Sarah Crossan is one of the most innovative writers I have read - everything I have read of hers has been so different and Hey Zoey is no exception. The discovery of an AI sex doll is the catalyst to Delores having to face up to feelings and trauma she had buried for a long time (TW for sexual abuse). This is an uncomfortable and, at times, difficult read that examines dishonesty in all its different forms. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of Hey, Zoey.

I've really enjoyed Sarah Crossan's YA novels, so I was so excited to be approved for a copy of Hey, Zoey!

Hey, Zoey is a study on relationships, and presents an interestingly empathetic look at how these are interlinked with technology, and how they may change as AI becomes more present in our lives. Crossan's writing is different from what I was used to, but I really enjoyed the series of vignettes and uncovering how they all linked together.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for review!

Sometimes a book just hits you with the most unique plot you could ever imagine. This is one of those times. I’ve been a long time fan of Sarah Crossan’s work thanks to the introduction from my sister, the least I can do is pass on the recommendation. Her books are eloquently written about some of the toughest, rawest of subjects. The words flow freely and quickly and you slide through the story like a fast flowing river. Basically, Zoey is an AI sex doll, yep you can see why I find it unique. Dolores uses the discovery of the doll to explore her marriage and the relationships she has with others. The unravelling of it is really fascinating and a worthy read.

Thank you @netgalley for the eARC of Hey, Zoey which is due out 23rd May!

Zoey, an AI "companion", comes inbetween a marriage and ends up being Dolores' confidant (strangely). It was a wild ride of a book, honestly. At first I thought the jumping back and forth from Dolores' childhood to what was happening to her was quite jaunty, however as the book went on it made sense following all Dolores had been through, and in all it wasn't difficult to keep up with. The book follows the start (and end) of her marriage, her disjointed childhood and her friendship(?) with the sex doll her husband had purchased during their marriage. I found myself not being able to put it down and if you're looking for something different and contemporary, it's a great read.

I absolutely adored this book. The prose is poetic and delightfully sparse, a series of vignettes about a middle aged teachers life and her interactions with the people around her. The thing that draws you in is the relationship she has with the sex doll her husband hid in the garage, but this is really about the breakdown of her marriage and her disconn3ction with everyone around her due to trauma, it was very insightful and surprised me by being a 5 star read,

this wasn't what I expected it to be - not for me. I was expecting something more about the tech of Zoe, less about a relationship. DNF

Thank you Bloomsbury publishing (uk &nz) and NetGalley for this ARC of Hey Zoey by Sarah Crosnan

The lines "Imagine discovering an animatronic sex doll hidden in the garage. What would you do?" had me hooked. What an interesting premise of what is fast becoming a reality, so the premise is very "now". Dolores our main character finds this doll Zoey and they begin to talk....

It has moments of brilliance and you do feel for Dolores and her strained marriage... but short as this book was I struggled to keep with the jumping between timelines( past and present ) and sadly realised that maybe this particular genre isn't for me.

I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley, however all opinions are my own.

So the reason I wanted to read this is because I read the synopsis and thought that this was going to be such a cool read and really interesting to see how the MC and the AI doll would interact with each other. Friends, I could not have been more wrong. I REALLY wanted to love this story, but in all honesty, I wish I DNF'd it. This is a really short story with the ARC only being 163 pages long, but honestly it felt like such a drag to read. The story kept on jumping between the past and the present which made it really difficult to follow along with, and sometimes impossible to know where we were at in the story. I understand that most of our main character's life was meant to be dull and unfulfilling, but that didn't mean that the book had to be also. Then by the end we got these serious topics thrown at us out of nowhere with absolutely no trigger warnings or really any compassion. I feel like the author could've done a better job at making the characters more compassionate and not like they themselves were robots. Throughout most of the book (until the ending) there was only really one character who showed any real type of emotion and it wasn't even our MC. Then the ending, the ending was just too much all at once and it just felt rushed. Overall, I really didn't enjoy this book. Maybe I just don't like the style of writing but I don't think I will be picking up a Sarah Crossan book again.

My Favourite/Least Favourite Characters
I'm not going to be posting my favourite/least favourite characters, because honestly, I felt indifferent about most of them.

(If you'd like to see more of my reviews please go to my blog:
https://doesden.blogspot.com/)

What would you do if you found a animatronic sex doll in your garage? Hey, Zoey by Sarah Crossan opens with that killer hook and leads the reader on a dark, yet surprisingly empathetic, look at relationships in the age of AI. It deals with a whole host of, before ultimately asking if we're really as "connected" as big tech like to say we are. Be that with those around us or even ourselves.

The way that Crossan creates the kind of "car-crash-you-can't-look-away-from" tone, reminded me of
Sayaka Murata in the best possible way and the parts that were funny really worked for me - despite literary fiction's 'humor' usually going over my head.

Imagine discovering an animatronic sex doll hidden in the garage. What would you do?
Dolores initially does nothing. She assumes the doll belongs to her husband, David, and their relationship is already strained. They’re not young, they’re not old; they have no children, they keep up with the markers of being middle class and Dolores is well versed in keeping men’s secrets.

Firstly, I absolutely loved reading this book. The strange relationship that Dolores seems to have with everyone is mind altering and I fell in love with her and her humour straight away. It is so well written and the characters have such strong but believable persona’s that make the book difficult to put down. But for all the emotions and gaiety there is an underlying sadness that permeates throughout. It is so good I didn’t want it to end although the end is quite sobering. Great read.

I read " here comes the beehive" a while ago, and really loved it so was looking forward to the chance to read another by this author. This one is obviously in prose, but i enjoyed the sparse writing and the feeling that each word had earned its place in the narrative. I felt present with Dolores in her pastoral role at school and as she gradually came to terms with her past and the break down of her marriage, I'm not sure the story was enhanced by the presence of Zoey, as I feel Ms Crossan's writing is strong enough to engage the reader anyway, but she was an interesting addition.
Thank you to netgalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for an advance copy of this book.

Crossan’s writing is gripping and accessible- she holds you and compels you to stay as she tells her tale of a woman confronting herself and her past as her marriage and life reach a tipping point when she discovers her husband’s sex doll. The narrative moves in spikes and turns, oscillating between fragments of the past and present, the type of thing that usually works a charm on me. Except this time- perhaps because I found the big twist at the climax to be obvious and seen coming from a mile away; perhaps because it felt like some of the details were left unmeshed; perhaps because the fragmentary oscillation between past and present took away from the depth the tale otherwise might have had. Crossan is no doubt a compelling writer but ‘Hey, Zoey’ just did not fully work for me.

This book was nothing like I expected it to be. I looked forward to learning more about the technology of AI, I think and in truth Zoey was really just the catalyst to the break up of Dolores’ marriage and the book was more about the impact of childhood trauma on adulthood. Had I have read that in the synopsis, I wouldn’t have chosen to read the book.

It was written in short paragraphs that to me were confusing, they swung about in time and place and I just found them irritating. Late last night, I just gave up and flicked through to the end of the book but then today went back and finished it properly. But I still didn’t enjoy it.

I felt sad for Dolores and her sister, furious with her mother and step-father and a bit sad for David who married her not realising all that she had packed away and not dealt with.

It’s not a fun book and whilst I sort of understand the significance of her bringing the doll into the house and forming a relationship with her, with both being people-pleasing vessels for others in their life, I got to the, what seemed quite sudden, end of the book feeling none the wiser about Dolores future.

Thank you to the author, the publishers and Netgalley for an advanced reader copy of this book.

This wasn't what I initially expected from the description, however, I was already aware of this after reading previous reviews. It was very different from the types of books I would normally read, and I really enjoyed it. I found it to be insightful and thought provoking, and I am glad I stepped outside of my usual genre to read this. A great book I would recommend.

One of the most interesting books I have read in a long time! Dolores O’Shea is a Science teacher living in the South East of England with her husband, David. They have friends, David plays tennis (and is a doctor!) and Dolores’ job in a secondary school is going well. So far, so normal.

However, when Dolores discovers a sex robot in the garage, it becomes apparent that her relationship with her handsome husband isn’t quite what it seems.

Crossan cleverly uses the discovery of Zoey as a means of exploring Dolores’s marriage, taking the reader to some funny, dark and uncomfortable places in the process. This book explores the themes of love, sex, what is normal anyway and the impact of previous trauma. It is thoroughly engaging and very difficult to put down.

This was not quite as provocative or interesting as I was expecting from the blurb. The story revolves around Dolores whose discovery of her husband's AI sex doll precipitates the collapse of her marriage and a reevaluation of her life and other relationships. The exploration of trauma and the complexity of human relationships is beautifully explored and the writing is excellent but Zoey is surprisingly inconsequential. I was expecting more sophistication from the AI element in order for Crossan to really explore the possibilities and issues of this aspect, but from her interactions with Dolores, Zoey seems barely more sophisticated than current household AI devices. It meant that the introspection of the novel didn't develop into something as interesting as I was expecting and in many ways Zoey could have easily been replaced in the plot by any other plot device leading to a separation.

I read this book quite close to "Annie Bot" by Sierra Greer (also thanks to Netgalley!) and was delighted how the subject of AI-equipped dolls was being explored by different authors. It is an unavoidable literary trope, as artificial intelligence gets more and more sophisticated and is being used in various contexts, including robotic sex dolls.

At first Dolores affiliation to her husband's sex doll is not quite clear but becomes more and more understandable as the plot unfolds. What was ambiguous at first, becomes way clearer.

"Hey, Zoey" was not by any means a light read and considering the main character's story that it unveils, it's very understandable.

This book didn’t turn out to be what I thought it would be. But I still really enjoyed it!! Beautifully written and portrays loneliness and the after effects of trauma extremely well. I was constantly interested in both Zoey and Dolores and couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next!

I absolutely loved this book! It's the perfect "weird girl" book and one I will be recommending to everyone who loves that genre.

We meet Dolores who has discovered a sex doll in her garage and tries to decide whether or not she should confront her husband about it.

Told through a series of vignettes, you get to know Dolores and why she is the way she is; why she is hesitant to confront her husband; and what happens when she inevitably does.

I really enjoyed the way the narrative teased little tidbits of information out of Dolores, making me want more, and getting frustrated at having to wait for what happens next, but it is so worth it!

I definitely need a physical copy of this for my trophy shelf when it is released.

*hint hint, Bloomsbury lol *

The synopsis sounded really interesting and different to what I usually read so I was looking forward to this, but I didn’t enjoy it very much at all. There were lots of different timelines, it wasn’t always clear where you were and it was just a little confusing. It was really well and the author’s writing style is interesting but I didn’t enjoy the plot.