Thank you NetGalley, T. Greenwood and St. Martin’s Press for the free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

It’s 1948 in New Jersey and Sally Horner is an 11 year-old loner trying to make friends, but to do so she must steal something from a store. Sally gets caught by a man claiming to be FBI, makes his move and tells her that unless he follows her instructions she will be going to prison. Ella, Sally’s mother feels at fault for letting her daughter go with Frank, who she finds out is a serial rapist and con artist. The rest of the novel follows Sally and Frank around the country as he mentally and physically assaults her, changing her life forever.

This is not the sort of book I usually read, but there was so much hype over this that I just had to find out what it was like. Now I heard Lolita inspired this novel, but I have never read it so I can’t compare it. I found this book just so depressing, especially since it is based on true events. I just don’t think I can digest books about children getting hurt because I found I didn’t want to read any further because I didn’t want to know the next tragic thing that befell Sally. I did enjoy the different perspectives told in this novel to show how each and every person was affected my Sally’s disappearance.

Sally met some of the few good people in this world and became friends with a quite a few, but this only made it harder for her when they moved on. I felt for this girl like I never have for another main character of any other novel. I just wanted her to get her happy ending and get to be a kid again. I literally have never been so unsatisfied with an ending of a novel before, I understand why it was done this way, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. Sally was such a brave little girl and I can’t imagine life like this and this book broke my heart over and over again. The writing in the book was superb, and if you are looking for a heartbreaking book, this is the one for you!

Pick it up August 7th!

Rust and Stardust by T. Greenwood provides a fantastic fictional account of a true crime that took place 70 years ago. In the summer of 1948, Frank LaSalle abducted eleven year old Sally Horner by convincing her he was with the FBI after she attempted to steal a notebook from Woolworths. He took her from Camden, New Jersey to Atlantic City, and from there to Baltimore, Dallas, and ultimately San Jose, California, where he was finally arrested almost two years later. While this book is based on true events, much of what occurs between LaSalle and Sally, as well as the people they meet during the two years of Sally's abduction, is fictionalized.

I found this book to be completely captivating and difficult to put down. The writing was excellent, striking just the right tone to tell Sally's tragic story with sensitivity and compassion. My heart broke for Sally and her family and I seethed with anger at the incompetence of the cops and the coolness of LaSalle's artifice and cruelty. I enthusiastically recommend Rust and Stardust, due for publication in August 2018.

As an interesting side note, Sally Horner's real life story also provided the inspiration for Vladimir Nabakov's Loliita.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rust and Stardust is a chilling fictional tale inspired by the real life events that led Vladimir Nabakov to write Lolita. Sally Horner is a young girl abducted and sexually abused by an older man. Unlike most dark thrillers, readers already know who committed the crime. Instead of focusing on the investigation, we’re shown the emotional and physical abuse Sally endures at the hands of her kidnapper.

This novel is difficult to read because it’s hard to imagine that all of these situations could happen in real life. Wouldn’t a girl (or her mother) know better than to go off with a strange man. Why don’t the people who suspect something’s amiss try harder to get Sally away? Can’t the police devote more time to the investigation? Do these type of monsters actually exist who would molest and abuse a child?

Sadly, all of these questions are realistically answered in a way that makes your heart break for this girl and her family. The writing is beautiful and insightful even though the subject matter is horrible. This is a novel unlike anything I've read before and one I'd recommend to anyone.

Much thanks goes out to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this early release copy.

This is the story of a young girl named Sally.
Sally was abducted when she was eleven and this conveys what she had to endure both emotionally and physically during the time she was missing. We see things through Sally's eyes of course, but the author also introduced other narratives to give angles to the story I didn't know I wanted.

"and the sour awful smell that she suspected was the scent of his awful soul."

This is a fictional retelling of a true crime.
I find these can either be heartbreaking & horrifying or depressing & disappointing.
It's very rare that I read one and think how warm and thoughtful the author was.
This is one of those rare times.
She was able to tell Sally's story without being crass or making me feel like she exploited the family.
You can feel the depths she went to in order to be respectful and classy while still giving us a beautifully crafted and heartbreaking story.

"She understood now, what it felt like to be seduced by sadness."

I especially enjoyed how each character had an epilogue to let us know what happened to them.
This is definitely something I will be telling my friends about!

This book is about the kidnapping of 11-year-old Sally Horner and what her kidnapper does to her. It's a heartbreaking story. It's a sad and intense read. I thought it is a real page turner, even though it is hard to read at times because of the childabuse. This well written and flows very well. I loved the writing and willll certainly read more books by this author.

Epigraph:
(Had I done to Dolly, perhaps, what Frank Lasalle, a fifty-year-old mechanic, had done to eleven-year-old Sally Horner in 1948?)
* * *
And the rest is rust and stardust. — Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Fictionalization of the true crime that loosely inspired Nabokov’s Lolita. In 1948, 11-year old Sally Horner accepted a dare by some classmates to steal a notebook from Woolworth’s. Her crime was witnessed by Frank Lasalle, an ex-con who was eating at the lunch counter. Lasalle, under of the guise of an FBI agent, kidnapped Sally telling her she had to appear before a judge for shoplifting. Sally, confused and afraid, wound up staying with Lasalle for two years while they traveled from New Jersey to California to avoid capture. Amazing story with some heartbreaking scenes that, thankfully, we’re not graphic, about the abuse, both physical and emotional, that Sally had to endure.

This book caught my attention with its eye-catching cover and interesting title - not what I expected at all! Tucked into Greenwood's beautiful, lyrical prose is a heart-breaking story of a little eleven-year-old girl, Sally Horner, who was kidnapped in Camden, New Jersey in 1948. Sally lives with her mother, who has a hard time getting around due to illness. Her father committed suicide several years earlier. Sally has a hard time making friends and in order to be initiated into a group she steals something from a department store and a man accosts her and says he's from the FBI and she must go with him.

I loved Greenwood's writing style and his characters were well developed. I really liked the character Ruth who met Sally at a trailer park. I read that this story was based on the true-to-life kidnapping of 11-year-old Florence “Sally” Horner in 1958. I recommend this book and even though it was tragic, I couldn't put it down until I had read to the very end.

Thanks. to T. Greenwood and St. Martin's Press through Netgalley for an advance copy.

I was intrigued by the story premise and description. I naively didn’t know that Lolita was, to some degree, inspired by a true event. While I found the story disturbing and painful to read, the writing style left me wanting.

Author T. Greenwood did give Florence Sally Horner a voice, but it is a flat one. The story is told rather than painted. One cannot help but empathize with the kidnapped girl or her parents, however, my empathy didn’t come from the writing just the situation.

Rust & Stardust is told primarily from Sally Horner’s perspective, however, chapters from her family and people she has met along the way are interspersed throughout the story. Seeing how the family imploded with the loss of Sally was heartbreaking.

Overall, I was interested in the historical aspect of this story, but the writing style didn’t grab me.

I was unaware of the fact that this book was based on a true story which makes the premise all the more sad and disturbing but also compelling. It follows the true story of Sally Horner, who was abducted by an ex-con and taken from New Jersey to Texas and then ultimately California. The story was very richly described, following the different characters in Sally's family and all the people who were trying to help her along the way.
The plots and ideas in the book were wonderfully planned out. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the rich backstories behind any kidnapping stories. The author brilliantly captured the feeling of terror that must lurk in the mind of anyone who has suffered this.
This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was hooked from the first page. Based on a true story, although a work of fiction, this book is a real page turner. It is a heart-wrenching and heart-racing novel! Told from various characters point of view (which is a style I love) this follows the abduction of Sally Horner.
How was Frank LaSalle able to get her to go with him? What was life like during her abduction? Why didn’t the people who they interacted with those years follow their gut? How did her loved ones pick up the pieces?
All those questions are answered. Greenwood is an amazing writer. She gave voice to each of those characters in such a perfect way that you really were able to understand them completely.
I highly recommend!

This is a fictional story based on a real life kidnapping. It is an emotional journey and not an easy read due to the subject matter. I wouldn’t call this book chilling but it has a major creep factor by the name of Mr. Warner, convicted child molester. Greenwood is adept at balancing the abuse of young Sally Horner by Mr. Warner with Sally’s strength and resilience. My heart went out to her and to the devastated family she leaves behind who share their own stories and search for Sally in dedicated chapters.

One negative that niggled me was the extreme nativity of this 11-year old girl. It seemed far-fetched. Believing lie after lie of her tormenter and when given numerous opportunities to escape or open up to kind people she meets who suspect something is wrong, Sally chooses to remain silent…for years. Perhaps in the 1940’s children were more naive at that age.

I found myself feeling angry with Sally’s mother through most of the book. How could a mother turn her daughter over to a man she’d never met before at a train station and not be calling the cops every single day if she needed to in order to keep the search alive.

*Will post review on multiple sites once published.

Rust & Stardust was a really good read for me geographically - I grew up in Jersey. My childhood was spent in Florence (my grandma lived there). I've been to Camden and Atlantic City. Not in the 40s, granted, but still, I've been there. So the whole time I was reading about Sally and her family, I had their geography in my head.

Otherwise, the book was good. It drew me in and kept me interested and engaged. I was upset by the ending but, because it was based on a true story, I understand why the author did it. Honestly I can't wait to research the real case. 4.5 stars, rounded down to 4, and I can't wait to read more by this author.

I really loved this book! The story telling for this heartbreaking book was fantastic. The subject is difficult but I think Greenwood did a fantastic job.

Highly recommend

Even though it is set in 1948 the story of little "sally" will change the way you view your world and the unknown people around you. This is not a book of rainbows but rather of the darkness of man and the unyielding human sprit. Read it,

Before I start this review, I have a confession to make. 

I've never read Lolita, and I only have a vague idea of what it was about. (Old guy molests young girl?)

As much as I love reading, and think myself pretty prolific, I've just never really been one for the classics. The number of must reads that I've never read is pretty high. 

So, how did I end up reading a book about the true story that may have inspired Lolita?

The cover.

Y'all do that, too, right? You just have to read a book because the cover is so striking? Okay, good. I thought so.

Man, I'm glad I'm a sucker for pretty covers, because this book is five stars all day.

I posted a review earlier in the day, did some laundry, had some dinner, and then read this entire book. I couldn't wait to tell you about it, so here I am, instead of in bed like a normal person.

Don't let the up until now lightheartedness of this review fool you. Rust & Stardust is heartbreaking. It is based in truth, but many of the characters and plot points are fictionalized. There's no way to know much of what happened, and this is a novel, not a true crime book. 

One criticism that I saw in a review was that some of the fictionalized scenarios were preposterous and that much of the writing was dry and journalistic, taking away from the authenticity. 

I could not disagree more. I feel like the dry telling of much of the story made it feel more real to me, and did a good job of placing the story in time. I felt like I was reading a story that took place in 1950's America, during a starker, bleaker period of time. 

The character work is brilliant, and it was refreshing to have a standout strong, loving male character, Al, at the center of the story, despite the rest of the men being weak, cruel, or hapless. 

I enjoyed that the story was told from so many different points of view. It gave the story more depth and richness. 

As I said earlier, Rust & Stardust is five out of five star novel, no qualifications needed. It hits the shelves August 7, 2018.

I received an ARC of this novel from St. Martin's Press via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

This is a difficult book to review, because I don’t really want to say that I enjoyed it, but it was definitely a book I had trouble putting down, and that I raced through.

It is based on the true story of an 11 year old girl who was kidnapped and raped by an man in his 50s. He travels across country with her for more than two years, stopping for extended periods in a few locations, and then moving on when he believes he may be caught.

But, what this story is really about is how both the girl herself, and the people around her are effected by the situation—how people can choose to overlook things that are seemingly obvious, how an experience can be twisted to mean something different in different peoples minds, and how you can never count on exterior appearances to reflect the truth. I also think, in a strange way, this book left me with a sense of faith in the ultimate goodness of many people, even as so many acts of cruelty or indifference on the part of many others led to the tragedy of this girl’s life.

I appreciated that this book was not overly graphic about the sexual abuse that was at the heart of the relationship between the girl and her abductor. I did not need any particular detail to evoke the horror of what she suffered.

I received an advanced reading copy from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley. Thanks!

To read the real-life story of 11 year old Sally Horner who was kidnapped by ex-con Frank LaSalle from a Woolworth's store in New Jersey in 1948, and to realize that it inspired Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, one of the most prominent and talked about literary works of the 20th century, is heart-breaking and infuriating.
T. Greenwood's narrative is so raw, the descriptions so vivid, and the scenes so crushing that one can't help but admire her even though every one of her words on the page is like ripping apart skin and bone.
Greenwood takes the reader through Sally's horrendous ordeal, her mother's mental and emotional dissolve while showing us that there are still good people in the world who are willing to help those who cannot possibly help themselves. The novel is a difficult one, but not for that less of a brilliant work of historical and biographical fiction.

Well. This book. Wow. I didn’t realize it was based on a true story until the end and it was like an extra gut punch. I cried my way through most of this book. It was beautifully written. The author brought this story to life through these different point of views. I highly recommend this book if you can stomach difficult subject matters.

Rust & Stardust is based on the 1948 kidnapping of 11 yr. old Sally Horner by Frank LaSalle. This story was heartbreaking for me to read as my youngest daughter is 11 yrs. old. Even knowing that this was a work of fiction I couldn't read about Sally's years with her captor and not feel it emotionally. It gutted me, imagining what horrors this girl must have endured at the hands of this vile pedophile.

In T. Greenwood's work of historical fiction we are given her imagined renderings of the years Sally spent on the road with her captor. The events were fictional dramatizations, the relationships constructions of her imagination - this is not true crime & it never claims to be. I enjoyed the little bits of hope Greenwood sprinkled into the book with the people that helped Sally along the way - Lena, Ruth & Sister Mary Katherine. It was beyond frustrating to read how LaSalle always seemed to keep a step ahead of the law. I kept asking myself, how can no one see there is something wrong between them? Yet, this really happened and he truly did get away with it for 2 years. So as implausible as some of the scenarios might have seemed - reality is sometimes just as farfetched isn't it?

The book is told via various characters' point of views. We see first hand not only what Sally endures but also the devastation that her kidnapping causes her family. I found the book to be captivating and I spent quite a bit of time googling the real kidnapping so that I could relate what I was reading to what actually occurred. I'm not sure if that was a good or bad thing as it made the book seem all the more real. I was having trouble holding it together at various points while reading.

While the book was heart wrenching and disturbing at times it was also undeniably moving. I was invested in Sally and wanted nothing more than to be able to save her myself. Even knowing the eventual outcome from my online research on the case, I couldn't put the book down - I had to finish it and see it through. That pin & red ribbon on the cover - it isn't just meant to be eye catching. Once you read the book, you will see it is a meaningful symbol. It broke my heart! A captivating read that will stay with me for a long time to come.

Rust and Stardust is a novel that will wring your heart out. Taking place in New Jersey in 1948 - 1952, we follow the life of 11 year old Sally Horner. Sally is that girl we all were, at some point. Very naive, no self-assurance, no real friends, no sense of worth. No life experience, no ability to hide her thoughts, no skill at deception. And Mr. Warner knows just how to take advantage of all those no's. Sally is just the gal he's been looking for.

I received a free electronic copy of this historical novel from Netgalley, T. Greenwood, and St. Martins Press in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.