Green Fairy

By: Kyell Gold

Narrated by: Jay Maxwell

Length: 11 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's Summary

If Sol can just survive his last year of high school, he can escape his homophobic small town and go live with his Internet boyfriend for the summer. But when he loses his starting spot on the baseball team and converts to vegetarianism - a wolf, giving up meat! - his father threatens him with a hot, muggy summer working in the peach cannery unless he gets his act together. His teammates, who suspect his sexuality already, won't make it easy for him. But even with nobody on his side but his best friend Meg (who is even less popular than he is), the teenager finds answers and solace in an unlikely place: a 1901 book about a tragic gay romance in the bohemian district of Lutece, around the famed Moulin Rouge.

Inspired by the spirit of the era, Meg and Sol share a glass of absinthe, with startling effect: Sol begins to dream that he is a cabaret dancer named Niki, offered a chance to escape his difficult life through romance at the price of his beloved art of dance.

©2012 Kyell Gold (P)2013 Kyell Gold/Max Miller

It left me feeling speechless.

What did you like best about this story?

I'm not even sure where to begin with this one. Everything about this story is 10 layers deep. I don't want to say too much, because every detail is just so engrossing. It held my attention from start to finish, and not once did I feel board. As someone who is no stranger to the impending feeling of hopelessness life sometimes brings us, I felt very much for the main character. I was saddened, and even angry on his behalf. My feelings were a direct projection of how he himself felt about the book Confession. This is something I think everyone should read, and I think it could be appreciated but just about anyone. I strongly recommend it.

Which character – as performed by Jay Maxwell – was your favorite?

He did a really good job with all of them. The protagonist was probably best preformed, but I liked mostly all of them.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The whole thing really. It resonated very well with me.

Any additional comments?

What are you waiting for? Buy it already, you will not regret it.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Why did I wait?!

What made the experience of listening to Green Fairy the most enjoyable?

OMFG Just finished the audio book version. Totally wishing I hadn't waited so long. The narrator did an excellent job! At a few points I wasn't totally sure there wasn't a second voice actor. His vocal range seems to be the spoken word equivalent of Freddie Mercury. I'm kind of ashamed to say I did avoid buying Green Fairy because it seemed a bit dark, but I'm glad I waited for the audio version. There are some stories that truly are better with the right voice behind them.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Couldn't Stop Listening

What made the experience of listening to Green Fairy the most enjoyable?

Going into this, I had not read Kyell's "Green Fairy" yet. I was interested to see what it would be like hearing it before reading it. I was not disappointed. I am sure that if I had read the book I would have enjoyed it as well. Kyell is always great at making his characters seem so real. Listening to this audio rendition of the book took those seemingly, real characters and actually blew life into them. Jay Maxwell does an incredible job narrating the story as well as having unique voices for all the characters that fit well. Where ever I was in the story when I would pick it back up, I would get completely swept into Sol's story immediately. It was bittersweet when it was all over...I wanted Jay's voice to continue to fill my head with this wonderful story. I would definitely recommend this to any fan of Kyell Gold! You will not be disappointed.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Reminded me of high school all over again.

I listen to Audible to help me focus at work. It was hard to keep myself from listening to it all in one day.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

amazing

amazing story and out standing work once again from kyell <3 highly recommend it

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Utterly Amazing

Where does Green Fairy rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Defiantly up there with one of the best books grounded in reality I have ever read, sure we have anthro characters, but the feeling and the emotions that this book stirs are amazing.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Green Fairy?

Definitely the Absinthe dreams I don't want to spoil much but Nikki's story is just as engrossing as Sol's and I couldn't stop listening

Have you listened to any of Jay Maxwell’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't listened to Jay before but his reading for the most part is amazing and the Voices for the characters are distinct enough to tell the difference.

If you could rename Green Fairy, what would you call it?

I don't think I could rename this book.

Any additional comments?

Please listen to this even if you don't like Anthro characters this book is well worth the time!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Better Than I Thought

Where does Green Fairy rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It was a very good book... I liked it even though it seemed to push all of my buttons...

What does Jay Maxwell bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He was unbelievably smug in his delivery... Drove me nuts! If he wasn't so good at giving the characters a voice, I would have absolutely hated him.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. It was good, but I definitely needed breaks.

Any additional comments?

It was amazingly pretentious, it used animals instead of people, the narrator was smug and somehow, the story was so good and the narrator brought the characters to life so well that I really enjoyed the book. It is well worth your time!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Gay or Straight, it's worth your time

At its heart, Green Fairy is a coming of age story. It tells the story of Sol trying to figure out who he is and how he can get the world around him to accept. Kyell Gold often tells stories that cover a topic of personal struggle for the LGBT community and this story is no different. The characters in The green fairy, just feel real. The themes in the book are often heavy, and something most gay people can relate too in some way. Even if you are not gay, this story offers a small look into what is like to be afraid to just be your self.

I flew through this audiobook, I found myself listening to it every chance I could get. As soon as an I finished it I picked up the two sequels right away. The narrator, Jay Maxwell, did a wonderful job as well. I am pretty picky when it comes to narration, it's usually the number 1 reason I return a book, but Maxwell really does a wonderful job. All of the characters have a distinct voice and he brings their personalities alive.

If you have an extra credit, spend it on this book for sure.

Just a great story

This is an amazing story. Even if you're straight, even if you're not really into the furry thing, the characters are well-developed, the settings (modern and historical) are engrossing, and the story is so sad and sweet and lovely. This book has inspired my own writing. Buying the sequel immediately.

Best book I have ever heard.

If you're like me and you waste every moment of your life not reading this will change you. For the better.

Makes me want to try Absinthe!

Would you listen to Green Fairy again? Why?

I definitely would and plan to listen to it again multiple times, I feel like Green Fairy is one of those books that you can listen to time and time again and notice things you never have before with each listening.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Green Fairy?

I don't want to spoiler it, but one of the most memorable moments would be when the main character Sol meets his internet boyfriend Carcy, it was actually a relatable situation for me but with a much darker outcome. than my personal experience.

What does Jay Maxwell bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

The accents for sure, Jay Maxwell manages to give each character a distinctive voice through the use of accents, which at first I was unsure of but ended up loving by the end of the book.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

"The past, while not what it may seem to be, can still teach us a lot"

Any additional comments?

Gonna be straight here, I love this book, love the author, love the narrator and the entire universe, I'm a massive furry and at first I was a bit put off by the idea of ghosts preferring romance stories more grounded in reality like Waterways or Out of Position, but I ended up loving this book so much, it's really deep, emotional and made me cry in multiple places.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful