Review: Everything about You by Heather Child

Freya’s life is not extraordinary. She works in retail, has few friends, and lives with her ex-boyfriend. Despite her mundane day-to-day existence, Freya is waiting – for something better, for change, and for word on her long-missing sister, Ruby. It’s as though when Ruby disappeared and became a ghost in Freya’s life, both girls stopped living. Thankfully, a discarded gift meant for Freya’s recluse ex makes its debut in her life instead; a top-of-the-line virtual assistant that does it all.

The smart device is programmed to work with its user’s available data, and so it knows everything about you based on what you share online. This is why Freya is thrown for a loop when her device’s interface is based on the elusive Ruby. While Freya becomes ever more enamoured with her device, she also becomes convinced that the flesh-and-bones Ruby may still be out there, and so the decade-long hunt for answers continues, with the help of modern data and algorithms. The only question that remains is at what cost does the knowledge come?

While the premise of humans becoming overly dependent on technology is not new, Heather Child presents this scenario in a fun, easy to read form. This is not a version of artificial intelligence adaption that will have you lying awake at night, afraid to use your toaster. Instead, it’s a telling look into human nature and dependency, and how both can become destructive and malicious. This is a story in which technology is not the bad guy – instead, it’s humans who plot their own downfall. You won’t need an algorithm to predict that in a world that becomes ever-more selfish and isolated, humans are the root of their own issues.

If you are looking for good-old escapism and happy endings, with a hint of drama, revelation and a twist, this is a perfect read.

Everything about You by Heather Child is published by Orbit Books and is available in South Africa from Jonathan Ball Publishers.