this was such a fun read!! it gave me everything i was looking for in a book!! i'm so thankful to netgalley that i got to read this one early. it was a pure delight and everyone should read it!!

When I read I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCrudy, I got a birdseye view of the life of a former child star. That was not fiction. On the other hand, this book, The Daydreams, is fiction and it is just as informative.

In the year 2004, there were four teenagers, all on the brink of adulthood, who had a successful television show. Now it is 13 years later and they have a chance for a reunion show. While as teens they may have started off as innocent, but that changed the more they were popular. In fact, despite their popularity, the show only lasted two seasons, and everybody’s lives just went in different directions.

Now that Kat, Noah, Summer, and Liana are all adults with very, very different lives, the chance for a reunion special might be the redemption they need for the travesties that occurred when they were on the show. However, secrets abound even now, and the reunion special seems like it will completely burn any connection that might’ve existed between the former child stars. The drama is off the charts, but it is a look at what no doubt really happens in the lives of many young people who live on the other side of a camera. Expectations, stardom, paparazzi, secrets and more all play into the experiences these four young people have.

I was fully drawn into their stories, whether when they were younger, or what they are going through right now and I wished above all else that they did not have to experience some of the trauma and exploitation that occurred as a result of being famous. I love how things came out in the end, and those last scenes in this book were done quite well.

Many thanks to Berkley and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

I love this book! It gave me all the 90’s nostalgia and honestly reminded me of Saved by the Bell…if they were in a band. I ate up all the drama between the characters on both timelines! I loved how Laura wrote both timelines to compliment each other throughout the book and the soliloquies really gave more depth to each character! The drama is palpable and so much goes wrong…but much more goes right. This book has a beautiful overcast of “feel good” vibes that helps you realize that people aren’t always perfect but sometimes goodness actually does prevail.

The ending is a perfect culmination of events and, dare I say, I’m looking forward to “season 2” if one is in the works!

3.5 Repeating Stars
You know how you can be having magical moments...everything is going perfectly but deep down in your heart and head, something is warning you it is all going to go wrong...

Well, the premise of The Daydreamers takes that idea, has it be 4 people who are part of a 2000 show, and have them enjoy success, only to have it blow up during a live second season finale. Each of the group goes on their own paths after, some having a successful transition to the "real world" others not.

Now the fans, many years later are pushing for a reunion. This eventually is planned due to the internal needs of the group. It seems that things will be fine...but then again, it will be live and one never knows, does one...

Jumping off the trend of recent scandalous child acting revelations, The Daydreams offers a new perspective to early fame, but fails to really get into the harsh reality.

Thirteen years after the disastrous ending of their popular teen show, Kat and the other stars of this beloved musical drama are feeling pressure from the fans to right the wrongs of that live finale and to finally do a reunion. But Kat has moved on. Now a lawyer in Washington, DC, Kat has put all that behind her. But when she begrudgingly accepts to join her cast for one last episode, not only will she have to face what really happened all those years ago, but she will learn that nothing is what she thought.

Laura Hankin succeeds in writing a compelling read with twist after twist that truly keep the story engaging and moving. However, the release of this book is timely, and with more and more stirrings of controversies with children’s networks in the early 2000s - the exact time and place of this novel - ignoring this aspect felt like a missed opportunity. The adult characters in the “2004” chapters are stern but fair, and idolized and revered by the teens. Even after becoming adults, where more conflict is made aware, not much is said about their treatment of these stars in their early years. A line is even thrown out there to mention how good the executives of their show are, not like some of the other shows filming at the time. While this has no effect really on the quality of the story, I think readers will be looking for something a bit gritier given recent revelations.

Overall, this story celebrates second chances, female friendships and the idea that it is never too late to chase your dreams.

📽️The Story: Kat was once part of The Daydreams — an early 2000s clean tween show about a foursome who starts a band. The Daydreams were huge and their prospects for spin-offs and other deals high — but the show ended with a huge bang and not in a good way. These days, Kat is a corporate lawyer gunning for partner — her Daydreams days are long gone. When an opportunity for a comeback presents, Kat is not into it — until convinced otherwise.

📽️My Thoughts: This one was a ton of fun — give me all of the early 2000s nostalgia, please. The characters were dramatic, but believable and the story just flowed. I’ve heard this book referred to as a bit YA, and that may be true, but we are talking about YA characters or adults coming back to their teen selves. It works. I had a lot of fun reading The Daydreams and didn’t want to put it down.

This was probably the best book to read during the height of being really sick because it had that "laying on the couch watching a "behind the music" on a sick day" feel despite being about a show that never really existed.

Everyone loves a good story that is all about the Hollywood drama and hot gossip. This was a really great story that allowed for us to have this huge reunion with these character's from one of the hottest 2000s tv shows of the time. The dual timelines really added their own twist on the character arcs and their redemption alongside the drama.

For everyone who loves Hollywood drama and gossip, this book is for you! I loved that this book really felt like it was for me - the girl who grew up loving her favorite 90s/00s childhood stars and the lives they live after they leave that "childhood stardom" bubble and the drama that ensues. It was like all the famous people stories that I've loved to read before, complete with articles, soliloquies, and flashbacks. Such a fun book!

“The Daydreams” by Laura Hankin was like eating a bag of gummy bears — and I mean that in the best possible way.

“The Daydreams” is about a TV show reunion — “The Daydreams” was an early aughts teen show about a band of the same name. The show’s live finale went down in flames, but in 2018, the cast of four main characters decides to reunite. The reunion show brings with it all kinds of old drama and secrets.

I was a bit hesitant to pick this one up because the storyline was such a departure from the author’s previous two books (I loved both of those, “Happy and You Know It” and a “Special Place for Women.”) But this one was so fun and really scratched that itch for 00s nostalgia.

There’s a lot of talk of media strategy and paparazzi in this one, and as a reporter I loved how that storyline transitioned from tabloids to Twitter.

I was excited to read this one…stars from a popular TV show from the early 2000’s return for a reunion after it’s scandalous ending years ago. It brought back all the nostalgia from the 2000’s, but there was just something missing.

Told via dual time lines between 2018 and 2004. The story was told mainly by Kat but the other cast members soliloquies were sprinkled throughout the book. It was a redemption story filled with drama. The characters were messy with their own secrets. The plot was promising but there was something missing in the execution. I had high hopes for this one but it ended up just being ok.

I guess it's my fault for wanting this to be more Dawson's Creek-ish but that's what I got from the description! Loved the nostalgia but just didn't love all these characters but still a fun read!!

“The Daydreams,” airing on Atlas Network in the mid-2000s, enjoyed instant success with its young target demographic and propelled the four stars—Summer, Noah, Lianna, and Kat—to instant fame. But it all imploded during the second season live finale. The show was quickly cancelled and the stars, who had been the best of friends, left with damaged relationships, if not as enemies, with little to no contact over the years.

Noah continued a career in Hollywood unscathed, even winning a screenwriting Oscar, while Lianna became an Instagram-famous sports wife, Kat a lawyer on the partner track, and Summer has never recovered, spending time in and out of rehab.

Surprisingly, in an interview, Noah says he will join a reunion special if the other three cast members agree. Narrator Kat, happy with her life in Washington, DC, has no intention of returning, but when Summer shows up, Kat cannot say no, despite the damage it might do to her relationship and career. She feels obliged out of guilt and a desire to right misdeeds of the past; Summer, Noah, and Liana all have their own hidden agendas as well.

Reunited, pushed into their teen personas, the group recapture the spark that made them famous so many years ago—but they also edge closer to unveiling the secrets that led to their demise. With only a month until the live reunion show, no matter what happens, all their fans will be watching.

This dual-timeline novel is entirely riotous, as you might expect from the author of A SPECIAL PLACE FOR WOMEN. As young actors, the cast is ill-prepared for the demands of fame, the pressure from the studio, and the focus on their bodies or the way that they are seen as their characters (something made easier since the “Creator” decided that the characters would have the names of the actors playing them). In the present, reunion timeline, the cast has more experience, and while they initially become sucked into the roles given to them, they realize they have some agency. At the same time, they are much less trusting and much more angry, a combustible scenario.

I thought the book was entertaining and immersive, and while I didn’t have any complaints about what was included in the book, I wish Kat’s relationship had more backstory or that Miheer had been better developed: he seemed a bit out of place and too good to be true in the context of the rest of the narrative.

It was hard for me not to think of Jennette McCurdy’s memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died, about her experience with Nickelodeon. Some of the themes of exploitation and jealousy were evident in both titles. Though the formats are completely different, if you were fascinated or outraged by those themes in the memoir, you’ll probably enjoy this novel.

This TV cast was on top of the world - until a scandalous live show took them down. Will their reunion bring them back?

I was a teen in 2004, the past timeline in this story, so I loved the nostalgia vibes! Each of the four characters was a well-drawn individual with plenty of secrets, and I loved how the plot revealed them slowly, and somehow whenever I least expected them. I was glued to the audio (finished it in one day!), and I thought I knew what would happen, but Hankin threw in some excellent twists. I also enjoyed the social commentary aspect of the story - it's shameful how poorly female celebrities were treated during the 00s. I think fellow millennial readers will love this one too!

The Daydreams by Laura Hankin is a juggernaut of a novel that gives similar reunion vibes akin to Daisy Jones & the Six but set in the world of the lightning bolt success of a teenage-starred, hit musical TV show.

The dual timeline between the present & the past when their TV show first began was fascinating. I also enjoyed the multiple point of views & the slow release of information it provided about the mystery of the unraveling of the show & its’ stars

This book showcased the horrific toll that Hollywood has, especially on childhood stars & the repercussions of notoriety & the downslide post fame. With recent revelations regarding childhood stars & their traumatic confessions on the price of their celebrity, this felt extremely relevant & true to form. If you grew up, remember &/or are curious for a look into the late 90’s/early 00’s tabloid & world scrutiny into celebrities & especially women at that time, this is an interesting snapshot of this as well as the after effects of how that impacted their lives.

This story drew me in very quickly with the perfect amount of drama, mystery, intrigue & romance. The complex history of the show along with the cast’s extremely interesting lives on & behind the set. I really enjoyed this wild ride of a read!

If you are are a knowledge monger for Hollywood’s chaotic drama, a TV show lover &/or just looking for a intriguing fiction with a dash of romance & mystery, then The Daydreams is a fascinating recommendation for you!


Massive thanks to NetGalley & Berkley Publishing for the free arc, which I voluntarily read & reviewed.

Content Warnings: This book mentions &/or contains addiction, drugs & alcohol.

Who doesn't love a good look back into time? The Daydreams brings to life a cast of characters who all acted on a popular sitcom in 2004. As a reunion approaches after a thirteen year hiatus, the actress who played the "bad girl" must face something she regrets about her time on the show and face why the cast fell apart after a mishap during the season 2 finale.

I'm a 2000s girlie who enjoys rewatching old episodes of The O.C. and One Tree Hill. It was a no-brainer to pick up a copy of The Daydreams when I heart it involved that time period. This book had what I wanted for a summer, beach read with a tinge of nostalgia: drama and all the 2000s goodness. There is a mixed media presentation throughout the story with scenes and information being presented through journal entries and blog posts. All of this adds to the time period representation and overall drama. While this novel did start off slow to me, I was intrigued by the twists and turns this story took while feeling like I was back in my prime with bubble-hemed dress and large belts (IFKYK).

Thank you Berkley and Netgalley for the eARC.

I was really hoping for some scandalous fun when I picked up The Daydreams, but found myself completely underwhelmed by it.

The Daydreams was a High School Musical like show on a Disney like channel and this book honestly read like fanfiction to me. The story is told mostly from Kat’s (I go by Katherine now) point of view, with a few excerpts from journal entries, interviews, and tabloid articles. I really felt like the story would have benefited by sharing the perspectives of the other characters and really getting to know them some more. Instead, they each get one chapter (two for Summer) where they info dump their POVs in a very awkward fashion.

The scandals and secrets ended up being pretty lame and the big moral lessons were clumsy and forced, at best. The only characters I found a little likeable/compelling were Kat’s boyfriend, Miheer, and Lianna, the fourth member of the cast, and I wanted a lot more from both of them. The other characters – Kat, Summer, and Noah – had a lot of potential, but all ended up being pretty flat and one-dimensional to me.

Unfortunately, The Daydreams was just not for me. I wanted deep character development and a healthy dose of scandal and fun, but ended up with High School Musical fanfiction that tried too hard to be serious. However, I’ve seen several glowing reviews for this book, so others may enjoy it a lot more than I did.

This was such a fun ride. It gave me vibes of Saved by the Bell crossed with The Monkees or Glee. You have the cast of a teen show that blew up 10 years ago coming back for a reunion show. You have dual timelines of the present and when the show was on the air and while mainly told from Cat’s POV, you do get a little narration from the other stars so you get the full picture of what happened.

This was the right book at the right time for me. While there are some weightier issues in here too, the book oozes the nostalgic feeling of the bygone era from the cast. And if you are a fan of the 90s (is that historical yet?), you’ll love the pop culture references. The reader is not in on the reason for the show blowing up at the start of the book and the details (very) slowly emerge in the earlier timeline. I thought the typical teenage show characters played by the cast were well portrayed and I liked how the story exposed the differences between the actor and the character.

I also loved the different ways the book told the story. There were news articles, videos and social media in addition to work in the POVs of the rest of the show, there were soliloquies. Those were fresh and an angle I hadn’t seen used before, but perfectly fit into the story.

While the book was very predictable to me, there were a few twists I didn’t see coming. I was ultimately disappointed with the end. It felt like the tone changed without feeling authentic to me and the edgy feeling throughout was lost. But even so, I was thoroughly entertained by the book and would recommend this as a fun summer read. I think it is going to be on a lot of must read lists.

I both read and listened to this one and while I enjoyed the read, I was surprised at the how the audio drew me in and made me forget the world around me.

Thank you so much to Berkley publishing for my ARC of The Daydreams! Immediately I got Daisy Jones vibes! A group of actors who stared in a hit show as high school students over ten years previously, decide they should film a live reunion. This is after their second season finale ended in disaster and got the whole show canceled, along with one star in rehab. The four main actors have went their separate ways, only one still acting. So as they come together to reconcile and film, we begin to get glimpses of their daily life filming both now and in the past. So much happened back during those last days filming, that none of them had any idea about!!

I was so excited to read this fun drama! It read like a YA, and had hints of Daisy Jones, but with a younger group of kids. It really hits on the stress that these children actors are put under and the price they pay for fame. All of the actors come back for the reunion with grudges and unfinished business. They have secrets they have kept for 13 years and they’re bound to come out now! These characters are so relatable and made for such a fun read! I enjoyed the dual timelines and the little diary snippets and news stories throughout. With mainly one narrator, it was especially fun to read the soliloquies from the other actors in the show! Such a fun format, mixing it up and keeping my interest! This came out 5/2, so grab your copy now!

In the early 2000s, the young cast of The Daydreams, a musical tv show, had the world at their feet. Then in their live season finale, things ended on a sour note, no one completely understanding what went wrong. Needless to say the season finale ended up being the series finale as well.

13 years later, the four, fresh faced stars have gone in different directions. Underestimated talent, Liana has managed to stay somewhat in the limelight due to her marriage to a famous athlete. Meanwhile resident heartthrob Noah’s career skyrocketed, while his will they won’t they costar, Summer’s has crash and burned. Narrating the majority of the story is Kat, the only one to truly leave Hollywood behind in favor of practicing law and settling down.

So when Noah teases he’d be down for a reunion, the world, and the rest of the cast, are stunned. Eager to cash in on the nostalgia, especially with Noah taking part, the project gets a green light. With Noah, Liana, and Summer on board, Kat feels pressured to say yes. But as the cast reunites and hidden tracks are revealed, one has to wonder- will returning to their roots be a return to stardom or a recipe for redemption?

Admittedly I am a sucker for books about fictional bands. Their rise, their fall-all of it. It’s my catnip. This is why I gravitated to The Daydreams to begin. Who am I kidding? I probably would’ve watched the show if it were real. But while I enjoyed the story and the real parallels that could be drawn from it, something held me back from loving it. Marketed as adult fiction, this book had a decidedly young adult feel to it. There’s nothing wrong with YA, I read it all the time. I just felt this story needed more juicy details to be considered adult, even if the main characters were teens when they started. I also wish we heard all the characters voices throughout the entirety of the novel, not just in the final act.

That being said, The Daydreams is still a fun, fictional walk down memory lane