Hey, Zoey by Sarah Crossan caught my eye for two reasons. The first is that I was totally bowled over by a previous book I read by Sarah Crossan, Here is the Beehive and the second is that the theme of Hey, Zoey is unlike anything I’ve read before. Dolores finds her world turned upside down when she discovers that her husband has secretly purchased an AI sex doll…
Opening sentence: If David had been sleeping with another woman, I’d have seen the signs: longer working hours, monosyllabic conversation, his phone face-down on the countertop.
Hey, Zoey
Yes, Zoey is the name of the sex doll and Dolores is the 43-year-old woman whose husband purchased her. When David moves out and leaves Zoey, Dolores finds herself forming an unlikely friendship with her. This is such an interesting story-angle. Aside from being built with ample breasts and, um, holes, Zoey’s AI brain answers questions, never argues and is a constant non-judgmental companion. You can see her appeal as a friend, right?
He said, ‘I’ll get rid of the doll,’ as though Zoey was our problem.
She wasn’t.
I was.
It was me he had to get rid of.
Dolores is such a well-drawn character that I just felt for from page one. Zoey has made her think about how she communicates and sparks conversations between herself and David that wouldn’t have otherwise happened.
She’s a school-teacher, so dealing with the pressures of that role, her mum’s dementia, her relationship with her sister Jacinta and secrets from the past that can’t stay buried anymore.
Clever, emotional and addictive
You know when little similarities in a book just heighten the reading experience? Well, while I have never found a sex doll in the garage, like me, Dolores and Jacinta are from an Irish family but living in England, in Brighton & Hove no less, also like me. Hey, Zoey also made me listen to Paolo Nutini’s album Last Night in the Bittersweet, for the first time after Dolores references it and it’s such a good listen.
Beautifully written with poetic prose, intriguing structure, little asides and often causticly funny, I loved going on Dolores’ thought-process with her as she tries to understand what such a random act of betrayal means for her. Hey, Zoey is a truly unique read (and what a cover!) that really emotionally connected, loved it.
- Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC;
- Get your copy of Hey, Zoey here;
- Published by Bloomsbury 23rd May 2024;
- 336 pages;
- Book review rating:
Books on the 7:47 
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