I am the publicist assigned to MARGO’S GOT MONEY TROUBLES by Rufi Thorpe and read via NetGalley review copy. The book is on sale June 11, run, don’t walk!!

This book isn’t gonna be for everyone, but it was 100% for me. I read it in a single day, and found myself thinking about it in the short time between picking it up and finishing it (I had to go teach yoga and I totally wanted to play sick and just stay home and read!). I went into it pretty blind, and I feel like that was so the way to go because the weirdness just works, you don’t need to know what you’re in for. However, if you do want a little info: Margo is 19 and gets pregnant by her community college professor, and she decides to have the baby.. She doesn’t come from money - her mom raised her pretty much alone, and her dad is a retired professional wrestler with another family - and Margo works as a waitress, which makes it hard to get a babysitter. The rest of the book is about what happens next, which is hilarious and heartwarming and sad and just awesome. This is a book about the family we make for ourselves, about morality, about getting to know people we love as real flawed people, and about the many weird wrestling facts that make sense when applied to real life. I absolutely freaking loved it.

Margo’s got troubles, all right. Margo’s got money troubles, family troubles, life troubles… you name it, she has it. A twenty-year-old mother to newborn Bodhi, Margo is lacking a steady income and languishing in social isolation. She has been fired from her job, forced to drop out of school, and is desperately searching for new roommates to help cover rent. An unexpected lifeline appears in the form of her estranged father, Jinx, a washed-up wrestler and recovered addict who is newly divorced and suddenly moving in with Margo and her remaining roommate, Suzie. Not only does Jinx provide childcare and endless advice, but he unwittingly gives Margo an idea for a new business venture: starting her own OnlyFans account. As Margo shows off her business acumen and catapults into success, she must reckon with a society that frowns upon college dropouts, unwed mothers, and sex workers, all while raising her baby and growing up herself. With a lot of heart, Rufi Thorpe presents a memorable young woman who looks her reader straight in the eye and commands respect.

This book has so many good things going for it. Margo and Jinx are extremely well developed, both offering their share of quirks, flaws, and strengths, all of which naturally fit together to form believable, cherishable people. The pacing is perfectly executed — the book is good at piquing the reader’s interest and consistently nudging her to turn the next page (even the first paragraph masterfully hooks the reader). This is due in part to the writing itself, which is engaging, yes, but also highly innovative. Thorpe seamlessly switches between first person and third person POV throughout the narrative, keeping the reader on her toes while allowing Margo to tell her story on her terms. The author even goes a step further, occasionally positioning the narrator to address the reader directly and grab her attention in a way that meshes well with the rest of the narrative.

The book’s greatest strengths are also the source of its weakness. The idea of a first- and third-person Margo is intriguing, gives points for creativity, but could also be further developed. The third-person Margo is contained within the past, while her first-person counterpart is an older Margo reflecting upon her past. The notion of an older Margo, however, is never really fleshed out. There is no clear sense of who this older Margo is relative to the younger Margo, nor even that she brings a unique perspective that the third-person Margo does not yet have. This leads me to my second critique: first-person Margo can be baiting, and not for any discernible reason. She admits that she has lied to the reader throughout the narrative, but then never expands upon this (pretty bold!) claim. As strong as Third-Person Margo is, she is weighed down by the not-fully-fleshed-out First-Person Margo, the two halves never quite reconciled and thus slightly weaker (though no less lovable) for it.

Any shortcomings aside, this book is a total joy to read. It is a heartfelt coming-of-age story that has something for everyone. The storyline, the questions it asks, the demands it makes of its reader are timely and intriguing. I highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC.

This book is a one-two punch. It will have you laughing and then crying and laughing again. Everyone who has ever looked down on someone for making different choices than them should read this book. That means all of us. Everyone makes choices for themselves others don't understand and that should be ok. This book shows that the world is not black and white, but a kaleidoscope. Everyone is trying to do the best they can.
Margo, a young mother, learns the world is not set up for young mothers, daycare is inaccessible and expensive. Margo thinks she is doing the right thing by having the baby but instead she is punished by the world. There are systems in place to protect the most vulnerable but this books shows how easy it is to abuse those systems. It's someone's job to make sure a child is safe but at the same time abuse their position to scare others into doing what they want to feel powerful.
Jinx was my favorite besides Margo. He was an emotionally intelligent, but complicated drug user who shows us drug users aren't bad people. He loves his family fiercely, he just can't stop harming himself because of the pain he feels.
More Suzie.
And spoiler, Mark is a terrible teacher and not just because he slept with a student.

I'm a big fan of Rufi Thorpe and this book did not disappoint. She is masterful at creating unique, unforgettable characters who capture your heart (despite their flaws and foibles). The story of Margo has been done many times before -- young woman gets pregnant, keeps baby, faces many difficulties -- but Thorpe's handling of this narrative is entirely fresh and modern. I very much appreciated the subtle-yet-impactful commentary on the lack of social structures in place to help mothers, as well as the collective disrespect (and even criminalization) of sex work that women do to make a life for themselves in a system designed to keep them down. I'm thrilled to see that this novel will make its way to the big screen and cannot wait to see how the story is told there. Wonderful book!

Love love love! Margo's Got Money Troubles is my first 5 star read of the year. It is smart, funny, a little racy, but still so full of heart. I went into this one blind and it made it all the more fun - I suggest you do so, too!

This is a powerful example of how the internet can make or break a person in just a few days. Margo is groomed by her teacher and winds up a very young single mother who needs to make a living. I think it’s shameful how horribly she was treated by the people in power in her life because it’s so realistic and true to life. If only everyone got so lucky. Good read that really makes you think.

Thank you for the advance copy. I’m sure this book is going to end up a 2024 favorite for a lot of people and may very well be mine. Highly recommend this book for readers who sometimes feel that they're reading the same books over and over. Margo’s Got Money Troubles has cover art that seems like it could fall within the rom com genre - and maybe it does? - but it’s also much more than that. The humor and story beats are often unhinged and lean into camp territory, taking this novel to surprising places that few books of this ilk do. I think readers will find this a refreshingly unique spin on some familiar themes.

Thanks to NetGalley, Rufi Thorpe, and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my fair and honest review!

Margo is a nineteen year old community college student who gets roped into an affair with her teacher. She ends up pregnant, keeps the baby (despite the advice of those around her), and becomes an OnlyFans creator. What could go wrong?! Rufi Thorpe I love you. I want to live inside your brain. This is really wonderful! I loved Margo, and JB, and Jinx, and Suzie, and... ok well not Shyanne but you get the picture. The thing I love the most about Thorpe's work is the way that her writing really gets to the core of the human experience, like you can just feel so unbelievably seen by it, even if you're miles away from the characters and their lived experiences. I did feel like maybe this simplified sex work a little bit? So that might make it a 4.75 for me. But overall, I loved this, I shall read anything the author writes from now until forever. This is out 6/11!!!

I liked Margo's arc and outcome, but lost along the way of getting there. I am not into Tiktok and onlyfans and babies. Details of all of these were lost on me and reduced my enjoyment of the reading experience. I also hated Margo's mom and how Margo continued to give her the benefit of the doubt. Boundaries, girl! 😜

I was very excited about this book, but I ended up not being able to finish it. I don't mind a melancholy voice, but I feel like the melancholy voice the author used in this story wasn't successful because it was too dry. I also felt like the story was such a slow burn that it became difficult for me to become invested in the characters and their story.

This title of this book caught my eye, and I just had to see what it was about. Then I read it compulsively - I stayed up reading until 2 AM on a work day. I didn't think at first that I could possibly have anything in common with this character, who is from a different generation with much different aspirations and life plans, but I was wrong. Family is universal, by blood or love, and this book is all about family, and about the people who stay and give support through difficult times and those who don't.

Margo is a young woman in her first semester of college when her whole life is derailed. She has an affair with one of her professors, who just happens to be married with children. When Margo discovers she is pregnant, she quickly discovers she will be on her own. One thing I loved so much about Margo is that she panics, but then she sits down and thinks it through. Her roommate pays half the rent, which is helpful. Her father, a pro-wrestler whose back injuries have sidelined him, also moves in with her.

She decides she wants to keep her baby, and doesn't want to put her baby in day care, which she couldn't afford anyway. So she finds a way to make money by working from home and still be able to take care of her baby. She creates explicit but well-made videos with a plot which people (mostly men) pay to watch on a platform called OnlyFans. She is surprised to find that she soon has followers and soon her webpage takes off. But trouble is still following her around...

I can't recommend this book highly enough. I received an e-arc from the publisher William Morrow via NetGalley, and voluntarily read and reviewed it.

THANK YOU #netgalley for the opportunity to read "Margo's Got Money Troubles" -- the newest novel by one of my favorite authors #RufiThorpe. I'm happy to say it's my favorite of hers to date. This one, for me, was flawless!! Every character was multidimensional and layered. The content was so current, relevant, and important -- a young, creative, single mother navigating her way into adulthood without any reliable support nor direction from her parents -- now with the additional of, at the very least, an unexpected baby in the picture.

The reader gets to witness this character grow and blossom, try and fail and try again, her growing love and affection for baby Bodhi, and the cast of characters who become her "real family" (including, ironically and amazingly, her birth father who puts the word "character" on a new level).

NO spoilers is so difficult for me! There are many unique quirks and details, belly-laugh moments, and genuine heartbreaks along the way, but I just could not have loved Margo more!!! I think I heard that this novel was already optioned for a streaming series (YAY if that's true) -- I don't like to google stuff about the things I'm reading but will follow up later. This book is out on June 11th and is 1000% worth PRE-ORDERING now and guaranteed you will fall in love with Margo and this cast of characters. Even the ones I initially wanted to throttle and kick in the kneecaps are written with compassion.. Rufi Thorpe just gets better and better. She did it again with this gem and she is a perfect example for why writers are MY rock stars.

Margo’s life is a mess. After a brief affair with her college English professor, she finds herself pregnant. Her mother wants her to have an abortion but Margo has the baby determined to make a go of it. When two of her three roommates cannot handle the baby’s crying, they move out leaving Margo and her roommate Suzie with high rent. She gets fired from her waitressing job when she cannot find affordable daycare. Margo’s absent dad, Jinx, arrives and moves in. Though they have never been close, he is helpful with the baby, cleans, and cooks. His mention of OnlyFans sets Margo on the path of becoming a sex worker. Initially I had trouble with this plot line but as I read more I recognized the lack of career options available to someone like Margo. Thorpe tackles some tough topics and provides a lot of fodder for reflection. This book would be great for a book club. I did question why the point of view kept switching from first to third person but I guess this was to provide insight into Margo’s thinking at certain junctures. I thank and publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

Margo's Got Money Troubles is a hilarious (and raunchy, but so very fun) novel by a talented writer. I keep thinking of the baby shower Margo's mother threw her, and the epic cake - my mouth fell open when I read this part of the story and then I laughed until I cried). Not a spoiler, this scene comes early in the story will gives you a good a quick indication if this is the type of book you would enjoy or find offensive

This story explores the challenges of being a young single mother in the age of social media. Margo Millet is a newly pregnant college dropout. The baby's daddy is a married loser, who is Margo's former English professor.

With no job, no money, and no support system (except for her estranged father, Jinx, a former pro wrestler who moves in with her) Margo's desperate attempt to make ends meet leads her to create an OnlyFans account, where she uses Jinx's advice on how to craft a compelling persona and win over her fans. But as her online fame grows, so do her problems. Margo deals with stalkers, haters, and moral dilemmas - all while trying to balance her role as a new mother and her relationship with her parents.

Rufi Thorpe, the author of the critically acclaimed The Knockout Queen, delivers another brilliant and original story that combines humor, emotion, and insight.

I was not fully sure what I was getting into when starting this book, and wow that a wild ride. This book was one page turning, train wreck after another for Margo and I couldn’t look away.

Despite having never been in most of these situations before, I felt like I could really relate to Margo. What really sucked me in what how Rufi really showcased the absolute terror of bringing your first child home from the hospital, unsure of how anyone would think you are competent to care for another human being.

If you decide to read this, you will get a cast of lovable, flawed characters that you will find yourself cheering and rooting for from start to finish.

Wow. Just, wow. I did not expect this book, these feelings. I have a high Compliance personality, and the changing narrative voice between scenes was HARD for me at the beginning. But then, at some point, I GOT it. And even before I did, as badly as I wanted to throw my kindle across the room every time that Compliance told me the narrative switching was WRONG, I knew I would have had to get out of bed and go pick the dang thing up so I could read more. I wasn’t willing to put it down longer than it took to vent my own frustration; I didn’t want to put it down at all.

Margo was… something. I can’t even explain it. She was this young and naive and simple girl who was completely complex and stronger and smarter than anyone had a right to be. Her love for Bohdi and Jinx was so heartwarming, and I loved all the good and the bad of all of it. I wanted to hate Mark—I still do, a little—but in the end he was a small little man who wasn’t very good and who had big ideas that really made the whole book come together. I loved what JB and Margo had going, and I loved how we got a hint of an HEA at the end.

I don’t see this story leaving me anytime soon. I feel changed. Like my life is never going to be the same. I really wish there was more to this story because I’m not ready to let it go.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I am Margo's biggest fan! She is smart as a whip, warm, and absolutely hilarious. Truly enjoyable, loved the characters, I found myself laughing out loud more than once. I would recommend this to anyone in the mood for a light and funny but also darkly hilarious read.

"Margo's Got Money Troubles" was somewhat odd but also amusing and fascinating. Margo finds herself an unemployed single mother at nineteen and has to figure out how to support herself and her new son, Bodhi. She ends up starting an OnlyFans account but struggles to get much attention because she is not really interested in doing the sorts of things that attract the most attention and income. Her early limited success is mostly based on her writing; being paid to rate pictures of a certain part of the anatomy with comparisons to a popular video game’s characters and their abilities. She also strikes up a connection with a fan, JB, who pays her for answering questions and telling stories.

It is the entry into her life of her father, former professional wrestler Jinx, that will trigger the transformation that will make her more successful. Margo was the product of an affair, and because he had a family, as well as a career that involved a lot of travel, Jinx was only intermittently in her life. However, he is now making up for lost time. Not surprisingly, he spends a lot of time talking about professional wrestling. Jinx explains kayfabe and the face vs heel roles and how that same dynamic can be used on OnlyFans to create and promote a character/brand that subscribers will want to follow. Margo will team up with some other content creators (KC and Rose) and her roommate, Suzie, who is into cosplay/LARPing, and after some initial struggles, will find a formula that works.

Margo’s work will also lead to multiple problems, including efforts by Bodhi’s father to gain custody (even though he wanted nothing to do with the child initially), a Child Protective Services investigation, and conflict with her mother (Shyanne) and her partner (Kenny) (boyfriend, then fiancé, then husband), who is a youth minister and is unaware that Shyanne drinks, gambles, etc. and certainly cannot tolerate, much less condone, Margo’s current line of work.

The story addresses some of the prejudices and assumptions regarding those involved in sex work. It also addresses the various ways that society is structured in a manner that is disadvantageous to single mothers, especially young mothers without resources. It touches on relationships, addiction, and power imbalances, among other topics. The way Margo manages to the turn the tables on the CPS worker is delightful. The story is sometimes told in the first person and sometimes in the third person, and the differences in point of view are an underlying theme.

One star for this book being pure trash. Another star for addressing some important topics, such as single motherhood, parent and adult daughter relationships, financial problems, etc.
I didn’t care for this novel at all, skipped through a lot and finished it only to be able to write a review. The first person, third person narrative constantly changing made this book even more difficult to read.
I received a complimentary copy,opinions are my own.