I'm late to the Green Dot party, I realize, but once I finally got around ti it, I absolutely loved Madeleine Gray's simmering, gorgeous, raw book. It's the story of having an affair with a married man, sure, but it's also a piercingly accurate account of the emotional messiness of your 20s, a time when the opportunities are endless and impossible simultaneously. It belongs in the same category of Dolly Alderton's Ghosts and Monica Heisey's Really Good, Actually, a searing, lovely, often-hilarious account of growing up.

This was an entertaining, quick read but it was unfortunately harder to root for this narrator than other "unreliable and messy" main characters for the majority of the book.

A surprisingly sad and frustrating read, this wasn’t what I expected—for good and bad. Guess I should’ve paid more attention to the synopsis. I thought this would be more a story about modern life in an office job (probably the cover gave me that idea), but the focus is instead on a doomed situationship between two people who aren’t particularly likable, or brave, or smart. But they feel so real and this novel hit me in places where it really hurt. I was often undone by the sheer beauty of the prose, the way it captures so eloquently the pain and danger and euphoric highs of illicit affairs. I docked a star not because of the novel itself, but the feelings it stirred in me. I might come back and give this a 5, but for now it’s a 4. I was often frustrated while reading, I wanted these people to do things I wouldn’t do. But we are human, and we are imperfect. And life is often is tragic.

"Green Dot" is a compelling portrayal of a young woman on the brink of self-realization, resonating with anyone who has ever questioned their choices or struggled to define their place in the world. Through Hera's witty and introspective voice, Grey crafts a narrative that is as thought-provoking as it is entertaining, inviting readers to reflect on the complexities of modern relationships and the unpredictable nature of desire.

Overall, "Green Dot" stands out as a bold exploration of personal growth and the messy, sometimes painful, journey towards understanding oneself in a world filled with uncertainties.

After hearing about this book from so many sources, I was so excited to receive an advanced copy of GREEN DOT by Madeleine Gray in exchange for my honest review. A big thank you to the author, NetGalley, and the publishers, Henry Holt & Company | Henry Holt and Co.

GREEN DOT tells the story of 2o something Hera who falls in love with a coworker, only to learn he is married. This novel tackles a lot of heavy topics - the COVID-19 pandemic/lockdown, depression and isolation, loneliness and grief, growing up and coming into your own - and handles them all really gracefully. I thoroughly enjoyed Gray's writing and will look out for any future work by this author - I didn't love the plot of this but loved the writing and characters, so would recommend.

24 year old Hera Stephens does what every twenty-something every post-grad does—finds herself stuck in a soul sucking corporate job while wishing her existence will one day be meaningful. She’s ultimately unsuccessful, until she meets Arthur, the man across the office from her. He’s genuine and funny, but most importantly, he makes Hera feel important. But, he’s twice her age and married. Hera finds herself wrapped up in a confusing office romance and affair, consumed by Arthur’s green dot signifying his online status. This book is messy and funny! Hera is such a realistic narrator, and her unlikeableness made her appealing to me. This is some great little plot mostly vibes lit-fic!

such an addictive, quick read. while this follows a common and somewhat trite (oversaturated as of recent) trope: woman in her 20s has an affair with an older married man. however, the writing and hera's imperfect yet relatable monologue allowed the book to have its own standout characteristics from the rest.

that being said, i feel like the monologue got a bit tiring after the halfway point of the book and i was not as interested in it as i was at the beginning. it was a weird dichotomy because while many points of her introspection were so painfully relatable, she was so hard to connect with as a whole character.

but if you are looking for a 'sad girl lit fic' (so broad, i know), this is definitely one to check out!

UGH Hera, my gal, this was painful. I was your bestie! I was there rooting for you!

I reeealllyyyy enjoyed this one. This is a protagonist that will be wildly frustrating for some and so guttrenchingly relatable for others.

Madeleine Gray really captured the complexity of being a mid twenty-something trying desperately to know wtf is going on and how the heck to handle it all. From finishing her education and the "allure" of getting your first job, to falling in love with the entirely wrong person, to the dumb decisions you just can't bring yourself not to make (it's painful!).

The writing is witty and had me completely invested and immersed in Hera's life. In particular, there were a few times the writing acknowledged the "fourth wall" (me, the reader), and those addresses really endeared me. I think right now this settles with me at a solid 4.5 but who knows, the more I think about it the more it could creep up on me!

From the very first page, I found myself deeply connected to the main character, experiencing every emotion alongside her. I laughed, I fell in love, I cried, I got angry—sometimes all at once. Madeleine Gray's ability to breathe life into her characters is nothing short of extraordinary; I found myself not only rooting for the protagonist but also seeing shades of myself in her—a rare and unsettling realization.

While normally skeptical of social media's presence in novels, Gray seamlessly integrated it into the narrative, making it feel essential rather than intrusive. Even unconventional choices in punctuation and narrative structure, like the bold use of exclamation points and the gripping karaoke scene, felt purposeful and expertly executed. The blend of poignant inner monologues, clever references to music, movies, and pop culture, all contributed to an atmosphere that was refreshingly genuine, avoiding the pitfalls of cliché.

"Green Dot" isn't just a story; it's a mirror that made me reflect deeply on my own life. Gray masterfully navigates complex themes—morality, desperation, hope, and an insatiable longing for something more—with a plot that unfolds seamlessly. It's a poignant yet humorous exploration that kept me engaged from start to finish.

I don't know what the point of this story was. I feel like there was so much potential here and it feel short. The characters were so awful. I'm not one for a cheating trope and that lowered my rating. I didn't like the fat phobic and the abortion remarks in this. The writing was really cringy. I think it was from trying to make the main character seem edgy. This was a huge letdown.

This was a great book! I very much enjoyed it and I look forward to reading the author’s next work! Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.

really interesting take on the complexities of knowingly being a mistress and falling in love with that married man. Hera is a fun but frustrating character to follow, a fantastic debut from Gray.

First published in Australia in 2023; published by Henry Holt and Co. on February 27, 2024

The green dot in the title of this novel is the indicator on Instagram that your lover is online. The dot is “staring at you like an eye you can’t see yourself reflected in” and is thus less satisfying than your lover’s actual eyes.

In its early pages, Green Dot is very funny. The humor slowly transitions to drama that is foreshadowed by the narrator’s warning that her audience will ask how she could have been such a fool.

Hera Stephen lives in Sydney. She has no STEM ability but she’s bright, so she views her options as lawyer, journalist, or academic. She loves to learn but has no passion for working. School has taught her that she should be concerned about her formation and development, but spending her days working in a job seems to have little relationship to those goals.

Hera buys her freedom by taking out student loans and earning degrees. The strategy works until she has earned all the degrees that lenders will fund. Hera is living with her father and needs to find work so she can make loan payments.

At the age of 24, Hera finds a position as an online community moderator. The job allows Madeleine Gray to poke fun at internet trolls, content moderation, and office work. While content moderators are rigidly separated from the journalists in her office, Hera finds that a content moderator can get invited to office drinks after work with the journalists by being “young, smart-mouthed, female, reasonably big-titted, with no avowed journalist aspirations of your own.”

Hera befriends fellow content moderator Mei Ling, who is her ally against a universally disliked supervisor. Their snarky message exchanges using the office intranet add to the novel’s humor. Hera also has friends from her student days. Soph, the most amusing of them, “is smart and mostly motivated by vendettas.” She likes to gossip and is encouraging Hera to try having sex with a man (Hera having mostly confined her sex life to women).

When Hera starts to flirt with Arthur, a British journalist who works in her office, Soph encourages her to shag him. Hera accepts the challenge and begins an affair. This is the point at which the story moves from humor to drama. I was disappointed that the humor nearly disappears at that point because the humor is sharp and more enjoyable than Hera’s love life.

The domestic drama of Hera’s affair runs a predictable course. Hera tells the reader at an early point that her story would be predictable and at the end says, “You were right. You predicted it. Everyone was right but me.” Notwithstanding the absence of surprise, the story is emotionally affecting, as Arthur makes promises about leaving his wife but repeatedly explains why the time isn’t right (his wife’s pregnancy is one such excuse). Hera ends it and moves to England, continues to interact with Arthur via Instagram, moves back to Sydney during COVID, and suffers mightily as the story moves to its inevitable end.

Hera’s fantasies about becoming Arthur’s wife and raising his baby as a stepmom might make the reader question Hera’s intelligence, but she is clearly a bright woman who simply has no control over her feelings — or, more importantly, over her response to her feelings. I often feel frustrated with stories about characters who allow their lives to become soap opera plots, but the novel’s initial humor drew me into Hera’s personality and made me sympathize with her when her life falls apart. In the end, Hera manages to learn something about herself and about life — she develops as a person, as she was told she should do in school — and that development suggests a possibility of growth that makes the predictable story worthwhile.

RECOMMENDED

Actual Rating 1.5

I wanted to love this one, as I do really like snarky protagonists and stories about finding yourself. That being said, I didn’t like this protagonist or her voice. She wasn’t written to be unlikeable, but there was nothing about her to like. She also specifically states that finding out she was sleeping with a married man didn’t bother her and then proceeds to carry on with the affair. The book was also heavily made up of exposition/monologues of her inner thoughts and it wasn’t interesting, insightful, funny, or anything much more than boring.

None of the remaining characters were strong either. Arthur especially (the love interest) was bland and flat. As this book is much more character-driven than plot driven and I couldn’t get on board with the protagonist, there wasn’t much I enjoyed about this one. The writing certainly tried to be witty, and there were a few times when it was, but most of the time it felt a bit like it was trying too hard to be clever. There were also a lot of pop culture references which some folks may enjoy but isn’t something I prefer in my fiction.

I recently read another book somewhat like this, and it was a five-star read for me. This one just fell short in too many aspects to work for me. If you’re interested in affairs and bisexual protagonists in their mid-twenties, then you may like this one. My thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holy & Company for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Book Review! Green Dot

Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐

Genre:
Fiction, Contemporary, Romance

Read if you like:
Problematic main characters
Being absolutely delulu
Work place drama
Being in your 20s and figuring it out

Synopsis:
At 24, Hera is a clump of unmet potential. To her, the future is nothing but an exhausting thought exercise, one depressing hypothetical after another. She’s sharp in more ways than one, adrift in her own smug malaise, until her new job moderating the comments section of an online news outlet—a role even more mind-numbing than it sounds—introduces her to Arthur, a middle-aged journalist. Though she's preferred women to men for years now, she soon finds herself falling into an all-consuming affair with him. She is coming apart with want and loving every second of it! Well, except for the tiny hiccup of Arthur’s wife—and that said wife has no idea Hera exists.

Review:
A fun and witty book that feels like catching up with a problematic and morally questionable friend. I enjoyed this book. I went in completely blind and knew nothing about it, except I liked the cover and it kind of took place in a work place. Oh boy, I was surprised when the crazy started crazy-ing. Hera is so delulu I wanted to shake her and be like "he is not the love of your life! He is literally just a guy! Hit him with your car!" Hera is the messiest protagonist and I am here for it. Yes Girl! Keep making bad choices!

Hera, a bored 25 year old, enters the work force and at her job she meets the man of her dreams! But shocker! He's married! Instead of cutting her losses Hera has to go all "I can fix him" because of course he's gonna leave his wife because he said he would *insert eye roll emoji here* I loved that the writer chose to go the semi cliche direction with the affair. The writing is so heartfelt, while being hilarious and sad at the same time. A beautiful funny and sad book that will make you want to scream at a wall. Definitely check it out!

Thank you to Netgalley and Henry Holt & Company for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I wish this was as about a little more than just an affair. It seemed as though it was going to have more, so it was a little disappointing. I loved all the pop culture references throughout. But overall I loved this book and loved the writing.

I pretty much exclusively read unwell woman fiction and Herra is one of the most unwell women I've encountered, The writing is so compelling and I just tore through this. Really enjoyed and would highly recommend!

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC via NetGalley!

Hera is struggling with adulthood but she finds a job as a social media moderator for a news outlet. While working there she starts to become friends with Arthur, an older, married, co-worker. This friendship evolves into a relationship. Hera finally sees herself as an adult and can picture a life with Arthur. She is content at first but soon wants more and Arthur continually promises it to her. Hera is repeatedly disappointed. She makes some big moves to breakaway from Arthur but they are drawn back to each other over and over.
This was a very interesting read. It was a little bit like watching a car accident where you don’t want to look but you can’t look away. I felt this understanding of Hera and the emotions she was feeling but also felt this heartbreak for her because you know what the outcome of the relationship is going to be. The writing really brought out the emotion of the story and I could feel it right along with the characters. There were times where I was so frustrated with their actions but I could still understand them; the angst, the desire, the hope, the longing, etc. This is definitely a different type of book than I have read recently but I really enjoyed it.

She is delulu but I was enraptured until the very last page. We KNEW this wouldn't end well - and of course so did she. Did we look away from the car crash at any point? Of course not.

Madeleine Gray did a great job of capturing the varying phases of friendship, the messiness that is post-grad life, and the way we're all just hoping to belong to someone at the end of the day.

What a ride!! I agree with the author's blurb. "Hera is a clump of unmet potential." She was absolutely someone I would want to smack upside the head with some sense. It was a bit frustrating at times and slow to read about her love affair with a married man, and you already knew the outcome so I had to push myself to finish. Overall, for a debut novel...the author's writing style is really great and I would read their future work based on that statement. This is not a favorite, but it was good.

3.5 / 5 stars