normally i'm all about literary fiction about women being unwell. and Hera is unwell. but this didn't really do it for me. overall, this was such an addictive and quick read. the writing and Hera's imperfect yet relatable monologue allowed the book to have standout characteristics. i do feel like the monologue got a bit tiring around 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. if you are looking for a sad girl lit fic this is one to check out ( )

I'm quitting this at page 101. I like the writing and the dry tone, and I even like the characters, but the plot is moving at a snail's pace and every chapter seems the same. ( )

Green Dot is the debut novel from Madeleine Gray and is a strong engaging read that captures feelings very realistically. She is definitely an author to watch, particularly if you enjoy Diana Reid, Amy Taylor and Sally Rooney’s novels.

If Gen Y novels were all about moving to a big city and finding your own way while making mistakes, millennial novels are about big feelings that aren’t always so happy. Hera is one of those millennials, cast adrift in her twenties. She’s finished studying and knows she should get a job but she’s not overly excited or interested about the prospect. She’s not intent on a career, has broken up with her girlfriend, lives at home and is watching as her friends move into the working phase of their lives. Hera isn’t keen to join it, preferring to observe it all, but she needs money. So she gets a job as a comment moderator for a newspaper’s website. It’s not really exciting or stimulating. Hera makes an online friend of her colleague (sitting between them is the Queen of Content Moderation who runs the ship on her rules). It’s lonely, boring and disheartening. Then Hera meets Arthur, an older journalist who sits on the other side of the desk, divided from Hera by a wall of monitors. They start an affair, conducted in secret motels and parks as Arthur is married. When will he tell his wife? That is the age old question Hera tries to enforce on Arthur as her friends try to convince her that it’s all a bad idea. But Hera has moved from the fringes of society to feeling the highs and lows of love…

Madeleine Gray does feelings very well. I must admit to being a bit jaded by the older married man / young women theme, but Gray brings a new spin by letting all of Hera’s thoughts to the fore. Good, bad, mean or guilt driven, it’s all there. She is painfully aware of how her relationship is likely to turn out, but still puts her all into trying to prevent it, such as ultimatums. She even moves to the UK to get away from Arthur and it seems to work until the pandemic rewrites the rulebook for everyone. Suddenly Arthur’s green Instagram dot is controlling Hera’s every move once again. While Hera is a main character with many faults, she’s likeable because the reader gets to see every thought that enters her head. Arthur comes across as weak-willed and boring with terrible taste in clothes. If Hera didn’t wax lyrical about the things she sees in Arthur, he’d be much less appealing as an adulterer. But perhaps his hopelessness is a strength for Hera in that she can project on him what she wants.

I would have liked to know more about Hera’s history with her mother and why it’s such a taboo topic. But I think the relationship with her father suggests that what did happen was pretty bad (particularly Hera’s guilt to ditch her father on the promise of a definite maybe was Arthur). Overall, the book is about feelings, good and bad, against good and bad choices resulting in power imbalances. Hera tries so hard to take some of that power back, which is why her character is so fascinating.

Overall, Green Dot is a stellar debut with some of the best writing coming from a character’s thoughts I’ve seen lately.

Thank you to Allen & Unwin for the copy of this book. My review is honest.

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