title: Margo's Got Money Troublesauthor: Rufi Thorpe
published: 6.10.2024 | Monday
publisher: William Morrow
genre(s): contemporary
pages: 294
source: Book of the Month
format: hardcover
buy/shelve it: Amazon | B&N | BookBub | BookHype | Goodreads
rating:
the blurb
A bold, laugh-out-loud funny, and heartwarming story about one young woman’s attempt to navigate adulthood, new motherhood, and her meager bank account in our increasingly online world—from the PEN/Faulkner finalist and critically acclaimed author of The Knockout Queen.
As the child of a Hooters waitress and an ex-pro wrestler, Margo Millet's always known she’d have to make it on her own. So she enrolls at her local junior college, even though she can’t imagine how she’ll ever make a living. She’s still figuring things out and never planned to have an affair with her English professor—and while the affair is brief, it isn’t brief enough to keep her from getting pregnant. Despite everyone’s advice, she decides to keep the baby, mostly out of naiveté and a yearning for something bigger.
Now, at twenty, Margo is alone with an infant, unemployed, and on the verge of eviction. She needs a cash infusion—fast. When her estranged father, Jinx, shows up on her doorstep and asks to move in with her, she agrees in exchange for help with childcare. Then Margo begins to form a plan: she’ll start an OnlyFans as an experiment, and soon finds herself adapting some of Jinx’s advice from the world of wrestling. Like how to craft a compelling character and make your audience fall in love with you. Before she knows it, she’s turned it into a runaway success. Could this be the answer to all of Margo’s problems, or does internet fame come with too high a price?
Blisteringly funny and filled with sharp insight, Margo’s Got Money Troubles is a tender tale starring an endearing young heroine who’s struggling to wrest money and power from a world that has little interest in giving it to her. It’s a playful and honest examination of the art of storytelling and controlling your own narrative, and an empowering portrait of coming into your own, both online and off.
- a few notes
- review
content warning: ❗addiction, CPS❗
POV: 3rd person, 1st person
keywords/phrases: family, motherhood, dysfunction, addiction, sex work, betrayal
tropes: family drama, coming of age, , interpersonal relationship conflict
spice: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
language: 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬
read this if… you love quirky, unexpected characters who fly in the face of social norms and social judgement.
I was in no way prepared for the true depth of this book. From the blurb, which was tantilizing, I expected something light and funny. What else could you have with a book about OnlyFans, social media fame, pro-wrestling, Pokemon (iykyk. If you don’t, read it!), and a failed affair with a professor?
But while it definitely had its funny moments, it also had deeply emotional moments that often tugged at my heart. It is a book that strikes hard at humanity and how we perceive and often judge others. Margo’s mind is both highly intelligent and incredibly witty, even when she’s dealing with the hard moments of life. The story explores everything from self-worth/esteem to the pressures of single motherhood to finding you way in a world that seems intent on knocking you down. It’s a well-balanced read, both keenly insightful and engrossing. Margo feels like someone you know, or could even be, making it easy to fall into the story.
The author, while creating humorous moments and witty characters, also touches on several deeper issues, not shying away from them in the least. And she explores them in a subtle way, without knocking the reader over the head with them. In Margo, the reader sees the side of someone who is often invisible, in that “less than” kind of way. Margo’s refusal to accept that “less than” status is what makes the story so enjoyable, in a “rooting for the underdog” sort of way.
All in all, a fabulous read!
About Rufi Thorpe
Rufi Thorpe received her MFA from the University of Virginia in 2009. She is the author of four novels, The Girls from Corona Del Mar, Dear Fang, With Love, and The Knockout Queen, which was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner award. Her newest book, Margo’s Got Money Troubles, will be out 6/11/24 and is currently being adapted for television by A24 and AppleTV. She lives in California with her husband and two sons.
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