This is the first book that I have ever read about Marilyn Monroe so "The Girl Marilyn Monroe, The Seven Year Itch, and the Birth of an Unlikely Feminist" at first seemed to be a surprising title to be used for this book, because for me personally, I never realised that Marilyn Monroe was so much more than just an actress and icon of her generation until her untimely death in 1962. I became intrigued as to why the title was chosen but my question was soon answered the further that I read about her life and the rights that she fought for that at that time period of the 1950's were mostly denied to women. This book was a major eye opener for me as to the true personality of Marilyn and how she made a stance against the film studios she was contracted to and of her own personal struggles within her marriages, to be regarded as something more than a just wife, but as woman with a clever mind that had ambition to be taken seriously with regards to the roles she was cast to play. After being typecast as nothing more than a dumb blonde for so long she wanted to be given the chance to play a serious role to show that she was more than just a sex symbol and could actually be a great actress.
I really liked this book as it has shattered the media driven opinion of Marilyn Monroe of being just a dumb blonde actress, and gave me plenty of food for thought about how hard it must have been for her as a forward thinking woman during her lifetime as actresses today wouldn't put up with all the restrains and expectations she faced during her career. This book was well written, easy to digest and very informative so I believe that the author has a good knowledge of the subject and it's not just a copy and paste of information already widely available. I also liked that it had all the information such as quotes and sources listed at the end of the book that made for easy reference. I would widely recommend this book to any fan of Marilyn Monroe as a good source of information.

I had really high hopes for this "The Girl". I love the old Hollywood stories and MM is great part of it. There is no doubt that MM was intelligent, beautiful and professional actress, as well as very fragile soul - so you want to hear it repeatedly in 320 pages? I don't think so...

Author does a great job depicting MM as amazon in the hollywood jungle. You will learn about each an every book she read and how much work she put in her acting, but unfortunately, this is super repetitive, thus all the good content get forgotten as reader might get just frustrated from reading thing all over again. If you can finish the book without frustration, you will be able to learn more about MM as a an actress committed to the method acting, about her fight for "non-blond-roles", about her as businesswoman and what she was like as person, not only actress. what you will not find is her love life. Facts are given, short periods of romance are included, but in this work, you will not find MM defined by her romances, which is amazing, as it allows to shed more light on her, than on the juicy gossips.

I highly recommend watching again The Seven Year Itch and the Misfits while you're reading - adds new shares to the movies. You'll find the acting and the characters in the movies to be much more interesting when the books brings out all the light to the backstage.

I have read several books about Marilyn Monroe and much in this one wasn`t a surprise, however, the author did stress that Monroe yearned to be seen as a serious actress. Granted this is old news but for those who see her films, it's interesting to wonder what might of been if she had succeeded in being seen in a different light.
This book also focuses on her battles with studio execs to have equal status (i.e. respect, pay) as other stars she was working with.
An enjoyable book about a complex woman who tragically left us far too soon and seemed to never find true happiness.
Thank you Netgalley for an Advanced Reader Copy. All opinions are my own.

The book is a unique take on Marilyn Monroe. I've read pretty much every book about Marilyn, but I think I have learned the most about the woman from this particular book. For instance, I didn't understand until now that Marilyn was not just a sexy, complicated beauty who was a huge star in show business. Actually, she was a strong, smart, brilliant actress and business woman who was decades ahead of other people in attitudes and ideas. She was a very private, intensely driven artist, the kind we would SO much more appreciate and understand today. What a shame.
This isn't a fluff-job of a book, you will notice that immediately. The author gets right to business and tells us up-front that she plans to show that Marilyn was a remarkable, exceptional woman--the kind that the world at the time wasn't interested in seeing or appreciating. I came away believing, too, that it is time to give the woman far more respect than she was ever given in life, except by a rare few.
My criticisms of the book are only about issues of editing. The book was given to me in return for my honest review and perhaps it is simply a draft of the book. I don't know. I think the author tried to tell more about the times than was needed. I noticed a few minor typos. But mostly I thought that some text could have been omitted. I grew tired of reading about the history of our times, for instance. BUT, had I not lived through those decades and if I wanted a really wanted a more complete understanding of the times when Marilyn lived, I might have been happier to read all the details the author provided. I believe folks who love reading about Marilyn will want to read this book and will appreciate the work this author has gone to in telling us about The Girl.

Having read countless Marilyn Monroe books, I must say I enjoyed every moment of this book. The storytelling was impeccable!

Thank you to NetGalley, Michelle Morgan and Perseus Books & Running Press for allowing me to read and review The Girl. Knowing almost nothing about Marilyn, I had few preconceived notions going into reading this book. I thought that it was a decent book. 3/5

I was really interested in reading this book since I, like the author, believe that Marilyn Monroe was more than just a pretty face and she was no dumb blonde. The book did not flow as easily as I hoped it would. So many references to comments that were put out in regards to Marilyn that instilled the dumbness of her that it bogged the book down. A good read about her fighting for her rights in 1950's Hollywood.