Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great read and I really enjoyed delving into this. I loved learning more about Taylor Swift and her early career.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5 stars

📖 In a sentence: Washington Post reporter Emily Yahr takes an in-depth look at Taylor Swift’s early years breaking into the country music scene in Nashville, offering a behind-the-scenes look at how the country music industry operated at the time and how one teenage girl changed everything.

👀 What kept me turning the pages: Emily’s writing was wonderful! You always have to wonder with books about Taylor whether you’re going to get low-grade slop designed primarily to cash in on her fame, but this is a legitimate, well-researched, well-written effort. I found it genuinely engaging from beginning to end. This was a pleasant surprise.

🔥 What stood out: In addition to telling the story of Taylor’s ascent in country music, Yahr does a great job of providing context about how Nashville, country music, and radio worked together to support the industry, as well as the stereotypes and norms Taylor was up against at the time.

Despite being unable to interview many key players (understandably, given Taylor’s current level of fame, with some people bound by NDAs and others understandably unwilling to risk saying something that could offend her) the author still manages to build a compelling narrative from historical reporting and the sources she was able to speak with.

As a longtime Taylor fan, I found this particularly fun to read because when she broke out during my/her high school years, I was a normal fan, not a consume-everything-and-run-a-fan-board-online level stan. 😂 So some of the older quotes and tidbits were either things I had never come across or had completely forgotten about.

I was also fascinated by the degree of agency and certainty Taylor displayed even as a teenager. I knew she had that quality as an adult, but I didn’t realize just how staunchly she advocated for herself and her vision before she had any real success.

⚠️ What didn’t quite land: Honestly, not much! I found this enjoyable from beginning to end. The biggest caveat is simply the scope of the book: it covers Taylor’s pre-record-deal years through the release of 1989, when she officially moved out of country music. And, of course, the author’s reporting is necessarily limited by the availability of subjects willing and able to speak with her.

We can all just hope for an official Taylor memoir in our lifetimes. 🤞🏻

🎯 Recommendation: For Swifties and country music fans alike, this is a fascinating look at Taylor’s early years, the Nashville country music machine she entered, and the ways her career ultimately changed the genre. If you’re interested in the how behind Taylor Swift’s rise rather than just another retelling of her greatest hits, this is well worth picking up.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.