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The Girl Who Would Be Marilyn Monroe: An Intimate Portrait of the Young Norma Jeane
Not yet published
Expected 17 Sep 26A thoughtful glimpse into the childhood of Norma Jeane Mortenson and how it shaped her into the iconic Marilyn Monroe for the 100th anniversary of her birth.
At the fragile intersection of myth and memory stands a girl—often eclipsed by the legend she became. The Girl Who Would Be Marilyn Monroe dares to strip away the satin, the spotlight, the studio-invented shine, to reveal the tender child a girl marked not by fame but by longing. Longing for love, for safety, for the kind of permanence the world never offered her. This is not simply another biography. It is a resurrection. A candlelit portrait drawn from decades of first-hand research and rare interviews with those who knew her—not only Marilyn the icon, but Norma Jeane the girl.
Tony Castro draws on intimate conversations with famed entertainment writer James Bacon; Marilyn's close Frank Sinatra; actresses Susan Strasberg and Mamie Van Doren; actor and The Misfits co-star Eli Wallach; ex-husband Joe DiMaggio; and child star-turned-Hollywood raconteur Skip E. Lowe. They offer unparalleled access into Marilyn's earliest, most hidden self. These are stories shared not as interviews but as confidences—shaped by the trust of friendship. And herein lies the soul of this a new and intimate rendering of the Marilyn we rarely allow ourselves to see. Through these private recollections, we hear her voice—not the whispery affectation of the screen siren, but the real girl's voice, unvarnished, aching, often uncertain. What emerges is not the blonde bombshell, but the child whispering to a mirror, trying on hope like a costume. This is, at last, the story of Norma Jeane.
At the fragile intersection of myth and memory stands a girl—often eclipsed by the legend she became. The Girl Who Would Be Marilyn Monroe dares to strip away the satin, the spotlight, the studio-invented shine, to reveal the tender child a girl marked not by fame but by longing. Longing for love, for safety, for the kind of permanence the world never offered her. This is not simply another biography. It is a resurrection. A candlelit portrait drawn from decades of first-hand research and rare interviews with those who knew her—not only Marilyn the icon, but Norma Jeane the girl.
Tony Castro draws on intimate conversations with famed entertainment writer James Bacon; Marilyn's close Frank Sinatra; actresses Susan Strasberg and Mamie Van Doren; actor and The Misfits co-star Eli Wallach; ex-husband Joe DiMaggio; and child star-turned-Hollywood raconteur Skip E. Lowe. They offer unparalleled access into Marilyn's earliest, most hidden self. These are stories shared not as interviews but as confidences—shaped by the trust of friendship. And herein lies the soul of this a new and intimate rendering of the Marilyn we rarely allow ourselves to see. Through these private recollections, we hear her voice—not the whispery affectation of the screen siren, but the real girl's voice, unvarnished, aching, often uncertain. What emerges is not the blonde bombshell, but the child whispering to a mirror, trying on hope like a costume. This is, at last, the story of Norma Jeane.
248 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication September 17, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 11, 2026
Reading this book I was reminded of the Great Gatsby. Specifically, the narration of Nick Carraway.
At the start of Gatsby, Nick sets himself up to be an unreliable narrator. At the start of this book, Castro explains how he’s followed Marilyn in the way she described events of her life. We have then, a non-fiction book where the lines between fiction and non-fiction are blurred.
Castro writes in a very flowery way, almost like you’d asked AI to emulate purple prose. He’s also repeated the same stories throughout. Other reviewers have commented very negatively on this but like Nick Carraway, Castro is open about it from the outset. It also feels like a device to empathise with Norma Jean. It’s a bit like the Truman Show where she/you are destined to repeat the same actions until the end goal of becoming Marilyn is reached.
Although repetitive, each retelling is embellished with new details. This takes the yucky sheen off ‘not this again’ but makes you wonder what’s true and what’s not. The truth is the life of Norma Jean isn’t as well documented and so we have to rely on Marilyn’s testimony. Whether we should do or not is another matter.
Have I learnt much? A little. Was it intriguing? Reasonably. Was it reliable? Who knows!
Thanks to the author, publishers and NetGalley for access to this ARC in return for an honest review.
At the start of Gatsby, Nick sets himself up to be an unreliable narrator. At the start of this book, Castro explains how he’s followed Marilyn in the way she described events of her life. We have then, a non-fiction book where the lines between fiction and non-fiction are blurred.
Castro writes in a very flowery way, almost like you’d asked AI to emulate purple prose. He’s also repeated the same stories throughout. Other reviewers have commented very negatively on this but like Nick Carraway, Castro is open about it from the outset. It also feels like a device to empathise with Norma Jean. It’s a bit like the Truman Show where she/you are destined to repeat the same actions until the end goal of becoming Marilyn is reached.
Although repetitive, each retelling is embellished with new details. This takes the yucky sheen off ‘not this again’ but makes you wonder what’s true and what’s not. The truth is the life of Norma Jean isn’t as well documented and so we have to rely on Marilyn’s testimony. Whether we should do or not is another matter.
Have I learnt much? A little. Was it intriguing? Reasonably. Was it reliable? Who knows!
Thanks to the author, publishers and NetGalley for access to this ARC in return for an honest review.
May 4, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.
I wanted to like it, I’ve always loved Marilyn but the style wasn’t for me. It read too much like a novel and not enough like a biography. Also, I was not a fan of how it jumped back and forth. To me, it felt like there was not enough material and so several events were repeated over again, even within the same chapter, so the flow was unsettled.
I wanted to like it, I’ve always loved Marilyn but the style wasn’t for me. It read too much like a novel and not enough like a biography. Also, I was not a fan of how it jumped back and forth. To me, it felt like there was not enough material and so several events were repeated over again, even within the same chapter, so the flow was unsettled.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.
I was interested in the premise of The Girl Who
Would Be Marilyn Monroe and the focus on young Norma Jeane, but this book was not for me.
The writing style relies heavily on repeating the same phrases and descriptions. I understand that may be intentional, but it pulled me out of the story and made the book feel slower than it needed to be. At a certain point, it became distracting.
The author notes that the story is not chronological, but that did not work for me either. It felt scattered and made it hard to stay grounded in the timeline.
I was interested in the premise of The Girl Who
Would Be Marilyn Monroe and the focus on young Norma Jeane, but this book was not for me.
The writing style relies heavily on repeating the same phrases and descriptions. I understand that may be intentional, but it pulled me out of the story and made the book feel slower than it needed to be. At a certain point, it became distracting.
The author notes that the story is not chronological, but that did not work for me either. It felt scattered and made it hard to stay grounded in the timeline.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews