I've enjoyed all of Laura Hankin's books and this one continues the pattern! This look at how the paparazzi/Disney machine messed with so many teens in the early 'aughts was fun and I wasn't sure at times how much I should be rooting for Kat/Katherine.

For those of us that like sitcoms, Disney, HS Musical, and all the campy shows we have watched since the early 2000's - this book is for you. Oh - and if you like the remakes of those old shows - you will like this even more!

Summer, Nate, Kat, and Liana starred in a show called Daydreams in 2004. They are talked into a reunion show of this musical soap opera and one by one they agree to one last season. All the drama of their first two seasons comes right back as they fall into their old roles. But rehab, careers, relationships and more have changed them. Secrets are exposed and old jealousies return. Will they be able to pull of the live season finale?

I reluctantly liked this book. I couldn't tell if it was meant to be YA or for all ages. The characters at first seemed one dimensional to me but they became more real as the plot developed. This would make a good series or movie.

This is the story about the stars of a popular teen show. On their final live episode the show was a mess to say the least. Now they have been asked to come and do another live show. The characters weren’t particularly likable and don’t seem to have matured much since the last show. They all have secrets. I couldn’t really get into this book for the reasons I have stated. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

I loved this book! Laura Hankin's THE DAYDREAMS is a funny, compassionate, and smart look at friendship, Hollywood, and the media's terrible treatment of young women in the early 2000s. I had so much fun reading this book!

Sorry, but i am 70% through this book and have no motivation to finish it. The characters don't seem to have matured from the second season finale to the reunion show. Their relationships between themselves, and their new love interests, are rooted in high school drama. This may be a true depiction of what life is like for child stars when the rest of the world have moved on from their show, but, I just find it tedious and boring.

Daydreams is a book about friendships that have been built, fallen apart and rebuilt. But it’s also about the Hollywood machine, the gross guts of it and how it preys on young girls, especially in the early 00s. And the writer even acknowledges as research she read celeb tell alls like Jessica Simpson memoir. From the get go we learn about the start of the hit show The Daydreams. The main cast is 3 girls and one hot guy. One of the girls is the Sun, aptly named Summer. Our main narrator, Kat, is the snarky mean girl and Liana the side kick. We learn via flashbacks about how the show came to its zenith and then its crumbling end. The big reveal of “what happened” occurs about half way in and the build is a bit slow to get us there. We also have rotating perspectives from each cast member as well as diary entries. It definitely has slight Daisy Jones vibes and the inside look at the gross execs and stylists who pressure the girls to lose weight reminded me a lot of the Jennette McCurdy book. I enjoyed following this foursome and think this is going to be one people gobble up. I do think it reads a little YA and Daisy was definitely more drugs and rock n roll so this is sort of a cleaner version of that. Overall one to look forward to for May.

This is the perfect book for escape to the early 2000s and a "hot" new teen drama about a foursome in a band. This book is enjoyable, witty and it reads so quickly.

It's not one of those deep books with symbolism and metaphor, it's just an easy read that will keep you utterly entertained.

I'd love to see the authors "mood board" on this one to see which celebrities she thought about when creating these characters!!

This was a fun romp of a read. I love a good early 2000s teen TV drama, so this was right up my alley.

If High School Musical met 7th Heaven, with a sprinkle of Britney and Justin, then you would have the Daydreams. And that is truly a high compliment. There's a lot to unpack with this book, as it touches on a lot of themes: teenage stardom, especially how it relates to females under the power and eyes of powerful men. This book utilizes jumping back and forth from the early 2000s to present day (2018). It's actually not told by the two "stars" but one of the other main characters (there are four total - three women and one man). I enjoyed learning more about all of them and seeing how the pieces fell into place.

I really enjoyed it overall, though I do think it could have gone even further than it did. It felt like it skimmed the edges at times, when it really could have leaned into the time period and the craziness that female celebrities faced at the time. It was a quick and enjoyable read overall!

Oh, my millennial heart. The Daydream transported me back to simpler times before social media was everywhere before we were glued to our phones, and a time when we raced home to watch TRL for our favorite music videos because streaming wasn't a thing yet.

I love Laura Hankin's writing, and The Daydreams is equal parts snarky, comical, and dramatic. It also has wonderful romance elements, tackles some tough issues of addiction, and truly will make you think you're watching the reunion of your favorite 2000s pop stars. Also, will give some serious High School Musical vibes.

Another wonderful book by Laura Hankin. Add this one to your list for sure!
Thank you Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC!
4.5/5 stars

Do you enjoy reunion or spin off shows?

I’m a bigger fan of spin-offs than I am of reunion shows. I know there were a lot of people who couldn’t wait for the friends reunion though!

In 2004, The Daydreamers – a teenage sit-com, implodes during the live season two finale. Everyone is confused and has no clue what they witnessed. Then the series just ended. The four stars of the show all went different directions. Kat is now a lawyer and is up for a partnership. Liana is married to a famous athlete. Noah, the golden boy, is set to become a movie star. And Summer, is the cautionary tale.

When Noah does an interview for his new movie, fans demand a reunion. As the stars are all thrown back together after all this time, they wonder if things will finally be made right, or if this will be a bigger mess than anticipated.

I really enjoy the dual timelines. Books with this type of timeline are always interesting for me. There was no shortage of drama in this one either. I struggled getting invested in this book. I found it hard to care about any of the characters, and they all seemed annoying to me. This one just fell flat for me.

But, even though this one didn’t work for me, I can see that it will be a hit. The nostalgia in this one is top notch.

Check this one out May 2nd.

Thank you to the publisher Berkley Publishing, @berkleypub, and Netgalley @netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ooh the premise of this is so juicy and just what readers need.
The time hopping is great to see the past and present. Kat is a great leader of this story too.
Lots of drama, fun, and nostalgia- I felt like I knew the show and the characters it was so vivid.

Addictive reading,

This was a fun, quick read but I was slightly disappointed by the ending. But all that said, I'd recommend for a fun beach read!

Thank you #netgalley for the advanced copy!

Let’s go back to 2004. If your memories are “Juicy Couture tracksuit” fuzzy, this new novel of reunion and redemption by Laura Hankin brings it all roaring back. The Daydreams is about teen stars of the aughts, coming to terms with their past and each other. Perfect for fans of I’m Glad My Mom Died.

While there was a period where everything was trying to pitch itself as the next Gone Girl, it seems like some of that has shifted over into trying to be the next Daisy Jones & The Six. This book, which releases in May, is following the latter path but swaps in the early 2000s and television for the 1970s and music. It tells the story of the cast reunion of a once-beloved teenybopper show, whose four stars have all found themselves in different corners of the world: male lead Noah is a well-liked working actor on the cusp of movie stardom, female lead Summer became a tabloid fodder “trainwreck” after the live finale of the show’s second season went sideways, the best friend type Liana is an athlete’s wife and Instagram influencer, and the villain, Kat (our protagonist) has left the industry entirely and works as an attorney. The story is told in dual timelines, during the show’s heyday and as the cast prepares for the reunion, and while it isn’t necessarily an especially great book from a prose or characterization perspective (and doesn’t actually say anything all that revelatory about the celebrity culture of the era), it is very much a page-turner and easy to get drawn into.

I really enjoyed Hankin’s previous two books so I was thrilled to get a DRC of her latest.
I didn’t watch the kind of Disney channel shows and movies that inspired the fictional show in this novel, but since I also didn’t live under a rock (just a very pro-PBSs house without cable) I’m aware of the cultural phenomenon and fan base around them. Moreover, I’m aware of what being asked to maintain the patriarchal standards imposed by the network and its viewers does to many of the young female stars. This novel has a little bit of everything- teenage drama, a dash of mystery, reclaiming personal narratives, social commentary, and an unexpectedly hopeful ending.
I was in a reading slump before I decided to jump into this book and it just whisked me along.

There has been a trend of books about early aughts reboots and reunions (BIRDS OF CALIFORNIA; THE REUNION) over the past year or so, but Laura Hankin did it so, so right with THE DAYDREAMS. I was so surprised by this book, as someone who read the authors last two novels, because it was so different from A SPECIAL PLACE FOR WOMEN and HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT but still had this underlying sense of unease that kept me turning the pages. A smart, entertaining take on the dark side of teen dramas of yesteryear, the dangers of being a young woman in the spotlight, and what it's like to be called to a creative life despite it all.

I. Could. Not.Put.This.Down
In 2004 the stars of the teen show The Daydreams had it all. They had a hit show, celebrity, money rolling in and a tv show with hit songs and a huge fan base, but when events cause the live season two finale to implode everything goes up in flames.
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Fast forward years later and Kat is now a lawyer in DC. Liana is the wife a professional baseball player. Noah is on the verge of playing a superhero and Summer, who was once the star is now a cautionary tale.
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With nostalgia hitting hard as reboots becoming the norm, The Daydreams become the latest show to get the reboot treatment. I loved the nostalgia in this one. The mention of #TRL, disposable cameras (the joys of waiting for film to see what picture you actually got!) and AIM instant messenger. If you have wore a pair of pants that said Juicy on the butt or carried a Motorola flip phone this one’s for you. Even if you didn’t do and are a fan of pop culture you will completely enjoy this one.
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Thank you @berkleypub and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

Child stars who haven't taken completely different paths and haven't spoken in years get back together for a reunion show. What could go wrong?
Even though plenty does go wrong, there's quite a bit that goes well including a very satisfying ending.

3.5 stars

In 2018, up-and-coming attorney Kat is approached to relive her past. In the early 2000s, along with fellow teen actors Noah, Summer, and Liana, Kat starred in The Daydreams – a hit teen drama that made them famous. After thirteen years, producers want to film a reunion show. But the actors haven’t spoken since the show’s dreadful finale. Since then, Summer spiraled into substance abuse, Noah became an even bigger star, and Liana married a big-shot athlete. When they get back together, things are awkward. Also, the ill-fated finale altered Summer’s life, and Kat, Noah, and Liana were seemingly all involved in Summer’s destruction.<br><br>The format of <em>The Daydreams</em> was fun, and I really felt like I was getting a behind-the-scenes look at Hollywood. Backstage was full of misogyny, pressure to maintain appearances, and some alcohol-fueled mischief. The story itself was a good one, but overall the execution was lacking. The immature dialogue felt silly and left little room for interpretation – it was all laid out plainly. None of the characters were particularly likable, and it seemed that each was trying to self-sabotage. I did like the journal storyline, and although the book was enjoyable, it wasn’t a must-read.