This one was fun! While there are serious topics throughout the book the author is able to flawlessly mix humor which makes it a delightful read. I laughed out loud multiple times.

Synopsis: 20 year old Margo becomes pregnant as the result of an affair with her college professor and the choices she makes in order to support and raise her son.

I was rooting for Margo throughout the book. She is smart, strong, funny, determined and brave. If she had a problem she found a way to tackle it herself. The author displayed the hardships of being a single mom but also the rewards of being a mom.

Quick read. Witty. Insightful. Entertaining.

4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you @netgalley and @williammorrow for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a total blast!

I don't know if this will be everyone's cup of tea BUT I would certainly drink it again! The premise of the book is a twenty year old kind of directionless community college student has a short lived affair with her much older professor, gets pregnant, decides to keep the baby and in the process of raising this baby (less than a year all in all), begins to grow up and learn about herself, what it takes to survive in today's world when you are young, unfinished traditional education wise, and basically poor AF. Throw in a sort of celebrity father, secretly drug addicted father, mother who just wants to be taken care of for once, and the world of highly sexualized social media, (TikTok, Insta and OnlyFans play a major part), and you have the bones of the story.

Anyway! This book was fun, I am a full generation older than Margo (gulp!j but am savvy enough about today's social media, etc and just loved the absolute honesty and sometimes absurdity of the story. The author pulls no punches in describing what it takes for a woman to survive in todays world and in some ways, the book is almost feminist in its frank depiction of modern day sex work, and the pride that Margo takes in her work. It's not a view I would have come to understand on my own, but having read this work or fiction that's likely real life for many young women today, it makes sense because at the end of the day, Margo makes her own choices and is proud of them no matter what the views of others are, and that's something I can relate to.

Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe is the story of a young woman that is trying to figure out how to be an adult. This was such an honest and funny story about Margo, who is so refreshing and endearing. She goes through a lot, but figures things out along the way. Sometimes she's a bit of a mess and sometimes she's a success. I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

📖 BOOK REVIEW

🎧 MARGO’S GOT MONEY TROUBLES by Rufi Thorpe
4.5 stars

Genre: contemporary fiction
Did I cry: no
Published in 2024

💭: i had seen fantastic reviews for this buzzy new release, and the audiobook is narrated by Elle Fanning so i obviously had to listen to it asap & i adored it!!

It’s equal parts ridiculous (in the best way) and equal parts relatable. It allows us to connect with the main character who is going through real life struggles while also making it hysterical and outrageous. It’s super modern but not in a cringe, over-the-top way. I don’t want to reveal too much about the plot because i found that going in blind allowed me to find it even funnier because it was all so unexpected. Overall, this is a super funny read with an engaging, heartwarming plot and great characters with top-notch character development and i deffffff recommend, especially on audio 😌

I was given the opportunity to read Margo's Got Money Troubles by NetGalley. Here is my honest feedback:

I first gravitated to this book because of the cover. All I thought was, "Who put a picture of me on a book cover?!" LOL. Then I saw the title and thought, "OMG! They wrote a book about me!". Ha ha. From the first page to the last, I was not disappointed. This book was exactly what I needed when I decided to read it. It's a very heartwarming and laugh-out loud book. There were several times where I would catch myself cracking up and re-reading a paragraph or two so I could laugh again.

Margo is a child of a Hooter's waitress and an ex-pro wrestler who spent the majority of her childhood taking care of her free-range parents. She knew that when she grew up, she wanted more in life. Enter community college where she had dreams of doing something bigger...but instead she did her professor and ended up with a baby. Determined to have something of her own and believing that she would be O.K. she kept the baby even though everyone else told her not to.

At 20 years old, she's a college dropout and a single mom with no income or childcare. Her father, Jinx, shows up and asks to live with her after another stint in rehab. She agrees, but only if he will provide childcare for her baby. She comes up with a plan to get the money that she needs to raise her son and protect her from her ex and his family. She creates an Only Fans account that soon goes through the roof. Everything is perfect now, right?

Read this book to find out more about Margo's struggle to come into her own, the hilarity of the advice that her dad provides, and how she becomes the heroine of her own story. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and want to fist pump at times. I loved this book!

3/5
Margo's Got Money Troubles features a young, single mother who struggles to make it in today's society. The only way to make it is through OnlyFans and help from her former WWE father. This book reflects on the double standards that women, often single mothers, face when providing for their families, as well as the absurdity that is TikTok and social media fame. This was a hilarious and touching story that had every option to become misanthropic and give Margo a terrible ending, but instead allowed Margo to succeed and be the hero at the end of the book.

Knowing this will become a limited series staring Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfieffer, and Nick Offerman, I can't imagine anyone better than these three actors.

I’d been saving this book for when I found myself in a slump because I was so confident I was gonna love it, and I’m so glad that I DID! I really enjoyed Thorpe’s last book, her books feel like watching indie coming-of-age comedies. 20-year-old new single mother Margo was such an interesting character to follow and I thought the way it switched from first to third person perspectives was a fun concept. being a sex worker isn’t something I see a lot of in books, unless it’s in more of a ‘dark’ way, so it was pretty fun to read about how she built up her OF page. Margo is the epitome of a protagonist you just wanna root for the whole way through, and this story was so compelling.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for honest feedback. This book was delightful and I couldn't help but fall in love with all characters involved.

There’s a lot to say about this slim, buzzy book, but at its core, it’s a warm and fuzzy (although far from precious), hilarious story about accepting people for who they are and growth and finding yourself.

A new favorite.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to be able to read and review this book!

This was so fun to read.

I’m embarrassed it took me so long to finally read this one, but man, was it good! Once I started, I tore through it. Rufi Thorpe is a talented writer and this novel is unique in structure (I loved the mix of first and third person), original in plot and premise (college student is impregnated by her professor, has the baby, bonds with formerly absent father, become an onlyfans star? but it’s so much more than just that lol), and just so funny and delightful. Highly recommend!

Margo was one of the most wildly enjoyable books I've read in a long time. It packed so much nuance into a plot that managed to be both entertaining and heartfelt. The way this book reframed how we as a society think about women, shame, and what makes a family was done without being preachy or in your face with its messaging. I found myself rooting for certain characters because they just simply deserved it (and being so defeated when others couldn't see the reality of the circumstances because of their systemic beliefs).

My book club ended up reading this together, and it was unanimously well received. It was as challenging and rich with topics to discuss as it was readable and fun.

I thought this book had a lot of modern charm. Margo was a likeable character! I wasn’t as enamored as other readers, but I found the story quite enjoyable.

Margo is a college student in a relationship with a professor, Mark. They conceive a child and Margo’s life completely changes. After Mark wants no involvement, Margo decides to raise her son, Bodhi, alone. But a baby with three roommates is an untenable situation so once two of them move out, Margo suddenly has to figure out how to cover 3/4 of the rent.

The novel is narrated in a mix of first and third person points of view. I enjoyed this technique as it gave a more complete picture of Margo and her reality. The author is witty so it was fun to read this book. I got drawn into Margo’s world and was hoping to see her come out on top despite her struggles. The characters were definitely not all lovable. In fact, I had strong negative feelings about several of them, another way I was drawn into and invested in this book. The characters were well developed by the conclusion, and their actions tracked for their histories and traits.

Beneath the laughs, there were serious topics explored: reproductive rights, the role of women in society and the expectations we are held to, and addiction issues to name a few. This is the first book I have read by Thorpe, who authored three other books to much critical acclaim. I am going to add them to my TBR list - I like Thorpe’s ability to write about a heavy situation but still have lightness and humor. I really liked this novel and would definitely recommend it.

This was an ok read. I did have trouble connecting to most of the characters and the plot.
I thought Margo made a lot of naive and bad decisions but I have to give her credit for doing what she has to in order to provide for her child. She did have a lot of pluck.
Mark was a fiend and a jerk and I disliked his character.
Jinx had his flaws but I thought he was more supportive of Margo than her mother was.
One thing I didn’t like about the book was the switching back and forth from 1st person to 3rd person narration without any warning. It maybe the prose clunky.

Thank you to William Morrow for providing me with a free copy of this book.

This was so lovely and odd. I've never read a book like this, and I really enjoyed it. Against all odds, I ended up loving Margo and how she had to fend for herself and her baby. I was rooting for her the entire time, despite the fact that we are very much different people.

Margo is young and smart, but her life gets turned upside down when she gets pregnant while having an affair with her community college professor. She decides to keep the baby and that's where the adventures begin. Margo needs money - she can't waitress without childcare. Could she start doing OnlyFans? Her dad, a former professional wrestler with plenty of his own problems, moves in with her and a roommate. Together the three of them - and the baby - form quite a team. This was unexpected, a bit wild, and ultimately heartwarming.

Very quirky and well written story. Not for everyone, but I loved Margo and her ability to deal with life on her own terms. It was odd, and I went in blind not really knowing too much about it.

Margo was raised by a single mom with her Professional Wrestling affiliated father showing up when he could fit her in around his wife and their kids. So naturally she fell for her married college professor and started a torrid affair. When she got pregnant, the professor bailed and she was left to figure out how to support herself and their son. Her mother was not much help since she was dating a pastor who served as a youth minister. Rufi Thorpe created characters in Margo's Got Money Troubles that scream for an adaptation and A24 and AppleTV answered the call. The book was a fun romp, especially for anyone with a history with the WWE. It is a little spicy in spots!

Margo is 19 when she gets pregnant with her married literature professor's baby. She decides to be a single mother only to realize that she really has "ruined her life": she loses her job because she can't find childcare, two of her roommates move out because they can't handle living with a newborn, and her mom is focused on her own new relationship with a judgmental youth pastor. So, Margo does what many women, young and old, have done to get by: she turns to sex work (in her case, OF). Her dad also shows up and moves in. He's got his own issues - he just got out of rehab and is going through a divorce of his own, since his wife finally decided she had enough. It's a blessing in many ways, since he is great with babies, loves cleaning and cooking, and Margo has wanted a closer relationship with him for years. Incidentally (well, not incidental to the substance abuse), he's a semi-retired professional wrestler, so he has great ideas to help with her OF persona and how to market herself as a commodity.

The book is about Margo and her specific situation, but it's also about art and artificiality and authenticity. This is highlighted by the alternating first and third person POV (they're all Margo, but still), Margo's flashbacks to her literature course (which also help explain why she had an affair with her prof even though he's objectively a sleazeball), and her father's love for his own profession, despite the toll it has taken on his health and personal relationships.

I flew through this: the writing is accessible, but still broaches deeper issues. Also I cried?? At a really weird part??? (Crying at a book isn't unusual for me, but I was still surprised at what exactly provoked the tears.) While this is not a romance novel, there is a very satisfying non-romantic HEA. I highly recommend this one.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.