Margo's Got Money Troubles

by Rufi Thorpe

• ISBN10: 0063356589
• ISBN13: 9780063356580
• Publish Date: 11 June 2024
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 304
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Margo's Got Money Troubles is a surprisingly insightful and compassionate story about learning to navigate adulthood and the occasional curveball by Rufi Thorpe. Released 11th June 2024 by HarperCollins on their William Morrow imprint, it's 304 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout. 

The blurb and marketing do this book a disservice. Readers who are expecting a riotously funny comedy will not get what they're expecting at all. It is full of sarcastic wit and it's very well written, but MC Margo is in a desperate (familiar) situation and although she's quite sarcastic and self deprecating (and realistic) about it, she's got an infant, her life's in disarray, and she's about to be evicted. There aren't a lot of up-sides.

The author does a wonderful job of being compassionate; there's a lot of warmth and understanding, and the whole is *very* well written, but it's emphatically not a comedy. 

Four stars. Beautifully written, with fully realized three dimensional characters. It would be an excellent choice for public library acquisition, home use, or a buddy read/book club selection. There are a number of suggested study questions and resources to be found online for this excellent (but not light) book 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes. 

[Kim Deister]

4.5 stars.

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!