About the Book
Theo, our scruffy, big-hearted, and quick-witted heroine, is not so much down on her luck as delivered luckless into a culture where the winners and losers have already been decided. Her adventures in getting over take her from San Francisco to New York City, from dyke bars to telemarketing outfits, casinos to free clinics. With the signature poet's voice that has won her awards and acclaim, Ali Liebegott investigates the conjoined hearts of hope and addiction in an unforgettable story of what it means to be young and broke in America.
"frank, funny and painfully realisticLiebegott has unleashed a book that s part road novel, part portrait of a would-be artist as a young woman and part unabashed romance."Josh Davis, The Rumpus
"Cha-Ching!, [Liebegott's] latest novel, is one of those books that cause you to look up, blinking, realizing that you ve read 75 pages and your coffee is cold. It s a rush of offtrack betting, impulsive road trips, liquor-fueled make-out sessions, and the sort of low-end jobs that are invisible in most fiction but everywhere in Liebegott s work."San Francisco Magazine
"Cha-Ching! is a rushthe clatter of youth on the angry move, the rattling of dreamy gambles in crappy apartments, the desperate crash of falling for someone despite the million reasons why and the bang! bang! bang! of our tender hearts."Daniel Handler, author of Why We Broke Up
"Cha-Ching! is so raw with need that I found myself itching that addict's itch to chase the seemingly impossible."Karolina Waclawiak, deputy editor of The Believer and author of How to Get Into the Twin Palms
"An open-hearted, deeply romantic story about a fucked-up dyke, her pit bull, her search for love, her tenuous grasp on hope, a pretty girl and the literal spin of the wheel."Sarah Schulman, author of The Gentrification of the Mind: Witness to a Lost Imagination
"In the game of American-life-on-the-go hopscotch, Ali Liebegott's heroine Theo just jumped a square ahead of Dean MoriartyThe author's fine writing about gambling is as good as I ever read, including Dostoevski's and the Barthelme Bros. In the end, love, in whatever twisted, pallid form, a love that has little to do with sexuality, is the only answerWonderful book."Andrei Codrescu, author of So Recently Rent a World: New and Selected Poems
"[Ali] Liebegott continues [her] winning streak with her third novel Cha-Ching!, tracing the life and times of compelling lead character Theo, a restless lesbian with a military hairstyle (which makes her gender-ambiguous enough to nickname herself "sirma'amsir")There is a lot to relate to in Liebegott's cleverly addictive novel. Readers will wonder what happens next to Theo and Cary Grant. Will the love she finds be everlasting, or will her addictions get the best of her? Theo is an engaging character, and she will linger in the imagination long after Cha-Ching!'s final page has been turned."Jim Piechota, The Bay Area Reporter
Ali Liebegott is the author of the award-winning books The Beautifully Worthless and The IHOP Papers. In 2010 she took a train trip across America interviewing female poets for a project titled, The Heart Has Many Doors; excerpts from these interviews are posted monthly on The Believer Logger. Her novel Cha-Ching! is the third in the City Lights/Sister Spit series. In addition, she is the founding editor at Writers Among Artists whose first publication, Faggot Dinosaur, was released in 2012.
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About the Author :
Ali Liebegott is the author of the award-winning books The Beautifully Worthless and The IHOP Papers. In 2010 she took a train trip across America interviewing female poets for a project titled, The Heart Has Many Doors; excerpts from these interviews are posted monthly on The Believer Logger. Her novel Cha-Ching! is the third in the City Lights/Sister Spit series. In addition, she is the founding editor at Writers Among Artists whose first publication, Faggot Dinosaur, was released in 2012.
Review :
"Cha-Ching! is an addiction story without recourse to self-help and redemption. It s a romance built not from exchanging vows, but traumas, drugs, and fluids. You had me at the puke on my sheets. The characters are always making something out of nothinga dime into a jackpot, a shitty apartment into a home, a blank sky into a declaration of love. It s gruesome. It s hilarious. It d make a puppet out of the hardest of hearts."Tracy Jeanne Rosenthal, HTML Giant
"Cha-Ching! is a rare novel, a smart page-turner which honestly delves deep into the screwed-up heart of one young working-class dyke. At a moment when novels about social outcasts and the downwardly mobile are rarely published, Liebgott has hit a home run with this tender, funny, and moving book, which examines the profound difficulties of being young and gay, and carving out a new home in an indifferent world."Jeff Miller, Cult Montreal
"Liebegottwrites with easy-going, straightforward style and without a whiff of pretensionSet in depressing casinos and grimy apartments, Cha-Ching! is a surprisingly optimistic, sweetly funny taleand Theo is a heroine you might have more in common with than you think."Shelf Awareness
"Cha-Ching! is about being young, looking for love, trying to build a future, losing everything a few times, and praying for luck in Atlantic City. It's also a witty, engaging read that deserves to be called a must-read."Gabino Iglesias, Verbicide Magazine
"In her honest, raw and, at times, tenderly humorous narrative, Liebegott leaves the reader asking the question: how much is it all really worth?"Elizabeth Coleman, Art Animal
"AddictiveCha-Ching! is a quick, sober readthe narrative focus is placed on the description of the translation of Theo's cognition to her actions"Marcie Bianco, Velvet Park
"Ali Liebegott chronicles the ups and downs of Theo s life, which should resonate with everybodythe time in your life when you felt the need for wild abandonalso, unfortunately, the time when you couldn t stand up for yourself very well."Kathleen Hennrikus, New York Journal of Books
"Cha-Ching is a moving coming-of-age tale, funny and heartbreaking, compassionate and real[a] well-paced, well-written, and well-conceived story."Eleanor Bader, Review Fix
"Her language is haunting."Amos Lassen
"Liebegott's poetic prose delivers the narrative in vivid detail, and although the novel grapples with the difficult issues of addiction, depression, poverty and homophobia, the reader is still left sharing Theo's inexorable optimism about the possibilities of starting over."Katie Ungard, Shameless
"Ali Liebegott's books evoke a life-affirming sensation that comes from embracing the pendular. Her ability to hit the right tone is scientific, almost violent in its precisiona single word or observation, well-placed, can have a reader crying or laughing aloud."Evan Karp, Bomb
"Cha-Ching! captures brilliantly chaos and uncertainty that comes when one is perhaps a little too old to be a youth, but hasn't figured out how to be an adult either. This is a story whose greatest strength is the way it unflinching demands that readers sit with their own discomfortLiebegott is an exquisite storyteller bringing us into Theo s world without casting judgment, reminding us that life is a gamble, and everything: home, sobriety, success, love ultimately hangs in the balance. This is a story about margins and uncertainties, of fisting a girl you barely know on dirty hotel carpet, and losing the last of your cash on the alcohol you quit, and slot machines praying to get lucky again, and promising if you do, not to blow it this time."Sassafras Lowrey, Lambda Literary
"Liebegott has the unique ability to make the world feel so heavy that it could crush you, yet also make the assertion that a solid pair of dapper boots make the month betterIf you ever feel unlucky or lucky, you should read this book. The words in it are both beautiful and real."Carmen, Autostraddle
"The biggest pleasure of this book, besides the companionship of the sensitive Theo, is its language. Liebegott's style is mordant and naturalisticseemingly effortlessand shot through with the most incredible sadness."Katie Haegele, Philly.com
"fresh and compellingthe novel offers a subtle and compassionate depiction of addiction and its cycle of despair-and-hope, too."ZYZZYVA
"What makes this novel so powerful is it presents poverty, addiction, and being gay in a time when it wasn't accepted even in big cities like New York, without shame, remorse, or apology. This novel vividly shows you the rats in the wall, the cocaine in the strip club, the feeling of destitution and loneliness. And it shows you all of these things while you laugh tirelessly at the absurdity of it all."Down and Out
"Ali Liebegott's fiction is in a direct line of descent from the road trip novels of the Beat Generation, the writers who chronicled the lives of outsiders in the conservatives 1950s. In Liebegott's work, the marginalized status of her characters is directly related to their gender fluidity and sexual nonconformityThe persistence of love and hope prevent this novel from being a journey through hell, and the author's narrative skill carries the reader along for the ride."Jean Roberta, The Gay and Lesbian Review
"
""Cha-Ching!" is an addiction story without recourse to self-help and redemption. It s a romance built not from exchanging vows, but traumas, drugs, and fluids. You had me at the puke on my sheets. The characters are always making something out of nothinga dime into a jackpot, a shitty apartment into a home, a blank sky into a declaration of love. It s gruesome. It s hilarious. It d make a puppet out of the hardest of hearts."Tracy Jeanne Rosenthal, "HTML Giant"
""Cha-Ching!" is a rare novel, a smart page-turner which honestly delves deep into the screwed-up heart of one young working-class dyke. At a moment when novels about social outcasts and the downwardly mobile are rarely published, Liebgott has hit a home run with this tender, funny, and moving book, which examines the profound difficulties of being young and gay, and carving out a new home in an indifferent world."Jeff Miller, "Cult Montreal"
"Liebegottwrites with easy-going, straightforward style and without a whiff of pretensionSet in depressing casinos and grimy apartments, "Cha-Ching!" is a surprisingly optimistic, sweetly funny taleand Theo is a heroine you might have more in common with than you think.""Shelf Awareness"
""Cha-Ching!" is about being young, looking for love, trying to build a future, losing everything a few times, and praying for luck in Atlantic City. It's also a witty, engaging read that deserves to be called a must-read."Gabino Iglesias, "Verbicide Magazine"
"In her honest, raw and, at times, tenderly humorous narrative, Liebegott leaves the reader asking the question: how much is it all really worth?"Elizabeth Coleman, "Art Animal"
"Addictive"Cha-Ching!" is a quick, sober readthe narrative focus is placed on the description of the translation of Theo's cognition to her actions"Marcie Bianco, "Velvet Park"
"Ali Liebegott chronicles the ups and downs of Theo s life, which should resonate with everybodythe time in your life when you felt the need for wild abandonalso, unfortunately, the time when you couldn t stand up for yourself very well."Kathleen Hennrikus, "New York Journal of Books"
""Cha-Ching" is a moving coming-of-age tale, funny and heartbreaking, compassionate and real[a] well-paced, well-written, and well-conceived story."Eleanor Bader, "Review Fix"
"Her language is haunting."Amos Lassen
"Liebegott's poetic prose delivers the narrative in vivid detail, and although the novel grapples with the difficult issues of addiction, depression, poverty and homophobia, the reader is still left sharing Theo's inexorable optimism about the possibilities of starting over."Katie Ungard, "Shameless"
"Ali Liebegott's books evoke a life-affirming sensation that comes from embracing the pendular. Her ability to hit the right tone is scientific, almost violent in its precisiona single word or observation, well-placed, can have a reader crying or laughing aloud."Evan Karp, "Bomb"
""Cha-Ching!" captures brilliantly chaos and uncertainty that comes when one is perhaps a little too old to be a youth, but hasn't figured out how to be an adult either. This is a story whose greatest strength is the way it unflinching demands that readers sit with their own discomfortLiebegott is an exquisite storyteller bringing us into Theo s world without casting judgment, reminding us that life is a gamble, and everything: home, sobriety, success, love ultimately hangs in the balance. This is a story about margins and uncertainties, of fisting a girl you barely know on dirty hotel carpet, and losing the last of your cash on the alcohol you quit, and slot machines praying to get lucky again, and promising if you do, not to blow it this time."Sassafras Lowrey, "Lambda Literary"
"Liebegott has the unique ability to make the world feel so heavy that it could crush you, yet also make the assertion that a solid pair of dapper boots make the month betterIf you ever feel unlucky or lucky, you should read this book. The words in it are both beautiful and real."Carmen, "Autostraddle"
"The biggest pleasure of this book, besides the companionship of the sensitive Theo, is its language. Liebegott's style is mordant and naturalisticseemingly effortlessand shot through with the most incredible sadness."Katie Haegele, "Philly.com"
"fresh and compellingthe novel offers a subtle and compassionate depiction of addiction and its cycle of despair-and-hope, too.""ZYZZYVA"
"What makes this novel so powerful is it presents poverty, addiction, and being gay in a time when it wasn't accepted even in big cities like New York, without shame, remorse, or apology. This novel vividly shows you the rats in the wall, the cocaine in the strip club, the feeling of destitution and loneliness. And it shows you all of these things while you laugh tirelessly at the absurdity of it all.""Down and Out"
"Ali Liebegott's fiction is in a direct line of descent from the road trip novels of the Beat Generation, the writers who chronicled the lives of outsiders in the conservatives 1950s. In Liebegott's work, the marginalized status of her characters is directly related to their gender fluidity and sexual nonconformityThe persistence of love and hope prevent this novel from being a journey through hell, and the author's narrative skill carries the reader along for the ride."Jean Roberta, "The Gay and Lesbian Review"
"
""Cha-Ching! "is an addiction story without recourse to self-help and redemption. It's a romance built not from exchanging vows, but traumas, drugs, and fluids. You had me at the puke on my sheets. The characters are always making something out of nothing--a dime into a jackpot, a shitty apartment into a home, a blank sky into a declaration of love. It's gruesome. It's hilarious. It'd make a puppet out of the hardest of hearts."--Tracy Jeanne Rosenthal, "HTML Giant"
"[Ali] Liebegott continues [her] winning streak with her third novel Cha-Ching!, tracing the life and times of compelling lead character Theo, a restless lesbian with a military hairstyle (which makes her gender-ambiguous enough to nickname herself "sirma'amsir") . . . There is a lot to relate to in Liebegott's cleverly addictive novel. Readers will wonder what happens next to Theo and Cary Grant. Will the love she finds be everlasting, or will her addictions get the best of her? Theo is an engaging character, and she will linger in the imagination long after "Cha-Ching!'s" final page has been turned."--Jim Piechota, "The Bay Area Reporter"
""Cha-Ching!" is a rare novel, a smart page-turner which honestly delves deep into the screwed-up heart of one young working-class dyke. At a moment when novels about social outcasts and the downwardly mobile are rarely published, Liebgott has hit a home run with this tender, funny, and moving book, which examines the profound difficulties of being young and gay, and carving out a new home in an indifferent world."--Jeff Miller, "Cult Montreal"
"Liebegott . . . writes with easy-going, straightforward style and without a whiff of pretension. . . . Set in depressing casinos and grimy apartments, "Cha-Ching!" is a surprisingly optimistic, sweetly funny tale--and Theo is a heroine you might have more in common with than you think."--"Shelf Awareness"
""Cha-Ching!" is about being young, looking for love, trying to build a future, losing everythi
