Published by William Morrow on June 11, 2024
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Fiction
Rating:
Goodreads
As the child of a Hooters waitress and an ex-pro wrestler, Margo Millet's always known she’d have to make it on her own. So she enrolls at her local junior college, even though she can’t imagine how she’ll ever make a living. She’s still figuring things out and never planned to have an affair with her English professor—and while the affair is brief, it isn’t brief enough to keep her from getting pregnant. Despite everyone’s advice, she decides to keep the baby, mostly out of naiveté and a yearning for something bigger.
Now, at twenty, Margo is alone with an infant, unemployed, and on the verge of eviction. She needs a cash infusion—fast. When her estranged father, Jinx, shows up on her doorstep and asks to move in with her, she agrees in exchange for help with childcare. Then Margo begins to form a plan: she’ll start an OnlyFans as an experiment, and soon finds herself adapting some of Jinx’s advice from the world of wrestling. Like how to craft a compelling character and make your audience fall in love with you. Before she knows it, she’s turned it into a runaway success. Could this be the answer to all of Margo’s problems, or does internet fame come with too high a price?
Blisteringly funny and filled with sharp insight, Margo’s Got Money Troubles is a tender tale starring an endearing young heroine who’s struggling to wrest money and power from a world that has little interest in giving it to her. It’s a playful and honest examination of the art of storytelling and controlling your own narrative, and an empowering portrait of coming into your own, both online and off.
I have a love/hate relationship with literary fiction, but Margo ended up more on the love side. Though I was not impregnated by my married college professor, I was a single mom and could relate to her struggles as well as her utter adoration of her son. Margo was willing to do anything to keep him safe and fed, and for that, I had to cheer her on as she tried to find a way to make that happen.
Her solution? Only Fans. The thing about Margo turning to Only Fans to make money was the way she wanted to do it right. She spent time learning about all the different aspects of the online platform and building her brand. I really appreciated her rather professional approach.
I also loved the little community/family she assembled to help. Her roommate and father stepped up in her time of need. I was so happy Margo was finally getting the relationship with her father that she always yearned for, and Jinx was so sweet with his grandson. But as with every character in this book, he was flawed but trying.
This book was a fascinating mix of heavy and light with whip smart banter and so much humor. I was worried for Margo at one point, but Thorpe didn't make this a disaster ending sort of book. In fact, it was easy to see how much Margo had grown into her role as mother and adult. I was sort of proud of her.
Published by Ecco on October 29, 2019
Age/Genres: Adult, Fiction
Rating:
Goodreads
Lillian and Madison were unlikely roommates and yet inseparable friends at their elite boarding school. But then Lillian had to leave the school unexpectedly in the wake of a scandal and they’ve barely spoken since. Until now, when Lillian gets a letter from Madison pleading for her help.
Madison’s twin stepkids are moving in with her family and she wants Lillian to be their caretaker. However, there’s a catch: the twins spontaneously combust when they get agitated, flames igniting from their skin in a startling but beautiful way. Lillian is convinced Madison is pulling her leg, but it’s the truth.
Thinking of her dead-end life at home, the life that has consistently disappointed her, Lillian figures she has nothing to lose. Over the course of one humid, demanding summer, Lillian and the twins learn to trust each other—and stay cool—while also staying out of the way of Madison’s buttoned-up politician husband. Surprised by her own ingenuity yet unused to the intense feelings of protectiveness she feels for them, Lillian ultimately begins to accept that she needs these strange children as much as they need her—urgently and fiercely. Couldn’t this be the start of the amazing life she’d always hoped for?
A woman with no real life prospects is offered a job to mind her "friend's" step-children who happen to catch fire.
Lillian was an interesting character. I really was not sure about her. She seemed very sullen and sort of uncaring. But I did empathize with her life situation. She had worked hard to get into a tony boarding school. Once there, she bonded with her roommate, Madison. When drugs were discovered in their room, Madison's family paid for Lillian to take the fall. That was the end of her boarding school days and her future, but for some reason (which emerges later in the story), it was not the end of her friendship with Madison. When Madison offered the governess position to Lillian, she seized the moment and accepted.
Lillian was apathetic and sarcastic, but I was drawn to her. Her observations and inner monologue ranged from witty to biting and were filled with keen insights. Her life experiences allowed her to form a bond she never anticipated with these fire children, and I rather enjoyed the scenes they shared with each other.
I mean, the premise was sort of odd, but it was an interesting, amusing, and thought provoking ride.
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