I loved Margo’s Got Money Troubles from the very beginning. The way Rufi Thorpe writes is so vivid and raw, yet literary. She is thought provoking with her beautiful sentences and sharp observations. There is humor, pain, relationship struggles, and plenty of quirky characters. Living with Margo as she struggles through making ends meet with a new baby presents motherhood through a whole new lens that I had never considered. I particularly appreciated the relationship between Margo and her father, a retired professional wrestler personality. It added a tender, yet wacky element to the story.

A warning, there are some graphic descriptions due to the nature of the plot…I mean, it’s about Margo starting an OnlyFans to financially get by. Read the publisher’s blurb before you dive into this one to make sure it’s for you. If you’re unsure, give it a try…read the first sentence, it’s fantastic. You might be surprised by how much you empathize with Margo.

Special thanks to William Morrow for the ARC via Net Galley.

Margo's got money troubles touched on several usually taboo subjects. We follow Margo on her journey from student to mother to online talent. It's interesting to see how little evidence is needed to label a person as good or bad. While I enjoyed this book some parts just made me angry for Margo.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this digital arc. All opinions are my own.

I LOVED this! Margo is such a charming character and I could not help but root for her. Its funny but deals with some serious issues including debt, single motherhood, legal issues, infidelity, and addiction. Despite this- it wasn’t heavy. I could see that the author did her research into the world of only fans, and Margot reads as a very real and flawed 20 yo character. Everyone had an opinion about what she should do and what she shouldnt do, yet few people seemed interested in helping her out. I found myself thinking about these characters even when i wasnt reading.

It has already been adapted for television as a series for Apple TV. Fun tie in- it will star Elle Fanning and she also reads the audiobook. I loved this book and gave it 5 stars.

***Thorpe's irresistible character of 19-year-old Margo discovers her strength, drive, creativity, and vulnerability after becoming pregnant. She defies societal expectations to provide for her baby and to find fulfillment in her personal and professional life.***

Margo is a 19-year-old community college student having an affair with her married professor. When she finds that she's pregnant, she begins a winding path to figuring out her life that mainly entails defying most of the stereotypes of a young single mother.

She is told she will receive zero support from the baby's father; she loses two roommates due to the baby's crying; she receives little practical help from her mother; and she loses her job.

Yet she finds a true friend in her last remaining roommate, who until then seemed primarily a source of rent; she finds a strange and fulfilling new relationship with her estranged father, a former professional wrestler; and she dives into an unorthodox new profession in order to secure a financial future for her family.

Thorpe offers lots of joy and offbeat fun, yet doesn't shy away from weighty conflicts between classes, genders, ages, education levels, and levels of wealth or poverty. Margo butts up against--and at times, dismantles--frustrating societal expectations and double standards related to sex, desire, body autonomy, and freedom.

Young Margo finds herself in the midst of the significant complications of single motherhood, an insecure financial situation, the weight of responsibility for a tiny, helpless human, the shocking power of others' judgments (a custody battle; ominous Child Protective Services visits), all while navigating complex family dynamics--and maybe even a hint at a future romance.

The story and its characters feel unexpected and fascinating; Margo's Got Money Troubles is an edgy contemporary novel with a wonderfully oddball premise and a captivating amount of depth.

I received a prepublication edition of this novel (which was published in June, oops!) courtesy of NetGalley and William Morrow.

Yes, just....yes. A realistic portrayal of the American economy, the lack of support systems for mothers (young or otherwise), addiction, mental illness, and the lengths we'll go to to take care of our own. Margo's story is relatable, hilarious, and altogether the perfect encapsulation of today's culture. I loved every page!

Margo's Got Money Troubles was a fun and quirky read, but it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. The characters were messy in a good way, and I enjoyed the writing, but the portrayal of sex work felt way too easy and glossed over the tough realities. Margo’s sudden success seemed pretty unrealistic, and some of the plotlines—like her dating a client—just felt off. I liked the humor and charm, but the ending was rushed and wrapped up too neatly. It’s a decent 3-star read—entertaining, but not without its flaws.

I applaud this book. It was relatable and had real problems that exist in our world, but was written in an interesting, thought provoking storyline. It made me feel so many emotions for Margo - sadness, joy, anger, and despair, but left me with light hearted inspiration.

Title: Margo’s Got Money Troubles
Author: Rufi Thorpe
Publisher: William Morrow
Pub Date: 06/11/2024

Margo is a college student who gets pregnant by her married Professor. She decides to raise her son, Bohdi, despite the opinions of those around her at the time.

Being a mother is hard and even more so without support both financially and emotionally. What is Margo to do in order to raise her son? Her answer to financial security is to work as an OnlyFans cam worker which makes an already challenging situation even more difficult on many other levels.

Margo is surrounded by is an interesting cast of characters including a pro wrestler father. The story has humor but has much deeper messages. What makes a good person? What makes a good parent? What is family? Who decides? Who are your real friends? The phrase “Don’t judge a book by its cover” was running on repeat in my mind throughout the story.

Warning that there is a religious aspect beyond judgement that I personally wish the author didn’t bring into the story. It is a small part of the story but, nonetheless, it’s impact is much larger.

The story ultimately is of a mother on a journey of finding herself, facing many obstacles and judgements, who loves her child and will do everything to keep that love in her life.

Thank you #NetGalley and #WilliamMorrow for the opportunity to read this story.

I can't remember the last time I felt so personally invested in a group of fictional characters, but Margo and her ragtag village got me directly in the heart. I very much appreciated that this is the story of a single mother that did not directly invoke any sort of manipulative sympathy towards the baby. The baby was a fact in the story, not a character, and because of that, I was able to fully listen to and understand Margo. What a stunning talent to have as a writer. I am so in love with this story,

The weirdest book I’ve read in a long time, didn’t have a book about only fans on my list for this year but it’s kinda wonderful? I really enjoyed the main character and the shifting POV when things go emotional, I just wish there had been a little more of a wrap up at the end.

I LOVED THIS BOOK! It was nothing like I thought it would be, and I mean that in the best possible way. This was written in such an interesting way & it made me want to go & read the author’s previous book.

I loved the way social media played a role in the book, and I loved that it really seemed like the author used or at least talked with people about how it was used instead of just making assumptions & going on that.

This was an interesting premise and felt like a rompy adventure with extra quirk. After a questionable affair with her college professor, Margo finds herself pregnant with roommates and she decides to raise the baby alone. She decides to start an OnlyFans and channel the persona she's learned from her Ex Pro Wrestler dad, Jinx. The main character goes to church at Christmas and repeatedly talks about Mary in the Bible getting raped rather than immaculate conception. If this does not bother readers, proceed ahead. It bothered me. I was shocked to see it described as a comedy. It isn't funny.....AT ALL. I found myself completely frustrated with Margo the entire read. She just annoyed me. I really disliked how the POV went from 1st to 3rd person almost from page to page. The characters did not keep my interest. I felt the whole premise was just dumb and immature. Thank you NetGalley, Rufi Thorpe, and William Morrow

Thank you to the author Rufi Thorpe, publishers William Morrow Books, and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of MARGO'S GOT MONEY TROUBLE . All views are mine.

It seemed improbable that men really wanted sex this badly, and yet they did, there was an entire economy based on how badly they wanted it, and for a moment Margo understood the sexual desire she felt was mild in comparison. She would never pay fifteen dollars to look at a guy naked. You could buy two, possibly three sandwiches for fifteen dollars. p71

Well, I thought I would love this one. But I really didn't. I am a huge fan of fiction books with feminist characters, storylines, or themes, and this is one of those. Sort of. But the feminism you'll find in this book is a new breed of it‐‐‐ sort of an issue feminism. OnlyFans only feminism.

The characters mimic feminism, but they make statements squarely against various kinds of birth control, mainly abortion. The storyline really struggles with feminism also, because while this story discusses sex work and portends to elevate the voices of swers, it both denigrate swers (of a certain kind; only the smart, wealth-building kind of swers get respect here) and simultaneously misrepresents them, all of them.

I can't link to it for some reason on my phone, but check the excellent 3 star review written by the swer on Goodreads. They discuss at length the many ways the main character does not in fact behave like a swer and the dangerous messaging this character could send to readers who might use this book as a business blueprint. The author does, after all, go on a great deal about the how-to of being a cam worker.

Thorpe also writes a copious amount of material about the details of the character's legal troubles and how she will address them. Unfortunately, the author only provides details about the boring stuff. Well, boring if you're not using this book as a how-to manual. Her rare metaphor is interesting, so I bet her figurative writing would actually be good, but she describes exactly nothing. I would say it needs an extra 50 pages in literary description, except I can't imagine this book being any longer than it already is.

Apple TV has optioned this one for a streaming series. First time this has happened before a book was published. Considering the lack of description in this book, I imagine the series will have to be an improvement on the text.

That was how it was being a grown-up. We were all moving through the world like that, like those river dolphins that look pink only because they’re so covered in scars. p190

Three (or more) things I loved:

1. She kept thinking, as she nursed him, I am so fucked, I am so fucked, I am so fucked. Because all around her she could feel the echoey space of no one caring about her or worrying about her or helping her. She might as well have been nursing this baby on an abandoned space station. p12 I'm tired of all the hero-mom narratives dominating the literary landscape right now, but I am here for the mom disaster narratives! *edit nope, just another hero mom narrative, swer edition.

2. I like intergenerational trauma story lines like this: “Look at how long and thick his fingers are.” The love-drunk look on Jinx’s face made the back of Margo’s throat hurt. Had her father looked at her like that when she was a baby? p64

3. This book goes into great detail about the family court system and how terrible it is. Well great, I guess, if you're not the one losing your kid, but still just horrifying material. I think this is a very important subject and I'm glad Thorpe decided to cover it in her cold, calculated style.

Three (or less) things I didn't love:

This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.

1. I'm in the first pages of tge book and I'm already put off by the sections of completely unnecessary and horribly executed second person POV. In this case, it's just slipshod stand-in for first-person POV, and should be written in first person instead. *edit In general, changing POV feels clumsy and confusing throughout the text.

2. Dang girl, just give your poor dad some space lol! He is really fine without you!

3. "Violently" is used repetitiously and often incorrectly.

4. She spends 50 pages moralizing why abortion is selfish or at least irresponsible, then spends the rest of the book justifying (or not bothering) the main character's use of her OnlyFans account to make a living as a sex worker. These are both important women's issues, neither of which are more pious or deserving than the other. Thorpe is sending some convuluted, and some downright bad messages to the young women who will read this book. I find the narrative didactic and obtuse. Is this what passes for white feminism in 2024?

5. This book contains very little descriptive writing. It's mostly dialogue and summary of action.

6. There are pages and pages of shroom-tripping characters laying out a business plan, step by step. It's such a dry scene and it's not good fiction. It reads like a how-to book. I bet some readers will actually follow it.

Rating: 🤱🤱 / 5 hero moms
Recommend? No
Finished: Aug 27 '24
Format: Digital arc, Kindle, NetGalley
Read this book if you like:
👶🏻 new mom stories
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 family stories, family drama
💉 addiction recovery stories
💇‍♀️ women's coming of age
💄 feminism

I loved, loved, loved this one! I couldn't help but to root for Margo. I didn't realize how heartwarming this novel would be. I felt it was fairly fast paced and there was a good mix of character development and plot development. I couldn't put this one down!

Margo's Got Money Troubles is a wild ride in the best way. Thorpe has created a cast of characters you feel like you should be booing but you can't help but root for them from start to finish. Not to mention, this book is laugh out loud hilarious while also so deep and agonizing. Truly a capture of a realistic human experience.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

"Margo's Got Money Troubles" by Rufi Thorpe follows 19-year-old Margo, who is grappling with unexpected motherhood after an affair with a married professor. Struggling to make ends meet, she turns to OnlyFans to support her newborn, navigating the complexities of financial stress, societal judgment, and her own self-worth.

Thorpe’s sharp, honest writing paints a vivid picture of Margo’s challenges, blending dark humor with raw emotion. This novel is a gritty, unfiltered look at a young woman’s fight to survive and provide for her child in a world that hasn’t been easy on her.

I loved this book! It was an absolute highlight of my summer reading. I loved the characters, the perspective shift from 1st to 3rd person, and the nuances of a literary novel about OnlyFans, wrestling, and motherhood. Can't recommend enough!

This book was absolutely AMAZING! The characters were relatable albeit living some pretty unrelatable circumstances for most. They were extremely lovable and sincere. I admired Margo's relationships with others- she was so honest, open, and vulnerable with all those around her.

Margo, Margo, Margo. Girl, what are we going to do with you?

Not even old enough to drink, pregnant by her college professor, forced to drop out of school, and barely making ends meet with her waitressing job, Margo's life is falling down around her ears.

Going into this, I thought it was going to be a light and fluffy book about overcoming obstacles and persevering, but it was so much more than that. I wouldn't say I had an opinion on camgirls or people who had Only Fans before I read this. I mean, I knew they existed, but I didn't think too much about them. "You do you" has always been my motto. This forced me to look at it from an "inside" perspective, to see what the motivation and rationalization behind the choices some (not all) sex workers make and how they deal with the fallout. I was already empathetic to people who choose to take that route, and even more so for those who feel they have no choice. But this book added a layer of depth to my empathy that wasn't there before. At times laugh-out-loud funny and then heartbreaking in the next beat, this was a good one folks!

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Firstly I will state that even just the premise of this book is nothing short of incredible - the originality of this is second to none and it really made its mark.

Margot is a 19 year old college student that has a brief affair with her married college professor. She ends up pregnant and what follows is a hilarious yet heart-warming depiction of the realities of young motherhood. Right away she's forced into dropping out of college, and due to the woes of finding affordable childcare she is fired from her job as a waitress. She then is forced to scramble and try to figure out her life with a newborn. Through twists and turns, her estranged father - a former WWE wrestler, returns to her life and offers her something she wasn't getting from her mom - he offers her help with the baby, and also provides never-ending support, he cleans, he cooks, and he supports her with an unwavering and beautiful level of trust as she turns to OnlyFans and TikTok as a way to make money in order to support herself and her child.

I absolutely loved Margot and found myself rooting for her throughout! It's honest, sweet, and hopeful all at once and I truly recommend this book.