Stay Gold Audiobook By Tobly McSmith cover art

Stay Gold

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Stay Gold

By: Tobly McSmith
Narrated by: Theo Germaine, Phoebe Strole
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Debut author Tobly McSmith delivers a coming-of-age teen love story about a transgender boy who’s going stealth at his new Texas high school and a cisgender girl who is drawn to him, even as she’s counting down the days until graduation. Perfect for fans of David Levithan, Becky Albertalli, and Jenny Han.

Pony plans to fly under the radar this year. Tired of getting too much attention at his old school after coming out as transgender, he’s hoping for a fresh start as a Hillcrest High senior. But it’s hard to live your best life with the threat of exposure lurking around every corner.

Georgia is beginning to think there’s more to life than cheerleading. She just wants to keep a low profile until graduation . . . which is why she promised herself that dating is a nonstarter for the foreseeable future.

Then, on the very first day of classes, the new guy and the cheerleader lock eyes…

In this moving, honest debut from Tobly McSmith, one transformative relationship opens the eyes of a whole town—and opens the door for Pony and Georgia to celebrate their truths, even when it feels hard.

Accolades & Awards

LGBTQIA+ Essentials
Coming of Age LGBTQIA+ Essentials Difficult Situations Literature & Fiction LGBTQ+ Romance Heartfelt Tearjerking Feel-Good Funny

Featured Article: Audible Essentials—The Top 100 LGBTQIA+ Listens of All Time


While LGBTQIA+ creators have been around for millennia, it’s only recently that we’ve been hearing more diverse, more queer-authored, and more queer-performed stories about the entire spectrum of LGBTQIA+ experiences and identities. This list—just like the community it represents—is meant to be fluid. But most importantly, it’s meant to celebrate and reflect on the issues faced by LGBTQIA+ people everywhere.

Featured Article Audible Essentials The Top 100 LGBTQIA+ Listens of All Time

Editor's Pick

Feel free to fall in love
This YA debut from Tobly McSmith stole my heart, and broke it, too. We follow the story of Pony, a transgender boy going stealth while navigating new kid status at a small Texas high school. He quickly falls for one of the most popular students, a cisgender girl named Georgia who also starts crushing on him, all while wrestling with whether he will share his past with his new peers. Growing up in a small Texas town myself, where I was a racial minority, frequently othered, and at times bullied, this story struck a chord with me. I was team Pony from the very start, hoping that he would settle into his new life easily, but he faces very real challenges from his family, friends, and fellow students, who can’t see the person for all the gender norms. The emotional toll of not being his fully realized self, compounded with the constant threat of physical danger associated with being himself, felt so visceral. You get a window into the reality for many transgender people as they simply try to live their lives, and the bravery that act takes. I hope you’ll give this profoundly moving, uplifting, and hopeful story a listen.

Engaging Storyline • Authentic Representation • Perfect Narrators • Important Message • Great Performances

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Tobly did an extraordinary job writing this book. I fell in love with Pony and Georgia. Without giving anything away this book is heartbreaking and heartwarming. The LGBTQ+ community deserves representation and this book is a great addition to anyone’s audible or physical library. The world is often unkind but this book helped remind me that there are good, pure, exceptional humans who love unconditionally out there. Stay Gold.

Must Read

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This was very well done beginning to end and I highly recommend this book. Perfect narrators and such a great message on top of it! Awesome job Tobly! Congratulations!

Loved every minute! Well done!

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I really liked this whole story. I thought Pony was beautifully written, and I enjoyed getting to know him. Highly recommended.

Great YA coming of age/ romance novel. Read it!

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This was a great story! The author did a remarkable job making it all real. Looked forward to every moment in the book.

Excellent!!

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A friend and I listened to this while on a road trip and we both agree it’s so cute. Being from Texas myself I can say that a lot of what is discussed is true when it comes to many of the social issues mentioned. Pony and Georgia were fantastic and I loved how they both grew as the story progressed. Some parts were hard to listen to because of the content. Not because it was bad, but because it was too real. I highly recommend this story to anyone that wants to explore the thoughts and POV from someone that is transitioning during an already hard time in their life like being a teenager.

Loved, loved, loved it!

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