It started with a tweet (by Anna Bell)

(Amazon UK link)

Every so often I like to try reading an author I haven’t previously come across. Browsing in a UK charity shop a few months ago, I spotted a book with the clever title, ‘It started with a tweet’. I had not heard of the author, Anna Bell, but the blurb on the back sounded interesting, so I bought it.

The story is firmly in the chick-lit category, as was evident from the white cover with bright lettering and swirls. It’s told in the present tense, in the first person by a thirty-one year old single woman called Daisy. I was never entirely clear what her job involved, despite her explaining it to more than one person; suffice it to say that she spends a great deal of time online. This isn’t just for work: she has a very active Twitter account too, and compulsively checks her other social media accounts almost continually.

We meet her first at a friend’s hen party, where everyone has to dress in poor taste, and there are embarrassing games, and plenty to post about on Instagram and Twitter, for the sake of a friend who was unable to be there. I wasn’t very impressed with the first chapter, which was full of innuendos, and I almost gave up, but I’m glad I decided to persevere.

We next meet Daisy towards the end of a day at work, about to go on a date with someone she found through a dating app. When she sees him, she’s pleased to find that he looks every bit as good as his profile picture, and sends out a somewhat salacious tweet before meeting him. Alas, he turns out to be a tedious bore, and by the time she gets home she’s exhausted. Her phone is out of battery and she forgets to charge it… then she oversleeps and when she finally arrives at work, discovers she has made a horrendous mistake, bad enough that she loses her job.

Coincidentally, she’s arranged to meet her sister Rosie for lunch that day. They don’t get along particularly well and see very little of each other. But Daisy is distraught by what has happened, and her flatmate Erica is quite concerned. Rosie insists that Daisy needs a few days away, and then persuades her on a ‘digital detox’ in a remote and crumbling cottage in Cumbria…

By the time I’d reached this stage in the book (and it’s not very far in) I was enjoying it very much. The light, casual style took a little getting used to, but it works. I was reminded more than once of Sophie Kinsella’s writing; there’s not quite so much humour, and I didn't laugh aloud despite the front cover telling me I would. But several times a turn of phrase made me smile. And there’s a serious overall theme: not so much the danger of making a mistake on social media, but the way phones and other gadgets can take over people’s lives.

It’s also a book about relationships - family relationships, and friendship, and also romantic ones, although these stay quite low-key. There’s much talk about intimacy and bed-leaping, but the author does not make the mistake of describing any of these incidents; instead they are implied or referred to in passing. Promiscuity is worryingly rife, even accepted as normal; but Daisy does gradually realise that she wants something more out of a relationship.

This kind of book wouldn’t suit everyone; but on the whole I liked it very much. Once I’d started it was quite difficult to put down, and I found myself caught up in the various interactions between the characters. Some of the minor ones are undoubtedly caricatured, as is the French visitor who joins Rosie and Daisy for a while, leading to some mildly amusing misunderstandings.

But I liked the sisters, and some of their friends. I also appreciated Daisy’s gradual awareness of the way social media can destroy real life friendships and communications.

This would make a good holiday read if you like this genre of light contemporary women’s fiction.

Review copyright 2018 Sue's Book Reviews