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A review by bookstorian
Search History by Amy Taylor
4.0
Wandering through the shelves of my local library a few weeks ago I spotting the cover of Search History, it had been on my TBR for a little while so I thought - what's the harm in getting it from the library? Within the first few chapters though I wished I had my own copy!
Hoping to reinvent herself after a break up Ana moves to Melbourne leaving behind her ex, her friends and her mother. Being on her own isn't as easy as she hoped and after meeting Evan, a charming, kind and financially responsible guy Ana finally starts to feel more connected to her new home. As much as she tries to focus on the Evan in front of her rather than the persona and past he has curated online, including his past relationship with Emily. She ultimately cannot resist the urge and so uses her imagination to fill the gaps presented to her. But will her obsession with Emily, his dead girlfriend cross the line?
To say this read was addictive seems to be an understatement, the first sentence of every chapter hooked me every time. I would finish one chapter only to glance at the beginning few lines of the next chapter and want to keep reading. I appreciated the moments of relatability with this character, in particular, her acknowledgement of the performative nature of social media yet the way our mind can still form wild conclusions based on what we view and our ability to catastrophise. In addition, the exploration of how the internet has changed for our generation, from sitting on MSN waiting for someone to pop up to then having a wealth of knowledge through posts, images and other interactions available to us and how that can mentally alter the way we meet and judge other people. It's also worth noting the ending - loved the ending!
For me, what this book was lacking was a better immersion in Ana and Evan's relationship, he was made out to be a great guy, however there wasn't really many scenes that showed this to the reader, although intentional, a few more scenes between them would have helped to better understanding Ana's motivations and feelings.
Similar to: Yellowface. For fans of Sally Hepworth.
Hoping to reinvent herself after a break up Ana moves to Melbourne leaving behind her ex, her friends and her mother. Being on her own isn't as easy as she hoped and after meeting Evan, a charming, kind and financially responsible guy Ana finally starts to feel more connected to her new home. As much as she tries to focus on the Evan in front of her rather than the persona and past he has curated online, including his past relationship with Emily. She ultimately cannot resist the urge and so uses her imagination to fill the gaps presented to her. But will her obsession with Emily, his dead girlfriend cross the line?
To say this read was addictive seems to be an understatement, the first sentence of every chapter hooked me every time. I would finish one chapter only to glance at the beginning few lines of the next chapter and want to keep reading. I appreciated the moments of relatability with this character, in particular, her acknowledgement of the performative nature of social media yet the way our mind can still form wild conclusions based on what we view and our ability to catastrophise. In addition, the exploration of how the internet has changed for our generation, from sitting on MSN waiting for someone to pop up to then having a wealth of knowledge through posts, images and other interactions available to us and how that can mentally alter the way we meet and judge other people. It's also worth noting the ending - loved the ending!
For me, what this book was lacking was a better immersion in Ana and Evan's relationship, he was made out to be a great guy, however there wasn't really many scenes that showed this to the reader, although intentional, a few more scenes between them would have helped to better understanding Ana's motivations and feelings.
Similar to: Yellowface. For fans of Sally Hepworth.