Laura Hankin

The Daydreams

A deliciously entertaining novel about the stars of a popular teen show from the early 2000s—and the reunion special, thirteen years after their scandalous flameout, that will either be their last chance at redemption, or destroy them all for good.


Back in 2004, The Daydreams had it all: a cast of innocent-seeming teenagers acting and singing their hearts out, amazing ratings, and a will-they-or-won’t-they romance that steamed up fan fiction forums. Then, during the live season two finale, it all imploded, leaving everyone scrambling to understand why.


Afterward, the four stars went down very different paths. Kat is now a lawyer in Washington, DC. Liana is the bored wife of a famous athlete. Noah, the show’s golden boy, emerged unscathed and is poised to become a household name. And Summer, the object of Noah’s fictional (and maybe real-life) affections, is the cautionary tale.


But now the fans are demanding a reunion special. The stars all have private reasons to come back: forgiveness, revenge, a second chance with a first love. But as they tentatively rediscover the magic of the original show, old secrets threaten to resurface—including the real reason behind their downfall.


Will this reunion be a chance to make things right? Or will it be the biggest mess the world has ever seen? No matter what, the ratings will be wild

Daisy Jones but make it a Gossip Girl reboot?! This was basically catnip for me and I ate it up! 👏

Amelia

Do you long to reminisce about the days of dELiA*s catalogs, TRL, and the era of Nickelodeon/Disney shows about teens having to balance their rockstar dreams with pop quizzes? If so, this book is for you. I kept picturing The Daydreams as a Nickelodeon version of Glee. It had all the makings of being a juicy book about castmates reuniting to pick up the pieces after their disastrous ending. There was all this betrayal, animosity, and awkwardness surrounding the characters, and I was excited to see all the drama unfold. I will give it to Hankin for throwing in some twists I wasn't expecting, but for me, this fell into the category of the plot being more interesting than the characters. None of them stood out or even felt fully developed. We're following Kat as our main character, and she was so boring. The pacing also dragged, especially in the middle, and it started to feel repetitive. However, I'd still recommend checking it out if you enjoy stories about celebrity drama.

The Daydreams

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