Book Review: Margo’s Got Money Troubles | Funny, Quirky, Sharp

In my spoiler-free book review of Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe, I gab about ALL. THE. THINGS I loved about this quirky adult contemporary fiction book. I share my favorite book quotes from Margo’s Got Money Troubles, a brief synopsis, book club discussion questions, similar books, other books by Rufi Thorpe, and more!

Content warnings

Surprise pregnancy, power imbalance in relationships, mention of abortion, unemployment, drug addiction, toxic relationships, infidelity within marriage, custody disagreements

Thank you to Libro.fm for gifting me this complimentary book. My review reflects my honest thoughts.

Margo’s Got Money Troubles Book Review / Summary

After a fling with her college professor, Margo finds herself in quite the predicament. She’s pregnant and unsure of what to do and where to go. Her ex-Hooters waitress mother and ex-pro wrestler father haven’t exactly made life easy for her.

As Margo decides to become a mom and make her own way in life, she quickly realizes single motherhood is much harder than she expected, especially since she doesn’t want to involve the child’s father.

In a moment of desperation, she starts to experiment with an OnlyFans account in an effort to get cash fast on the verge of eviction.

Before she knows what she’s doing, she stumbles into the world of internet fame—all while her estranged father, Jinx, comes back into her life. With Jinx as her childcare provider and her roommate as a helping hand, she starts to see that she can make it work and really succeed . . . or can she?

In this odd and original novel about what it means to be chronically online and desperate enough to risk it all, Margo learns confidence and a laser-focus on what it takes to skyrocket her business, adapting her father’s pro-wrestling advice along the way.

This book is smart, quirky, and incredibly honest about the lengths we go to secure money and power. It’s about how we all, in our own ways, control the narratives of our lives for our own betterment—but sometimes things don’t go as planned, and you have to spin it the best way you can, letting go of judgment along the way.

My Thoughts on Margo’s Got Money Troubles

My verdict? I loved this book. It’s irreverent and sharp and downright hilarious and strange. First of all, the audiobook is narrated by Elle Fanning!! So I highly recommend. I would have never picked it up by the blurb itself, but soo many readers I trust said it was surprisingly wonderful. And that’s exactly what I discovered.

While the OnlyFans content is a little rated-R, it’s really the shock value and Margo’s assessments of everything—seeing this aspect of internet culture and sex work through the eyes of Margo—that make it so interesting and funny and really not that sexual, ironically.

I laughed out loud so many times. Jinx, her father, is such a wonderful (though flawed) character. Truly some of the quirkiest, most unique characters and storytelling I’ve come across in a while.

I wouldn’t recommend this book for everyone, naturally. Much of the topics are considered taboo, of course. But Margo’s commentary, humor and examination of internet fame and culture at large is where this book really shines.

And even with so much of the shocking content, there’s a tenderness to the characters. You really root for Margo. You really root for her and her relationship with her father, Jinx.

@molliereadsbooks Y’all HAVE to give #margosgotmoneytroubles a go 👀The biggest surprise of 2024! #bookrecommendations #bookreview #literaryfiction #literarytok #newbooks thanks @Libro.fm ♬ original sound – Mollie Reads | Book Blogger

Multiple POVs for Margo

I fell in love with the eccentric, captivating characters, and even though it was mostly funny, it was also deeply moving. The switch from the Margo-written third- to first-person POVs were really well done and made the storytelling that much more unique.

First-person Margo is addressing the reader—someone who has the benefit of perspective. I saw someone else online say that her past self (third-person POV Margo) is almost this separate character who doesn’t know of the reader yet.

And that first-person Margo is distancing herself from her past self, an act of compassion, as if she’s forgiven herself for all her previous errors. I really love this idea.

Favorite Quotes from Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe

There is a desperation to a novel that is unsettling. The world so painstakingly re-created in miniature; this tiny diorama made of words. Why go to all this trouble, to create me, to seduce you, to enumerate so many different breakfast cereals? To make the cunning tiny apartment, the itsy-bitsy Jinx? It’s like going to meet your new boyfriend’s family for the first time and discovering they are all paid actors. It’s almost easier to believe I’m real than to understand what’s actually going on. The desperation that could have caused anyone to invent me in the first place. The urgency and need that would require creating an imaginary space of this size and level of detail. And it really makes you wonder: What kind of truth would require this many lies to tell?

—Rufi Thorpe, Margo’s Got Money Troubles

The sadness from the morning didn’t exactly go away; it dried on me and slowly crumbled, leaving me covered in little flakes, like if you eat a glazed donut in a black shirt. 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.

—Rufi Thorpe, Margo’s Got Money Troubles

Love was not something, I realized, that came to you from outside. I had always thought that love was supposed to come from other people, and somehow, I was failing to catch the crumbs of it, failing to eat them, and I went around belly empty and desperate. I didn’t know that love was supposed to come from within me, and that as long as I loved others, the strength and warmth of that love would fill me, make me strong.

—Rufi Thorpe, Margo’s Got Money Troubles

RELATED: 40 Best Audiobooks for Road Trips to Snag ASAP

Book Club Discussion Questions for Margo’s Got Money Troubles

• Ice breaker question: What’s your go-to comfort order at your favorite restaurant?
• The author’s storytelling is broken up into first-person POV and third-person POV, each following Margo. How did you like this switch in POV? What did it mean to you?
• What did you think of Margo as a character and her growth throughout the book?
• How did your opinions of Jinx change throughout the book, if at all?
• How did Margo’s relationship with her mother affect her decisions, inner dialogue, and motivations?
• In the beginning of the book, Margo has an affair with her married English professor and gets pregnant. How does Margo feel about the affair? How do her feelings change, if at all, about their dynamic throughout the book?
• How did the pro-wrestling insights and advice from Jinx add a new layer to the story for you?
• The book explores some of the concerns of social media, sex work, women’s rights, drug use, and walks the line for what is socially acceptable, bringing to mind the judgments we make every day. How did you feel about the larger themes of this story?
• What role did J. B. serve in the novel? What did you think about his presence in the book?
• How did Mark and Margo’s relationship change throughout the novel?

Other Books by Rufi Thorpe

• The Knockout Queen
• Dear Fang, With Love
• The Girls From Corona Del Mar

Similar Books to Margo’s Got Money Troubles

This book is so unique! It’s hard to find something similar. But still, I’d say these books explore similar themes or are reminiscent of Margo’s Got Money Troubles in some way:

• Such a Bad Influence by Olivia Muenter
• Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo
• Honey by Isabel Banta
• Call It What You Want by Alissa DeRogatis

Buy the Book

I recommend Margo’s Got Money Troubles if you like to read about eccentric, endearing characters in a story that is somewhat irreverent and funny. I’d say you’d have to have a sense of humor to enjoy this one.

That said, this book isn’t for everyone. If you don’t really want to read about sex work, you might want to steer clear. I do not know much about this topic, so I found it very interesting, but really only through Margo’s eyes as a young, unemployed, single mom.

There are some heavier themes and discussions—unemployment, drug addiction, infidelity, power dynamics in a sexual relationship that can be quite upsetting—but they are all handled in such an interesting way.

I recommend this book for my fellow literary fiction lovers who enjoy a unique premise, compelling storytelling, and beautiful prose! But also, of course, people who enjoy discussing pop culture and internet fame!