A college dropout with a baby still has bills to pay, and Only Fans is a relatively quick and easy way to make money.
This book by Rufi Thorpe had been on my radar for a few years, and when I heard an adaptation with Elle Fanning and Nick Offerman was coming out, that prompted me to bump it up my TBR list and request the audiobook from the library.
As a bonus, Elle Fanning narrates the audiobook, which I loved, not only because she’s a great actress, but because I got to hear her as the voice of Margo before diving into the show.
The book lives up to the hype and the show is a good adaptation. Of course it changed some things, but I think I mostly liked the changes it made.
Margo is a college student who has an affair with her English professor. He’s married and already has kids, but he also sees Margo’s talent as a writer and is the first to tell her she should start thinking bigger.
That gets a lot harder when she gets pregnant. He offers to pay for the abortion, but when she decides to keep the baby, he makes it clear he wants no part of that.
Margo herself was raised by a single mom. She knows who her dad is and they sort of have a relationship, but not a great relationship. He’s also married and has another family and it’s clear they have always come first.
Margo’s mom tried to talk Margo out of keeping the baby and there’s a moment when Margo says she decided to keep the baby almost out of spite.
I love that. Not because it’s a good reason to have a baby, but because it’s so relatable. I probably would have done the same thing.
Extra points for the fact that, later in the book, someone asks Margo why she decided to keep the baby and she immediately admits, “Basically, I was an idiot.” She admits it’s way harder than she had thought it was going to be.
Margo’s mom tells her from the jump not to rely on her for childcare, and while it seems harsh, I also think it’s fair. It can be tempting for a teen mom to assume her parents will help her deal with her mess, and it’s not necessarily bad parenting to say, “Nope. If you want to do this, you have to figure out a way to do it yourself.”
Also, Margo’s mom is dating a pastor. After decades of dating and never getting to walk down the aisle, she’s not about to let her daughter’s mistakes derail her plans for her own life.
Margo has a job waiting tables, but when she can’t secure reliable childcare, she loses that job.
She finally gives in and asks her babydaddy for money and his mother steps in, which is so pathetic.
They agree to give Margo $15K and a trust fund for the baby in exchange for never contacting her babydaddy again.
Margo totally should have asked for more money and more conditions, but she’s young and doesn’t know any better. She certainly can’t afford to hire a lawyer to represent her interests.
So she takes the money and runs, but $15K doesn’t go far when you have a baby to support and two of your three roommates move out without notice.
Then Margo’s dad, Jinx, shows up. His wife has finally had enough and left him, and he’s back in town to ask Margo’s mom to give him another chance, only to find out he’s too late. She’s already moved on.
He’s excited to be a grandpa, though. He moves in with Margo and her one remaining roommate and starts helping out around the house, including taking care of baby Bodie.
Jinx had a successful career as a pro wrestler and at one point mentions in passing a female colleague who got booted for having an Only Fans account. She was told to quit the account or quit wrestling. She was making more money on Only Fans, so she quit wrestling.
That gets Margo thinking about how she can make money on Only Fans, so she opens an account and starts playing around with it to see what she has to do to make money.
It turns out to be trickier than opening an account and posting some photos, but again, her dad’s teachings come in handy. He teaches her about the characters in pro wrestling, the formula that keeps people coming back for more matches, and why people love to hate certain characters.
Margo starts applying these principles to her Only Fans account, and sure enough, starts to see success. She’s not rich, and she still has money troubles, especially when her babydaddy sues her for custody, but at least she’s able to keep a roof over her head and food on the table.
She’s also a really good mom, which is also nice to see. No one wants to see a woman neglecting her baby (or resenting her baby) while struggling to pay the bills and I’m glad this book doesn’t resort to that.
This book made me laugh and cry and want to scream with rage at times. It covers so much, from the struggles of finding affordable childcare to addiction to the dichotomy of a society that expects women to be mothers, but makes it nearly impossible for them to provide for their children.
I wouldn’t say I loved it, but I did enjoy it.
My only quibble with the book is that Jinx is described as being scrawny, which doesn’t fit for a pro wrestler. Nick Offerman’s physique makes much more sense for a former wrestler, and Thorpe said it best when she pointed out that Nick Offerman has masculine qualities, but also feminine qualities, so you can totally buy him as a pro wrestler who is also capable of making a lasagna from scratch while bouncing a baby on one hip.