Greta & Valdin

This funny coming-of-age story, narrated by an ensemble of narrators and starring queer Māori Russian siblings Greta and Valdin, traverses many ways of loving through experience, confusion, strength, and hope. Spotlighting Greta and Valdin’s charmingly fraught relationships, Reilly’s irreverent prose draws listeners into a warm cocoon of discovery, deep feeling, and self-awareness. Lead narrators Natalie Beran and Jackson Bliss capture the characters’ emotions, oscillating among ego, pride, and plenty of anxiety. Many friends, lovers, and family members make their way through the story with complicated, earnest, and occasionally chaotic personalities. At times emotional and self-reflective, the story takes listeners through hookups, breakups, coming out, and coming together, continually emphasizing the importance of making conscious choices to maintain connections with one’s loved ones. Though most of the novel takes place in New Zealand, the characters come from around the world. The narrators differentiate each character, skillfully employing dialects and delivering many laugh-out-loud moments.