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Margo Millet's got money troubles. As the child of a Hooter's waitress and an ex-Pro-Wrestler, she's always known she'd have to make it on her own.
When she finds herself pregnant by her college professor - who is very keen not to be involved - she realizes she will need cash fast.
At twenty, alone with a baby, what Margo lacks in options she makes up for in ingenuity, and soon she has a plan: she'll start an OnlyFans as an experiment, producing content and writing storylines unlike anything else out there. Help arrives in the form of her live-action role-playing flatmate Suzie, and her father, Jinx - a recovering addict and veteran of the wrestling world, who has experience of making an audience fall in love.
Before she knows it, Margo is an online phenomenon. Could this be the answer to all of Margo's problems, or does internet fame come with too high a price?
Review
“Beyond Thorpe’s strong characters and tight plots, what sets her apart from her peers is the gnawing philosophical tension that rests at the center of her books. . . . Thorpe’s novels defy easy categorization. Her characters’ radiant energy and her books’ knotted plots don’t align with the moody atmosphere and tone poem quality of most contemporary literary fiction. Yet, these novels remain more intense and rigorous than most upmarket women’s fiction. It’s exhilarating to find an author who wants to tell you a good yarn, but also ask a lot of complicated questions.” — Lauren LeBlanc, Los Angeles Times
“Endearingly chaotic, this coming-of-age tale is certain to score a passionate fanbase.” — Lauren Puckett-Pope, Elle, “Best Books of Summer”
“Deeply funny, thoughtful, riveting.” — Emily Gould, Vulture
“In turns funny and moving, daring and satisfying, but above else, relentlessly charming—that rare book about storytelling that also tells a good story.“ — Emily Temple, Literary Hub
“It's hard not to love Margo, the character, who's smart, resourceful, goofy and kind, gamely conducting us through what is finally an entertaining plot full of quirky characters, surprising twists, and good old-fashioned suspense (What's to become of baby Bodhi?!). Give that woman, and her clever author, whatever constitutes a round of applause in this make-believe world.” — Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Exuberant . . . Terrific characters, rich worldbuilding, deep thoughts about fiction and morality, a love story, and a happy ending.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Margo’s Got Money Troubles is an audacious, wildly funny, completely unpredictable novel by a writer so singular that it's hard to compare her to anyone else. Rufi Thorpe writes wildness so well, the messiness of the choices we make, the strange ways we bend and twist ourselves to accommodate those choices, and she does it with the rare qualities of tenderness and empathy. An absolutely brilliant book." — Kevin Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of Nothing to See Here
“A hilarious novel about making the most of what you’ve got. Sharp and funny by turns, this is an exceptionally tender look at young motherhood and love that also involves professional wrestling, and yes, OnlyFans. I gobbled it up.” — Emma Straub, New York Times bestselling author of This Time Tomorrow
“The most captivating narrative of motherhood, sex work, point of view, and regret. I’m obsessed!” — Leila Mottley, New York Times bestselling author of Nightcrawling
"A thrilling, uproarious, and above all affirming exploration of one young woman's fight to make it in a world that's rooting against her. Margo is an unforgettable heroine, so real she walked right off the page and into my heart." — Kirstin Chen, New York Times bestselling author of Counterfeit
About the Author
Rufi Thorpe is the author of The Knockout Queen, a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner award; Dear Fang, with Love; and The Girls from Corona del Mar, which was long-listed for the International Dylan Thomas Prize and the Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize. A native of California, she currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons.
