She can effortlessly riff on art, history or philosophy and Cricket is enthralled from the moment he meets her So, when loyal friend Mon connects her to a wealthy family seeking a companion for their 81-year-old matriarch, she grits her teeth in the face of the family's superior attitude and takes on a second job.Piper's nuanced, sensitively observed narrative traces the "exhausting work of being poor" and the toll the upheaval in Tina's life has taken on her mental and physical wellbeing