Margo’s Got Money Troubles
Rufi Thorpe’s delightful dramedy Margo’s Got Money Troubles focuses on 19-year-old Margo Millet as she struggles to find her path in life. Following a fling with her English professor, Margo ends up pregnant and determined to keep the baby. With some input from her father, Jinx, a former wrestler, she starts an OnlyFans account to make ends meet. Readers can’t help but root for Margo as she balances motherhood with online notoriety. Laced with humor and keen observations on the digital world, Thorpe’s novel is a bold, compelling exploration of identity and authenticity.
Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead
In Emily Austin’s Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead, 27-year-old Gilda grapples with anxiety and her own mortality. In need of a job, she lands a receptionist position at a Catholic church and—through an unexpected chain of events—ends up pretending to be Grace, the previous receptionist, who may have been murdered. Gilda’s life is turned upside down when she becomes embroiled in an inquiry into Grace’s death. Austin skillfully mixes moods in this poignant, wry portrayal of a young woman in search of answers to life’s biggest questions.
Homebodies
Tembe Denton-Hurst’s Homebodies tells the story of Mickey Hayward, a young Black woman who gets laid off from her job at a media company. Angered by the layoff, Mickey writes a letter about workplace discrimination—to little effect—and decides to move back to her hometown in Maryland. The change has surprising outcomes, including a reunion with an old love interest. As she comes to terms with past choices, Mickey tries to find a new way forward. Explorations of institutional racism, the meaning of home and the search for personal fulfillment will give readers plenty to talk about.
Everything’s Fine
Everything’s Fine by Cecilia Rabess is a darkly funny, revealing depiction of modern love. As the only Black woman on her floor, Jess Jones feels alienated at the investment bank where she’s an analyst. Josh Hillyer, her white, well-off friend from college also works there. Although ideologically they’re poles apart—Jess leans left, and Josh leans right—they fall for each other. Against a backdrop of social and political friction, their connection is tested. Rabess delivers a sharp portrait of what is gained and what is lost when you compromise for romance in this brisk, riveting novel.
