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.

Margo's Got Money Troubles is a story about a single young woman who must find a way to make money while caring for her newborn son. She does not have a support group of people in her life, but as she figures out what works for her, she grows her support group. Rufi Thorpe reminds us that there is not only one way to live our lives. Our families can grow from what we need and nurture once we realize our personal judgments often prevent us from living the full lives we are meant to live.

When Margot gets pregnant by her professor, she must find a way to make a living as a single mom.
This! book! I adored every second of it, one of the quirkiest and most entertaining things I’ve read in a really long time. Her wrestler dad, the only fans, the CPS lady, I laughed until I cried at some parts.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for this ARC!

3.5 stars overall.
This was in tough for me to rate because of my naivete on what I was getting into. This character has way more than money troubles, and the way she chooses to deal with them is very questionable. However, because she chooses to take responsibility for her actions and take things on herself makes me respect her and grow to love her. If reading about boobs, porn, drug use, etc. makes you uncomfortable, you probably want to skip this one. If those things don't bother you and you enjoy a book about dealing with life changes, give it a try.

This book just about did me in, but in a good way. If all the bad things in life happen to one person in the span of a few years it’s Margo. Somehow she manages to keep it together, with the off and on, good and bad advice from her retired pro-wrestling dad, Jinx. She just wants to be a good person and doubts her self often for being as terrible as her mother.

Margo doesn’t give up no matter what the circumstances are, no matter how tough it gets. She has more life experience by the time she is 22 than most people do in their whole lives. She keeps taking hit after hit but always gets back up again. We watch her grow and learn from being a 19 year old, “stupid naive idiot” into this street smart, headstrong, amazing single mother, daughter, and business owner, whom faces every crisis head on. She loves her baby boy Bohdi so much, that she is forced to grow up very fast.

The book is written in first, third, and directly to the reader, which is confusing at first until you understand how the writing style aligns with the overarching theme.

The writing is also quite funny, the antidotes, the evil robot vacuum, the whole idea of Kenny and Shyanne, and every single spot on metaphor. I could only imagine the very unique characters like Suzie as a sparkly tree elf, Mark as an angry bridge troll, Jinx as The Undertaker, Rose as an actual animated manga character, and Margo running around with Bohdi strapped to her with one breast constantly hanging out. I fell in love with all of them, except Mark of course.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rufi Thorpe, and William Morrow for an advanced copy in return for my honest review.