Stephanie Wrobel's novel, Darling Rose Gold, Borrows Heavily From Gypsy Rose Blanchard's Story

What if Gypsy Rose Blanchard had sent her mother to prison instead of masterminding her murder? That's the question Stephanie Wrobel must have asked herself when writing Darling Rose Gold. Wrobel used Blanchard's story as the blueprint for her novel, making her titular character a victim forced to live her public life confined to a wheelchair when she could walk. 

The similarities between the two stories are undeniable. Even the resemblance between the name Gypsy Rose and Rose Gold is uncanny. She has an absent father who her mother claims passed away, and very little freedom. She also has an online boyfriend, who helped her to realize that she was being abused. 

The novel is told from two perspectives, Rose Gold's and her mother, Patty's. Rose Gold's chapters usually take place in the past, and we see how her mother's schemes affected her. She's socially awkward and struggles with normal interactions. She has no friends, aside from a former neighbor who rarely returns her text messages. She also hides her teeth whenever someone speaks to her.

Early on, we are shown an emotionally stunted Rose Gold working in an electronics store as a cashier. A young man approaches her and begins to flirt with her. It's the first time anyone has ever flirted with her, aside from her online boyfriend. She marvels over how his good looks, and wonders why anyone would flirt when she looks the way she does. 

Her mother constantly reminded her of how ugly she was when she was growing up. Now that she can grow her hair out, she can't help but agree with her mother. Whenever Rose Gold's looks are brought up, it's negative. She's ugly, hideous, and we're almost beaten over the head with that fact. 

The flirty man laughs at her and reveals he was talking to her as part of a bet. He claims that he'd never be interested in a girl with rotten teeth, before accusing her of being a fraud like her mother. The interaction stays with Rose Gold, who goes home to her cheap apartment to watch Disney movies alone. The Little Mermaid is her comfort movie. 

As Rose Gold's sitting alone in her apartment, she thinks about a reporter who kept inviting her to do interviews. Rose Gold's story has only been reported about in local media outlets, this interview has a wider reach, which would allow her to control the narrative around her and her mother. 

Rose Gold isn't happy with her interview after it's published. She complains about everything from the way her mother is portrayed to the pictures they used. Despite her disdain for the article, it brings changes to her life.

Her long absent father shows up after reading the interview, and asks Rose Gold to get lunch with him. Rose Gold believed her father was deceased, which is another lie told to her by her mother. She gets lunch with her father, and later visits him and his new family. He has three children and a new wife who is about as kind to Rose Gold as a Disney villain would be. 

Despite the family's treatment of her, she longs to form a connection with them. She asks if she can go on the family camping trip, but is firmly rejected, so she decides to tell her father she's been diagnosed with cancer. This is a lie, but she reasons that lying is what she's been taught. 

Her father believes the lie for a while, asking if he can accompany her to her doctor's appointments, but all good lies must come to light at some point. Gold Rose claims she's recovered just in time for the family trip. Her father tells her to stay home and rest, but she drives to visit her father and his new family at her step sister's soccer game. 

Her father rejects her for the final time, stating that he'd called the doctor she had seen and found out that he didn't treat cancer. She's forced to return home, and told to never contact the family again. 

While the family drama was happening, Rose Gold also found out that her online boyfriend, Phil, was a much older man. He claims he wasn't interested in her, but he felt pity towards her so he continued the online relationship. He gives her some money before sending her on her way, telling her that he'd be happy to help her in any way he can. He later gets her a fake id and helps her to start a new life. 

Rose Gold also has a 'friend' who she visits periodically. This friend was Rose Gold's former neighbor, continues the 'friendship' out of pity. Rose Gold overhears her telling her real friends as much when they all go out one night. That's when Rose Gold shows us how vengeful she can be, by putting nair in a hair dye bottle intended for her friend's eyebrows. Rose Gold leaves shortly after her 'friend' loses her eyebrows, ending yet another relationship. 

When Rose Gold realizes she has no one, she visits her mother in jail. She needs to know why her mother ruined her life, but her mother shows no remorse. Rose Gold decides she needs revenge for her ruined life, so she agrees to let her mother visit her when she leaves jail. 

Patty, Rose Gold's mother, starts her story off in prison, where she is seen giving medical advice to another inmate before being released. We find that Rose Gold agrees to pick Patty up and allow her to live with her. She waits nervously for Rose Gold as she considers what her punishment should be for landing her in jail. 

Patty soon finds that Rose Gold is bringing her to her childhood home, where her abuse happened. She also refuses to eat anything her mother cooks for her, and she won't leave the baby alone with her mother. 

Patty tries to rejoin the town, doing things like shopping at the local grocery store, but the townspeople quickly let her know she's not welcome. She's asked to leave when shopping at the local grocery store, and neighbors express disgust when she attends one of the town events. Patty eventually gets to watch her grandchild and even plans to run away with him. She even utters the infamous phrase, "I was born to be your mother," when telling him her plans.

She sees her opportunity when Rose Gold doesn't return home from work, but the baby becomes violently ill. She brings the baby to the hospital, where the staff is suspicious of her due to her past with Rose Gold. The police are called, and they find a bottle of poison in her bag that she had been saving for Rose Gold. 

It's revealed that the baby isn't related to Patty. The baby was Rose Gold's newest half-sibling, who she'd kidnapped. Rose Gold had been poisoning his bottles with small doses of the same substance Patty used to poison her with. She then wrote a letter to a nosy neighbor, framing her mother.

The novel ends with Patty being arrested again and Rose Gold changing her name and buying a black wig. She's pleased with the revenge she's gotten on her mother, and now she's starting a new life. Her teeth, which were a constant reminder of the abuse she suffered, now empower her. How much should you be able to gain from someone else's story? I asked myself that question multiple times when reading Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel. The novel was sometimes loosely and sometimes not so loosely based on the life of Gypsy Rose Blanchard. Blanchard became infamous for her involvement in her mother's murder and had several TV series, movies, and books based on her life. Blanchard has expressed that she did not give permission for these books and tv series to be made, but does that matter? All writers and authors are inspired by things they encounter in their daily life. Stephan King was inspired to write Carrie because he went to school with a girl who wore the same outfit every day. He was also later inspired by overbearing fans to write Misery. Isn't that the same as what Wrobel did, or is it different because of the infamous person it was based on? 

While the book was readable, I wouldn't have picked it up if not for the connection to Gypsy's story. Likely, I'll never pick up another Wrobel book. 

The novel wasn't a fast summer read, nor was it entertaining enough for me to recommend. The story itself was slow-paced and depressing. I considered putting the book down many times. I would have enjoyed it more if it had started before Patty went to prison when the abuse and scams were happening. Despite that, I gave the book a three-star rating on Goodreads, because I wanted to finish it despite its shortcomings. It was decent enough that it wasn't unreadable, but I wouldn't call it enjoyable.

*Disclaimer: I receive a small commission when you buy the novel from the link listed above.