will find yourself having a hard time to put this one down.

The women in this book are all so powerful and dynamic. There are so many strong messages about women empowerment, supporting other women, and demanding credit where it’s due. Even the smaller side characters are them much more layered than most supporting characters, as we explore their own storylines. Plus the relationships between all of the women, (Karen & Daisy, Karen & Camila, Camila & Daisy – even Daisy and little Julia made my heart swell!) are wholesome, unique, and authentic. Especially for a story with a bit of a love triangle, I could not be happier with the superb study of the experience of women.

I also was left so touched by the exploration of addiction. Taylor Jenkins Reid captures the dark, devastating nature of the disease without a hit of judgement.  The story of both Billy and Daisy’s respective addictions bring light to the glamorization of drugs of this time, while not glamorizing it themselves. This book exposes the truth about substance abuse while simultaneously carrying an air of hope and recovery for those who may be in a similar situation.

Recommended by Monica Shine

Click here to find in our catalog!

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Set in Nigeria, amid a corrupt system of law and order, Korede is forever coming to the aid of her beautiful, but kooky, younger sister, Ayoola, who has a bad habit of killing her boyfriends. She always claims self-defense, but she’s never injured, and her conscience never seems to suffer. 

Korede, is a borderline, antisocial nurse, more comfortable around her comatose patient, to whom she bears her soul, than with anyone else. She has a crush on Tade, a doctor she works closely with. However, when Ayoola shows up at the hospital to visit her sister, Tade is immediately smitten with her. So, not only is Korede hurt emotionally, with her sister’s history with men to consider, this development is quite troubling. 

Deep down, Korede is angry, jealous of her beautiful, favored sister, but she always comes to her rescue. Ayoola is self-absorbed, flaunting her beauty, and appears not to notice the stress and strain she causes Korede. Both sisters are flawed, with abominable character traits, but at the same time, they both managed to, inconceivably, elicit sympathy from me. The author creates a unique brand of suspense, an ever- present sense of dread, while toying with the readers' emotions. The social commentary could be at the core of the story, perhaps playing a key role in the sisters’ pathos. 

There’s much to ponder on in this amazing debut novel. Kordede’s stoic inner thoughts stole the show for me, though. The story is meant to be dark, meant to be taken seriously, but so sardonic, it is morbidly funny at times. 

But, one thing is for certain, this author has done an incredible job creating these wickedly entertaining characters, adding rich layers to the story, while keeping the prose pointed and sharp, even minimal, and still manages to add the rarity of humor into the mix with perfect balance and poise.

Recommended by Monica
Find it in our catalog here!