A review by bloomed
Green Dot by Madeleine Gray

emotional funny hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Another millennial malaise banger.

What this book does really, really well: Hera’s narration is pleasantly stream-of-consciousness, and so it’s very fun (and then, later, heartbreaking) to read. It feels extremely authentic, too; oftentimes books that are trying to write this kind of story, one where there are a lot of asides about pop culture and current events, come across as cringey, like the author isn’t entirely sure what they’re doing. In Green Dot, though, you can really tell Madeleine Gray has a finger on the pulse, so to speak. Hera is also—as a result of the authenticity of the writing, I think—an extremely relatable character. Not all the time, but enough that I felt seen by the book more often than I didn’t. Always a plus! So is the fact that it never overstays its welcome; it’s exactly as long as it should be, with a nice, quick pace that goes down easily.

What it doesn’t: honestly, not much. The only “flaw” it really has, at least in my eyes, is that it very much is what it stays it is. If you like slice-of-life stories about depressed, queer, twenty-somethings fumbling their way through the world, you’ll like this book, end of story. It’s very much for fans of books like Ripe, or My Year of Rest and Relaxation. Given how polarizing that particular niche can be, though, I’d steer clear if it’s not your thing! This book is amazing at what it’s doing, but I don’t think it’ll make someone love a genre or style that they usually can’t stand.