I was a little hesitant to pick this book up after I couldn’t get into Sammy Espinoza, but I’m so glad I gave this a shot after all! Even though this takes place in the same town and there’s several Sammy cameos, this absolutely stands on its own with its focus on Cash and wanting to save Joyce’s, a local dive bar. This is also a book where “everything is political” really keeps coming to mind in the way it challenges gentrification and is so focused on community care. Cash is determined to save the bar that has felt like home since moving to Ridley Falls, and when the Kings franchise is considering moving into Ridley Falls it is the community that supports Cash towards renovations, and also wanting to keep franchises out of Ridley Falls. I also really loved the way Cash realizing she’s a lesbian and pushing back against internalized compulsory heterosexuality was handled. In a way, Cash Delgado feels like a book in conversation with the “gay for you” trope and the different ways realizing you’re queer as an adult can go, especially as we also have glimpses of other characters’ queer awakenings and self understanding. Yes, Cash’s attraction is focused on Inez, but she’s also realizing other elements of attraction and the ways her dynamics with men were always a convenience where they pursued her, rather than actual interest in them. Which comes back to how much this is a book of community and community care, the ways Inez’s chosen family is just as much a part of Cash’s journey as the larger community is for the bar. I also adored Parker, Cash’s six-year-old daughter, and how confident she is in herself and the many conversations between Parker and Cash where we see the ways children are often wiser than we give them credit for. All around this was a really good book that I really enjoyed, and this was a journey I loved going along the ride for.
[Cash Delgado is Living the Dream releases July 2, 2024. I received an advance copy via Netgalley for review purposes; this in no way influences my review.]
