Publishers Weekly
11/13/2023
Australian writer Gray debuts with the canny story of a 24-year-old woman struggling to be an adult. Throughout her life, Hera never believed in getting a job. In high school, she was a good student but not well liked, and since college she has been living with her father in Sydney, biding her time until she is forced to support herself. Eventually, she’s hired as a “community monitor” for a digital news outlet. During her first week, she’s ignored by the office’s journalists and counts down the hours as she moderates online comments. Hera’s dull routine brightens after an encounter with a manager named Arthur in the elevator, where she decides to “cannonball into conversation.” Hoping to make an impression, she asks him, “Who do you hate most in the office?” Arthur responds later via DM, their chatting leads to drinks, and they begin an affair. Hera falls for him and develops an obsession, which only grows stronger as Arthur refuses to leave his wife. Hera is vibrantly written, and Gray thankfully provides her narration with enough distance for self-clarity (“It is possible that my dedication to this relationship was in fact a dedication to my belief in myself”). Gray’s unflinching bildungsroman is great fun. (Feb.)
From the Publisher
An IndieNext Pick for March 2024
Named a Best Book of 2024 (So Far) by B&N and the BBC
Named a Best Book of February 2024 by People Magazine
Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2024 by Debutiful
Named one of Electric Literature's “42 Queer Books You Need to Read in 2024”
“Gray skillfully blends a rom-com-like breeziness with incisive, nuanced commentary on societal expectations, modern disconnection, responsibility in relationships and selfhood. . . What both Hera and this reader expect to happen in the relationship happens, but this doesn’t come as a disappointment. Instead, the novel earns its way toward a satisfactory resolution for Hera, who is, after all, the hero of the story.”
—Alexandra Chang, The New York Times Book Review
“A heartfelt debut about the joys and disasters of young adulthood.”
—People Magazine
“An exceptionally funny debut . . . Perceptive and hilarious, Hera charges ahead, fully aware of the trope into which she has stumbled. Gray's prose circumvents any hint of banality; the language is too raw, too funny, too simultaneously irreverent and vulnerable.”
—Jackie Thomas-Kennedy, Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Conversations with Friends meets Several People Are Typing.”
—Michelle Hart, Electric Literature
“Gray’s debut is a laugh-out-loud, messy love affair that is a refreshing take on younger women and older married men.”
—Debutiful
“Woven with layers, from the love affair at its surface to the enthralling depths of what it means to be alive, Green Dot is rich, meaningful and hilarious. With a messy narrator who you are guaranteed to love, this is the kind of story that sets itself apart.”
—Isabelle McConville, B&N Reads
“By the time Hera finds out that Arthur is married, it’s already too late—she’s enamored. Gray’s writing skillfully captures the passion of their early trysts. The sex scenes crackle with energy, and the chemistry between Hera and Arthur is believable and seductive. . . A breezy, heartfelt coming-of-age story for Gen Zers concerned with how to grow up without growing cold.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Hera is vibrantly written, and Gray thankfully provides her narration with enough distance for self-clarity. . . . Gray’s unflinching bildungsroman is great fun.”
—Publishers Weekly
“This book! What a gutting, funny, smart, smart, smart book it is, one that I absolutely inhaled while almost constantly emotionally bracing myself. Madeleine Gray is a hilarious, humane, and highly perceptive writer.”
—Claire Lombardo, New York Times bestselling author of The Most Fun We Ever Had
“I wolfed Green Dot down over two nights. An incredibly funny book about a woman having an affair that’s a really bad idea. Every sentence sparkles.”
—Caitlin Moran, New York Times bestselling author of How To Be A Woman
“Madeleine Gray takes a scalpel to millennial malaise, office romance, and infidelity, and the result is a brainy, gutsy, nervy—and hilarious—wonder of a novel.”
—Meg Howrey, author of They're Going to Love You
APRIL 2024 - AudioFile
Narrator Sasha Simon gives voice to 20-something Hera as she figures out who she is in this new audiobook. After exhausting her options at art school, Hera enters the workforce as a content moderator for a news website. Every day she monitors the bad behavior of others, but when she finds herself in an affair with a married colleague, she has to justify her own bad behavior. Simon's sarcastic delivery captures the emotions of a heroine with the desire to be powerful in a world in which she is powerless. Simon's narration wavers between the overconfidence of youth and the insecurity of someone who knows she's in the wrong. This is a perfect audiobook for fans of the show "Fleabag." V.B. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2023-11-17
After embarking on her first grown-up job, an idealistic 20-something begins an affair with a married colleague.
Hera Stephen, 24, lives with her father in Sydney, Australia. She’s used grad school to delay adulthood as long as possible, but now it’s time for her to join the ranks of her corporate friends and get a “real job.” After several disastrously frank interviews, she takes a position as a news organization’s comment moderator, where her soul-sucking responsibility is to read, parse, and color-code the vitriol of online discussions. It’s at this job that she meets Arthur Jones, a soft-spoken journalist with whom she starts up a message-based flirtation (hence the title, referencing the green dot that indicates a user is online). By the time Hera finds out that Arthur is married, it’s already too late—she’s enamored. Gray’s writing skillfully captures the passion of their early trysts. The sex scenes crackle with energy, and the chemistry between Hera and Arthur is believable and seductive. You may find yourself rooting for them against your better instincts, even as Hera begins to neglect her friends and her delightful, supportive father. As the book tracks the increasingly doomed love affair (including through the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic), the only thing keeping the narrative from devolving into something grim and cynical is Hera’s dynamic and snarky voice. She addresses the reader directly at times, preempting any criticism and attempting to mitigate her own bad decisions. Her narration is peppered with references to music and pop culture, the things that define your personality in your 20s, when you’re still searching, as Hera is, for some kind of identity. Just as much of the narrative unfolds digitally as it does IRL, and Gray deftly incorporates FaceTime, Instagram, and an unnamed company chat platform into the text.
A breezy, heartfelt coming-of-age story for Gen Zers concerned with how to grow up without growing cold.
