Heather Child (1)

This was an interesting book about a woman who has a virtual assistant (think siri, alexa,cortana etc) and this virtual assistant takes on the persona of her missing sister. This was creepy and thought provoking when you think of all the data that is collected from various sources about us. When I bought this book, Walmart had it classisfied as a Psychological Thriller - it really wasn't that which was what I was expecting. It had more of a science fiction type of vibe to me and it was more of that type of thriller. While this is not the type of book I normally read, I can see where it would appeal to people who enjoy science fiction type of thriller books.… (plus d'informations)

3.5 Stars.

I was immediately drawn to this book because of the premise. A virtual assistant taking on the personality and speaking with the voice of a dead relative. How chilling, and very Black Mirror. I can understand the appeal. You get to talk to that person as if they were still alive. Totally something I'd see myself do, and then suffer.

The problem with Everything About You is that the mystery is mediocre. The sci-fi premise is brilliant, and those aspects of the book are the ones I enjoyed the most. But the mystery? Predictable, sadly.

The book is written in third person, and there's something about the prose I really enjoyed. The characters are all well developed and the world building is thrilling and chilling at the same time. The author takes time to develop and explore the relationship between the two sisters and the hope Freya feels every time she thinks she's getting closer.

This is a great debut and I can't wait to see what Child's next book will be about.

I recommend this to all Black Mirror fans, and reader of near future books that focus on exploring the benefits and dangers of technology.… (plus d'informations)

I don't generally read thrillers, but then Child's book doesn't neatly fit into that category. The best comparison would be the TV series Black Mirror.

Like Black Mirror, Everything About You takes an idea and runs with it. I was very impressed with how Child managed to not only explore a fascinating a very topical idea - could a whole person be created purely through their online data - but do so via a fast moving plot full of engaging characters.

This book is not just for sci fi or thriller fans, it's for anybody interested in where our society is heading. A prescient and thought-provoking read.… (plus d'informations)

21-year-old Freya is not very happy with her life as it is: she is still living together with her ex-boyfriend Julian, her job just serves to earn money but is not actually promising a career and she still misses Judy who first was a friend and then moved in with Freya and her mother and became something like a real sister. When Julian is not interested in the latest technological device from his father, Freya accepts to use the high-tech personal assistant. Since she is still longing for Ruby who went missing without any trace, the assistant is modelled according to the young woman’s features: it can copy her voice, react just like Judy reacted and knows everything about Freya and Ruby. Can this virtual version of her sister also lead to the one in flesh and bone?

Since technology becomes more and more present in our everyday life and since we rely increasingly on our smart phones to do the thinking for us, the idea of this futuristic personal assistant was quite intriguing. Especially since we tend to ignore the negative side effects of handing over more and more data to these uncontrollable technical devices.

However, the novel did not hold up to the high expectations. I liked Freya’s first steps with her new assistant; her incredulously questioning where this machine got all the information from and how she slowly loses control over her life were portrayed in a really authentic way that is easy to imagine in the very near future. Then, however, the more the plot progresses and the more the whole story becomes a kind of computer game in a virtual reality environment, it was a bit too much for me. I am all but into computer games and not at all interested in any virtual realities where completely different rules apply and the unthinkable is possible. Thus, the moment we lost the track of reality I was more or less out. This might work better for those readers who are really into VR.

All in all, an interesting concept, yet a bit too unrealistic for my liking.… (plus d'informations)