I read this in one sitting, it was really gripping, raw, page turner, good pace and good characterisation. It really focuses on Dolores past and present, which I didn’t enjoy as much as there was no clear separation between memory and present time, so often I felt confused. But I still enjoyed it Sarah’s first Adult novel and she certainly didn’t disappoint.

Going by the title, I was exoecting Zoey to be really on this book and in a different way than it actually. It really focuses on Dolores past and present than anything else and those time jumps drove me mad as there were no clear separation between one memory and curre t events. The concept of the story sounded different but I found it a bit weird and didn't really gel with me. It is ao different from previous books I read by Sarah.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC to review!

3 stars!!

Honestly, with house the premise is written and how this went from the start to midway I was going to give this a lower rating. I was expecting to see more of Dolores and Zoey interact. I was ready to see what things Zoey knew and how heir relationship would build or go from Dolores finding her. Zoey isn’t really in the book like I expected from the summary. It’s more of a look into Dolores‘ life both past and present. The time jumps can get confusing as there’s no indication with headings, chapters, etc to show where we are other than finding out as you read.

The more I read this, the more I started to like it despite the disappointment of my expectations. I liked Dolores as a character and seeing what she went through, and how she lives really did make me feel for her.

Quite surprised how much I did like this given how I felt during the start and middle.

Gripping and textured, I found the pace and characterisation in this impeccable. Crossan is a wonderful writer and her first prose offering for adults is a masterclass in how to keep the reader challenged and engrossed.

10/10, absolutely loved it. I look forward to seeing this list for the Women’s Prize. Probably the best depiction of working in a school I’ve seen.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for a digital ARC in exchange for a review.

Sarah Crossan is a popular author in our school library, and this is sure to also be a hit with older students. This book often felt like reading Dolores' inner monologue, with random thoughts and memories scattered in among the story of her marriage disintegrating. The writing was really well-done, and a step up from the YA novels that are so popular with our students. Before beginning the book, I thought it'd lean more into sci-fi, but I enjoyed the fantastical nature of Dolores and Zoey's relationship. Dolores didn't feel like a total mess of a character, which made her more likeable, and I enjoyed seeing her develop as a character and move through her trauma through her 'relationship' with Zoey.

As a fan of Sarah Crossan I had high hopes for this one and it didn't disappoint. Weird and moving but in Sarah's characteristic subtle and gentle way. Really a great read.

The book is well-written and a real page-turner. The protagonist’s discussions with the companion doll are interesting and well done but the fundamental theme of the book, which is fully revealed at the end, made me question the whole story. It is smart but maybe it is just too stark for my taste.

Wow, wow, wow. This book was everything I wanted and more if I'm being honest. I absolutely and utterly adored it. It delved into what it means to be a woman, what it means to be human and what it means to be in a family. Truly one of the best books of the year.

Unfortunately I think I went into this one with the completely wrong expectations. This was less about Zoey the robot and more about the disintegration of a marriage and all the angst and self reflection that comes with it. Zoey ended up being a non compliant therapist to Dolores and David's maritable struggles, and also Dolores' family history and rather traumatic childhood with stepbrother Gavin.

I also really disliked all the jumping around time wise for the plot. I was constantly thrown out of the story, trying to mental place where I was in terms of Dolores and David's relationship, and Dolores's past. There's also no definitive conclusion, no resolution, which is a personal bugbear of mine, which to me just made the whole plot feel a bit pointless.

I'm a bit disappointed to be honest. Sarah Crossan has written some really wonderful stories in the past, including ones in verse which aren't normally my thing, but Hello, Zoey just feels a bit gratuitous and lost in one it wants to be.

Hey, Zoey is an tender, strange and unique story about a woman coming to terms with both her present role as a recently-separated woman and her past, all through complex interactions with her colleagues, students, husband and his sex doll - Zoey.
It took me a while to really get into the story and understand what it was actually about, but once I began to see how desperate the main character, Dolores, was for interaction but also feel the need to push people away, I was hooked. I've seen others describe this as dark comedy but the oddness never became funny for me. It was a very original and interesting story about relationships, family and the need for connection and I did enjoy it. Crossan has a wonderful writing style - poetic and observant - that I have been a fan of for many years and Hey, Zoey is no exception to that.

I love books about lonely people and this was surprisingly relatable. I do feel like the reading experience is very different from the premise that is given in the blurb and I expected more Zoey content but I feel like the book was better for it.

Hey Zoey is funny, emotional and heartbreaking all at the same time. I loved Dolores as a narrator but I think this will be too slow for some people. The timeline skips about and it's not always clear whether things are set in the past or present but I think that adds to the overall experience.

All in all, a fantastic book!

Another Sarah Crossan hit. A unique angle - looking at connection and relationships, An eclectic mix of characters and quite unlike anything I've read before. Loved it.

On the face of it this is a story about a woman who finds a sex fill belonging to her husband. But finding Zoey, as the doll is known, is more the catalyst for dealing with a traumatic childhood that has left Delores unable to truly make adult connections, and thus the real reason for the breakdown of her marriage.
Told in short paragraphs that leap from one time period to another chaotically. It took me a while to get to grips with where in the timeline I was. And the gradual peeling back of layers of childhood took some time, but with great effect.
I think Sarah Crossan is an extraordinary writer, but my heart really belongs with her YA.

I LOVE Sarah Crossan....I didn't love this book though. The concept was perhaps just a bit too weird, I had to concentrate really hard to follow what was going on as it moved around so much. I really like how much humour was in it and how much it made me think but I didn't exactly enjoy it.

This is a raw, heart-breaking and brilliant book, exploring what it means to connect to someone. The writing is beautiful. Wonderful, believable, flawed characters. Highly recommend.

Dolores has a decent life. As a secondary school teacher, she excels at damage limitation for troubled teenagers and offers realistic but supportive advice. She has had a complex relationship through childhood with her mother, now widowed and sliding into dementia, Married to David, their relationship lacks intimacy and genuine connection, but seems functional. Then she accidentally finds an AI sex doll, Zoey, which David has been keeping hidden in their garage. Initially she is furious and humiliated, but soon becomes fascinated by the lifelike Zoey, and begins to talk to and react with her with an openness she has witheld from David. Zoey will be the catalyst that prompts her to come to terms with her past and to look to a different future. This book blew me away! Despite the subject matter, this is no salacious smutfest but a literary and insightful exploration of the difficulties of relating even with loved ones, the buried needs we sometimes have and how secrets can come back to haunt you decades later. I also really enjoyed the depiction of the school where Dolores teaches, the portrayal of the students struggling with the path to adulthood and the way she tries to help them. Unusual and unforgettable, shot through with dark humour but also heartbreakingly raw, this is Sarah Crossan’s best work yet.

“If I told you what it’s like to be in love with you, it would hurt you to hear it, Dolores.”

“All I knew was that we lay back-to-back most nights, willing the other to sleep so the wordless message between us IdonotloveyouIdonotloveyou would vanish along with our shallow, wakeful breaths.”

“I wished I wasn’t strong. Because when you are, no one thinks to take care of you.”

Beautiful prose and powerful story. So much more than the tale of a sex doll.

Hey Zoey is an interesting premise and while at the beginning it felt like a Black Mirror style dystopian horror, you then realise it actually probably is quite realistic. Technology is having irreparable impact on human interaction and of course within relationships and marriages. But the plot fell a bit flat for me - I was expecting more to happen? The dynamic was super interesting about how the wife keeps Zoey for a bit after the husband leaves, but I felt maybe if this book was a bit shorter or something, it would have been a bit more impactful.
Overall very good.

@currentlyreading__
Book 92 of 2023

Thank you to @NetGalley, the author @sarahcrossanwriter and the publishers @bloomsburypublishing for the advanced copy of ‘Hey, Zoey’ due for publication in May 2024. I absolutely loved Sarah’s first foray into adult fiction with ‘Here is the Beehive’ and this, however strange the premise might sound, is just as captivating.

It recounts a marriage under complete annihilation when Dolores O’Shea finds an AI Love Dollz sex doll in her garage whilst husband David is at work. David is an anaesthesiologist and spends his time making sure his patients are prone yet, following his Hippocratic oath, well-cared for and free of harm. But his wife feels she has been neglected for many years and after finding the doll, realises that the doll has been getting all of her husband’s attention. So, David is kicked to the kerb and Dolores spends her time bonding with the doll who she discovers is called Zoey and realises they have more in common than she would have thought.

The narrative moves through childhood, adolescence and adulthood and just how Dolores and her siblings have navigated their lives. With changes in time frame, location shifts between London and New York (where younger sister Jacinta lives) some might think the shifts are chaotic but I think they very much fit in with the frantic nature of the plot and how Dolores is unravelling emotionally.

This is one for you if you have loved Crossan’s previous work, both adult and YA, but also if you like a twisty domestic drama with a marriage in turmoil.

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