R
Rufi Thorpe
Rufi Thorpe is the author of several novels, including "Margo's Got Money Troubles" and "The Knockout Queen." Her writing often explores complex relationships and coming-of-age stories.
Margo's Got Money Troubles
Margo's Got Money Troubles
- Pages
- 298
- Published
- 2024
- Language
- English
Synopsis
Margo Millet is twenty, broke, and out of good options. The daughter of a Hooters waitress and a semi-famous professional wrestler who was never really around, she has spent her life improvising. So when an ill-advised affair with her married community-college English professor leaves her pregnant — and then a single mother with a baby, an eviction notice, and a mountain of bills — she improvises again.
Out of desperation, Margo starts an OnlyFans account, half as a joke and half as a business experiment. To her surprise, it works, especially once her estranged wrestler father, Jinx, moves onto her couch and starts coaching her on the one thing he genuinely understands: how to build a persona, tell a story, and give an audience a reason to keep watching. But online success brings its own tangle of complications, and a looming custody fight threatens the fragile life Margo is trying to hold together.
Rufi Thorpe's Margo's Got Money Troubles is a warm, funny, big-hearted novel about motherhood, money, reinvention, and the strange forms family can take. Sharp about sex work, class, and the internet without ever moralizing, it's a coming-of-age story for a heroine who refuses to be anyone's cautionary tale.
Genres
Characters
Margo MilletProtagonist
A twenty-year-old junior-college student who becomes a single mother and turns to OnlyFans to support herself and her son.
MarkAntagonist
Margo's married English professor and Bodhi's father, who cuts off contact and later sues for custody.
JinxSupporting
Margo's estranged father, a retired professional wrestler who moves onto her couch and coaches her on building an online persona.
ShyanneSupporting
Margo's mother, a Hooters waitress who raised her alone and urges her not to keep the baby.
BodhiSupporting
Margo's infant son, whose birth sets off the financial crisis that drives the novel.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a television or film adaptation of the book?
An eight-episode television adaptation developed by David E. Kelley premiered on Apple TV on 15 April 2026. The series stars Elle Fanning as Margo, alongside Nick Offerman as Jinx, Michelle Pfeiffer as Shyanne, Greg Kinnear and Nicole Kidman.
How closely does the television series follow the novel's plot?
While the show remains tonally faithful to the book's blend of humor and heart, it makes some notable narrative changes, such as completely removing Margo's romantic subplot with the character JB.
Who narrates the audiobook version of this novel?
The audiobook is narrated by actress Elle Fanning, who also portrays the titular character in the television adaptation.
Did Margo's Got Money Troubles win any awards?
It was a finalist for the 2024 Kirkus Prize in Fiction rather than a winner, and Kirkus Reviews named it one of its Best Books of 2024. Published by William Morrow in June 2024, it was Rufi Thorpe's fourth novel.