Margo’s Got Money Troubles

It’s rare for me to find a book I can finish in a single weekend. I discovered this one while my husband and I waited for our daughter and her friend to complete an escape room. The other girl’s dad graciously offered to stay and text us when the girls were finished so we could make our own little escape. We gleefully headed down to the local bookstore for a browse.

“This seems up your alley,” Jimmy handed me a copy of Margo’s Got Money Troubles, by Rufi Thorpe (2024). The book’s cover described a humorous tale centered around the child of a Hooters waitress and an ex-pro wrestler who gets knocked up by her college professor and decides to keep the baby. Her estranged father moves in and helps her with childcare. He dispenses some creative wisdom from the world of professional wrestling which motivates her with her online content creation.

My husband remembered how much I loved the short lived, based on a true story Netflix series, Glow, about a rag tag bunch of female pro-wrestlers in the 80’s. I loved the camp and over the top ‘face’ and ‘heel’ characters. This story seemed to be offering similar vibes and feminist themes.

There will be lots of pearl clutching when the source of Margo’s income, an Onlyfan’s (sexually explicit) account comes to light. You will be surprised at who is supportive and who will be clutching those pearls. Hypocrisy comes screaming off the page. I don’t want to give away too much here, but it will leave you shaking your head at the audacity.

This story forces you to think about the dichotomy of the male dominated wrestling and the female dominated world of sex work. After all, aren't these just different versions of using one’s body to entertain? One has a powerful negative social stigma against it and the other is considered wholesome harmless entertainment, while being physically damaging (broken bones, calcified joints, chronic pain, opioid addiction).

To anyone who knows me reading this review, no, I’m not considering a career in sexwork, I just think that perhaps it’s better to live and let live. Why stigmatize someone to the point of destroying their lives for something so objectively harmless if done under safe circumstances? If two consenting adults make a transaction, what business is it of ours? Sheesh, even Jesus befriended a prostitute!

Margo is a relatable character, young and naive, stumbling through life, making a series of mistakes. What will impress you is her strength, creativity, and ability to build a community and adapt.

The supporting cast is also multi dimensional. You’ll enjoy the domesticity and kind heart of Jinx, the ex-wrestler turned wrestling promoter. Tough guy with a soft heart now paying for his own mistakes.

Margo’s mother, Shyanne, is not who you’d expect. Her coping mechanisms are perhaps the most infuriating, but understandable given her history of being “the other woman.”

Her ex-professor and father of her baby, Mark, is a self-important man-child. He’s not technically a statutory rapist, but was a married man, who takes advantage of a student, then absolves himself of any responsibility, lies to his wife, and goes no-contact until he is exposed. Gross.

The other cast in Margo’s found family: her Onlyfans frenemies, roommate, love interest, and lawyer are also rather quirky and endearing. This is at its heart, a character driven story with a cohesive plot and a satisfying ending.

While reading this book I imagined it would make a great film or TV show. While doing my research, I discovered that the executives at Apple TV agreed. Margo’s Got Money Troubles is now a series starring Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer and Nick Offerman, which premiered in the spring of this year. It has also been picked up for a second season, so it must be pretty good. Unfortunately, Apple TV is one of the few streaming services I don’t have. If anybody’s seen it, please let me know what you think in the comments.