Margo's Got Money Troubles - Rufi Thorpe


 A book outside my comfort zone, but one I enjoyed all the same. I don't know how to categorize it, maybe plain Literary Fiction touching upon some mature themes, sex work being a major one.

I found it very interesting how the MC is only 20. Still somewhat a teenager forced into adulting too quickly. I could see her maturity and frustration in the story, yet how she handles her situation, and her clarity of thought was commendable and had me hooked from the start. I love how her relationships are messy and complicated, the way they mold her as a person. I think Thrope did justice to all the side characters, showing bits of each person that bought the story together. I personally loved seeing Bodhi grow and gain more personality as the story progressed, making it that much more adorable and enchanting.

As I said, this isn't something I would generally pick up, and addictive writing style really helped with that. I mean this is the perfect example of a page turning novel that grabs your attention from the first line. Everything felt so raw and authentic, I'm genuinely in awe of the author. The POV was interesting to say the least, just mesmerizing! I loved the references to Margo's English class and how those may have impacted the experience.

On the topic of sex work, this opened my eyes to how normal and straightforward the job can be. Having recently watched "Gangubai Kathiawadi", a Bollywood movie and the real story of a sex worker's urge to introduce labor rights at the brothel. (If you liked the movie, you should try this book) It's also interesting how other aspects of Margo's life like her infant, her drug addict father, her mom's situation and the conflict with her ex-professor played into making her life the way it was.

I'm still processing my feelings about this book, but I know that I adored it. I'm happy starting my year with books like this one, so it's an easy recommend.

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