Book Bites - Margo's Got Money Troubles

Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Margo's Got Money Troubles is a sharp look at modern feminism, at what it means to make art and the relationship between art and artist, candy-coated in upmarket Bookclub plotting. Margo is a teenage mom--knocked up by her ex-professor--living with her addict, Pro Wrestler dad, selling nudes and videos on OnlyFans to make ends meet. Is it a modern take on A Scarlet Letter? Yes. But also more. Margo's voice intentionally shifts between first and third person, sometimes limited, sometimes omniscient, at times reading like a college creative writing exercise. There's impactful discussions of women's sexuality (the dividing line of "slut" being a woman's agency), and meta-analysis of the complex relationship between author and reader, all while the plot merrily chugs along. Some of the specifics here stumble (19-year-old Margo knows about Mr. Beast and Jake Paul but, for plot proposes, has no grasp on TikTok or Fortnite), and the end feels oddly rushed and a little too on the nose, but the characters shine, the plot is deceptively complex and the text leaves the reader with plenty to think about after the last page turns.

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Book Bites: Merlin's Tour of the Universe

Merlin's Tour of the Universe: A Traveler's Guide to Blue Moons and Black Holes, Mars, Stars, and Everything Far by Neil deGrasse Tyson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Merlin's Tour of the Universe is an updated edition Tyson's 1988 book, collecting questions and answers that originally ran in StarDate Magazine. The subject matter varies widely from the basics of the moon, stars and sun, to in-depth questions of angular momentum and planetary motion. The answers are brief to a detriment, sometimes only a single word, "No." There's humor in Merlin's voice and the occasional limerick is a nice addition, but nothing here elevates Merlin's Tour past the basic tier of science facts bathroom book. The material Merlin covers is better explained elsewhere, even within Tyson's own body of work.

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Book Bites: Gay the Pray Away

Gay the Pray Away by Natalie Naudus
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gay the Pray Away is a heartfelt, queer YA coming-of-age novel set against the world of ultra-strict Christian cults. Homeschooled Val checks out a library book that puts language--"bisexual"--to her growing feelings, just as cool new girl Riley arrives in her homeschool circle. The characters are vivid and fully realized and Val's narrating voice is so compelling throughout, we can forgive if the plot follows the usual genre beats or avoids darker turns. Which isn't to say some of the descriptions and actions of Val's Christian cult aren't horrifying. I can only imagine a young reader like Val finding a story like this on a shelf, how important, what a breath of fresh air this story must be. Gay the Pray Away hits all the right notes, sweet and life-affirming.

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Book Bites: The Wedding People

The Wedding People by Alison Espach
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Wedding People is a delicious lavender macaron of a book. In the wrong hands, this kind of plot--recent divorcée Phoebe checks into a lavish hotel to end her life, only to find herself flung into the middle of a strangers' wedding--often tastes soapy. But Espach knows just how much sugar and just how much sour to mix in, making something that, somehow, is both airy and substantial. There are drunken in-laws and budding romances, yes, but also deep allusions to Virginia Woolf and frank discussions of how wounded people heal through one another. Even at their wackiest, the characters never feel like caricatures. The Wedding People is pretty much everything one could ask for in a book: entertaining and illuminating in equal measures.

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