Unique, surprising, and real sums this coming of age story up perfectly. This book also probably has the best opening paragraph to a book I have ever read, so I was immediately interested. Margo, a 19 year college student, finds herself pregnant by her older, married professor after a brief relationship. She decides to have the baby, and the book evolves to Margo’s life from there. Her story is anything but typical! Her life isn’t perfect, but the author somehow presents Margo’s life in a funny but real way as she deals with her problems. Her basically estranged, ex-wrestling dad ends up being her roommate, and as the title says she definitely has money problems. So Margo does what so many people do now, and that is turn to the internet to make money. This book was a wild ride from here.

Without giving too much away, I ended up liking Margo more throughout the novel as she developed and navigated her new life. This book surprised me in all the best ways. This is the second book I have read written by Rufi Thorpe, and I will definitely read any future books by her. Thank you to William Morrow, Rufi Thorpe, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review. 4.5 rounded up.

Full of multidimensional, vibrant characters this book delivers well beyond its premise. This portrayal of a young single mom who barely registers that she’s been very much taken advantage of by her child’s much older, married (not to her) college professor (to her) father is unpredictable and layered.

Margo gets pregnant from her professor. He wants her to get an abortion. She decides to keep the baby. She tries to waitress after the baby is born and gets fired. Child care is so expensive and Bodhi the baby only likes Margo. Her estranged father Jinx the former wrestler moves in. He tells her about Arabelle a former wrestler using only fans to make money. Margo is intrigued and decides to look into it.

This was an interesting novel. I learned alot more about Onlyfans. I enjoyed following Margo and learning about her life. I listened to half of it on @everand and really enjoyed Elle Fanning being the narrator. I really liked this book.

Margo is 19, has a baby, dropped out of college, lost her job, and two of her flatmates have moved out. How is she going to manage? In this warm-hearted, sex-positive novel, Margo finds an imaginative way to make money without needing to leave her home and her father, wrestling professional Dr. Jinx, moves in to help out.

Using strategies from the world of professional wrestling, Margo sets up an OnlyFans site and while the money doesn’t quite roll in, it more than trickles in. There are ups and downs along the way: Bodhi’s father, Margo’s English professor, wants custody, CPS makes a surprise visit, and Jinx relapses back into addiction. But Margo’s can-do attitude, smarts, and optimism sees her through.

Bodhi the baby is quite a character in his own right, and though Margo’s reasons for having a baby, and not an abortion, are quite wobbly, the mother-baby relationship is beautifully drawn. Looking the other way on the generational spectrum, Margo ‘s mother, Shyanne, is a familiar trope, marrying for security and living off her looks, but Jinx is a fresh and unusual take on a father and grandfather, but not what you’d necessarily expect from a manager of wrestlers called Murder and Mayhem.

Using Jinx’s promotional knowhow and Margo’s down to earth approach to her body, her OnlyFans site builds momentum. I found this quite fascinating as I was only peripherally aware of OnlyFans and I loved the utterly pragmatic and inventive ways that Margo approaches her site as a way to generate money and allow her to stay at home with Bodhi. And as well the financial gains, Margo also finds she has a devoted follower who is more interested in what she has to say than what she's showing.

Though this is a fairly slight story, it is an unusual look at getting by filled with breezy, richly developed characters.

Thanks to William Morrow and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

now THIS is an original story! truly can’t think of anything like this, and i can’t remember having this much fun throughout a book in a long time. overall, i really appreciated margo as a character, and continually found myself rooting for her and bodhi. 4.5 and thank you to the publisher for the ARC!

<i>You are about to begin reading a new book, and to be honest, you are a little tense. The beginning of a novel is like a first date. You hope that from the first lines an urgent magic will take hold, and you will sink into the story like a hot bath, giving yourself over entirely. But this hope is tempered by the expectation that, in reality, you are about to have to learn a bunch of people's names and follow along politely like you are attending the baby shower of a woman you hardly know.</i>

Margo is still a teenager when her English professor gets her pregnant. And in the following weeks, despite everyone telling her not to, she decides to keep the pregnancy. She has an apartment that she shares with three other girls, the man who told her, over and over, how much he loves her, her best friend Becca and her mother. And once she has Bodhi, the professor ghosts her, her mother quickly tells her that she will not be helping out, her best friend disappears from her life, two of her roommates move out and she loses her job. Margo does indeed have money troubles, but money is only one of her problems.

<i>They had tried to warn her: her mother, Mark, even Becca. But when they talked about the opportunities she would be missing, she'd thought they meant a four-year college. She hadn't understood thy meant that every single person she met, every new friend, every love interest, every employer, every landlord, would judge her for having made what they all claimed was the "right" choice.</i>

But she's not without resources. First, there's the one roommate who didn't leave, and then there's her father, someone who was largely absent while she was growing up but now, fresh out of rehab, he needs a place to stay and he can pay rent. And he gives her an idea of how she can make money to take care of her and Bodhi. None of it is ideal, but there's a chance this odd family can make it work, or maybe the underlying issues are too serious to paper over with love and effort.

This book surprised me. Thorpe's writing is light and smart and she often goes for the clever wordplay over a more sincere telling. And Margo is a young woman who hides her own feelings with her quick mind and a careless attitude. But as this novel progresses, it doesn't take the easy way, or the expected direction, but chooses to be more real and complex and muddled in ways that make it more than the breezy language indicates. I ended up rooting for Margo to figure out a road between the many obstacles placed in her way.

I wasn't sure what to expect but I really enjoyed this! I'm a huge fan of coming-of-age stories and loved how much growth Margo experienced throughout. I can't say that I relate to a lot of what Margo went through but I loved her resiliency and wit. The side characters were great, especially Jinx, and everyone's dynamic was so interesting to see. I also loved the author's choice to flip between first and third person and thought it was smart to highlight the parts where it felt like Margo was disassociating from her story.

Wow, this was nothing like what I was expecting but I loved it. I found the switch between first and third person unique, Margo’s story compelling, and the literary critic fascinating. There is definitely a lot of social commentary but it wasn’t heavy-handed. A lot of complex topics are addressed in such a realistic way, it was really good. Highly recommend!

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the e-arc!

I definitely feel like I'm in the minority but this book wasn't for me. I thought Margo was a well-written character and 'unlikeable' and makes bad choices and those situations didn't bother me. I was really hung up on the switches between 1st and 3rd POV so much so it ruined the book for me. Don't know what the point of it was ?

I started this expecting to dislike Margo, but I found myself wanting to be friends with her by the end of the novel. Her life is messy--as our all of ours--but she handles it well and ends up being a great mom (also relatable, as I have a baby at home). I was worried her setbacks would feel like a slog, but Rufi Thorpe's pacing makes them feel compelling and surmountable. I also loved the narrative device of mixing third- and first-person POV because it makes the story feel more authentic and more vulnerable knowing that Margo had to distance herself from it.

Margo’s Got Money Troubles is a story like no other I have ever read.
Some content made me a tiny bit uncomfortable. I am old enough to have not know what OnlyFans was or that it was an actual site, but I consider myself open-minded and I don’t blush easily. I am glad I pressed on because this story has so much more.
It made me rethink or reevaluate my thinking when it comes to decisions other people make that I think I would have never done that! And when a book does this to me? A must read! I am no one to judge!
I enjoyed Margo, Jinx and even her mother’s characters. It actually made me sympathized.
Thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow for this ARC

This book is so very, very good. One minute you'll be laughing out loud, the next you'll be so so angry at what Margo has to endure. and then you'll be tearing up with the love she has for her baby Bohdi.. Margo is a complicated, likable, strong,smart character and you just want the best for her. and her young son. Can't wait for the author's next book.

This will be THE book of the summer for contemporary fiction.

19 year old Margo gets pregnancy by her professor and keeps it honestly because of spite. She does truly really love her baby and will do anything for him such as joining Only Fans to make ends meet when she's suddenly faced with the reality of being a parent. We followed her journey into this world along with some unlikely friends and family along the way. I loved the characters in this book and was fully rooting for Margo to make it!!

If you can listen to the audio I would highly recommend it. Elle Fanning narrates and is fantastic.

This book was very fun and goofy, if not a little unbelievable. I had trouble connecting with Margo at the beginning because she was making such big decisions based on spite? But I enjoyed her growth and this book made me laugh out loud a couple of times. My only other critique is that things seemed to get a little too perfect for Margo at the end. I'm all for a happy decision and I loved seeing Margo succeed but the ending felt a little rushed. All in all, I loved this unique book.

Margo finds herself 19, pregnant, with not a lot of support, either financial or emotional. She soon realizes the reality of being a working single mom and looks for other ways to make money. Though this is a rough summary of the plot, this book is about so much more. I did not agree with some (most?) of Margo's decisions in the beginning of the book but stay with her. You will be cheering on this young woman and amazing mom. It also includes one of my favorite fictional father daughter relationships ever. Did I learn more about wrestling & Only Fans than I ever wanted? Yes, but also enjoyed every moment. I love what the author has to say about motherhood, body autonomy, and the perils of judging others. Rufi Thorpe's writing is incredible -- filled with so much warmth, humor, quirkiness and heart. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced e-galley. 4.5 stars

Such a unique premise. Throughly enjoyed this book beginning to end. Laughed out loud a few times.
Highly recommend!

Thanks NetGalley for the copy, in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher.
I have a toddler and do not get much time to read, I devoured this book in 2 days. What a funny and heartwarming coming of age book.

Margo is 19 and becomes pregnant with her 35 year old professors child, she keeps the child and comes up with some questionable but legal ways to provide for her son.

The concept behind this novel is actually very simple; a young woman pregnant through an affair with her college professor, chooses to keep the baby and then joins OnlyFans as her main form of income.

As a fan of Thorpe’s last novel “The Knockout Queen” I was very excited to read this and it contains a lot of the humor the previous novel had while also tackling some really interesting questions like what is and isn’t suitable for children, body autonomy, sex work, and consent.

I did feel like the novel probably could have been condensed by 20ish pages and been fine, but overall I had a lot of fun with this.

What a weird, remarkable book. I’ll admit the first 20% or so requires a little suspension of disbelief (and judgment), as I found myself wanting to throttle Margo for not realizing what a colossal mistake she was making.

But what helps you move past that infuriating premise is that Margo herself, who is lovingly and hilariously fully-realized, is the first to say it. And from there, the book is a funny, irreverent, moving romp. The plot is a little fantastical, but that’s balanced by how authentically lived-in the characters feel. And the treatment of societal norms and shame felt fresh and insightful. All told, I liked this so much more than I thought I would

Thank you @netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of Margo's Got Money Problems by Rufi Thorpe. Margo finds out she is pregnant, wants nothing to do with the married professor who is the father, wants to have the baby, but does not think much about how her life will work and how she will manage as a single mom. The story is about how she starts doing OnlyFans (did not know this existed..), reconnects with her mostly absent father, and learns to be a mom. She makes some questionable choices along the way, but it's a fun story to read and she gets more likeable as it goes on. There is also an element of found family, which I always enjoy. #margo'sgotmoneytroubles #rufithorpe #netgalley #advancedreadercopy #tbr #bookstagram #readersofinstagram📚📚❤️ #lovetoread #bookloversofinstagram #readallday #readingisfun