**Review will be published to blog closer to publication date**

I chose this book because:

I’ve never read Lolita, and I never knew that it was inspired by the case of Sally Horner. Crime stories have always captured my interest (I binged all of Criminal Minds on Netflix), so I’m intrigued by this book and it’s definitely up my alley. The fact that this book is based on true events perhaps makes it all the more captivating, but also makes me feel more cautious about how the events will be handled by the author.

Upon reading it:

I started this book in the late evening and didn’t put it down until I finished it in the early morning because I couldn’t bear to stop in the middle of the story and be stuck in that world. It’s terrible to know that this was the reality for Sally Horner.

In the Author’s Note, Greenwood gives the disclaimer that though the case of Sally Horner is true, this book is not a true crime book; she also briefly goes over which characters and events were real and which ones were made up. She did a lot of research, but of course, nobody will know exactly what happened during those two years that Sally Horner was captured. Greenwood does a good job filling in the blanks and telling the story though. It took me there and made me feel some type of way (anxiety!), which for me is an indicator of a good story, whatever that feeling is, whether it’s positive or negative.

I was relieved with the way Greenwood handled the fictionalised events and that this horrible event wasn’t romanticised. It was heartbreaking to see how innocent and trusting Sally Horner was, and to see how she was taken advantage of, to put it lightly. It’s a heavy story and my heart was racing, wondering if and how she was going to survive or escape.

And trying my best not to spoil anything: The end tho…

Story of the true crime abduction of the girl who Lolita was later based on and told from the point of view of the victim.. I had very strong reactions to this book. It's unflinching and heart-breaking.

This was a great start to 2018, as I couldn't put this book down. Its a tragic, sometimes fantastic, heartbreaking story. Fantastically written.

Rust & Stardust is based on the real-life kidnapping of 11-year-old Sally Horner, and her kidnapper, in 1948 whose story inspired Vladimir Nabokov to write his controversial and iconic book, Lolita.

After a dare from a group of girls, 11-year-old Sally Horner attempted to steal a notebook from a Woolworths. She was stopped by a man who claimed to be an FBI agent and that she was under arrest. She had no way of knowing that this man was not an FBI agent but an ex-convict by the name of Frank LaSalle who was recently released from prison. He tells Sally if she does not cooperate, she will be in jail, so she does as he says.

The Author then takes us through the two years in which Frank LaSalle mentally, physically and sexually abuses Sally. The two of them travel from place to place, moving on when people begin to get suspicious of this single father and his "daughter". Along the way, Sally meets people who are kind to her and who suspect the truth. Frank always seems to be one step ahead and keeps them moving so he is not caught. Sally's mother initially believed that Sally was going on vacation with a friend (she walked her to the bus stating and left her with LaSalle!) but soon, the authorities were called in and the real authorities began a search for Sally.

This book lets us into Sally's life and we see her fear, her doubt, her loathing, her anger, her resentment, her hope, her strength. She was taken in a time when people were perhaps more trusting, the internet did not exist, Amber alerts did not exist, the harsh realities of depravity were not widely discussed, and children were not warned pedophiles and teachers were not trained on detecting abuse.

This is not a happy book. It is sad and heartbreaking. It is a story about pain, about loss, about innocence lost, about fear, about pain, about abduction, about abuse, about hope and finding home. This book is extremely well written and captivating. I thought the Author did a wonderful and thoughtful job telling the story with such a sensitive subject.

The Author's note at the end was very poignant and educational. I love books that cause me to think and feel and boy did I do a lot of thinking and feeling while reading this book. I believe the Author showed tact and caring while telling this girl's (and her family's) story.

I received a copy of this book from St. Martin's Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is historical fiction based on a stunning and traumatic child abduction exposed years before the American public was ready to accept that pedophiles walked among us. In Camden, New Jersey, 1948, Sally Horner was stolen from her home by a lecherous old creep who successfully convinced her he was with the FBI and she was under arrest.
Frank LaSalle maintained this entrapping lie for over two years. The author, Tammy Greenwood, based the timeline, locations and as much of the personal drama on facts. The personal feelings, emotions, and glimpses into the thoughts of each character can’t be proven, but Greenwood has done an absolutely stunning job of recreating the atmosphere with conviction and respect.
This is such a sad read because, of course, you know how it will end. To avoid a spoiler, I won’t go into detail. I had read about this case years ago, so I went into it prepared. But that didn’t make me willing. This young little girl was stripped of everything a child holds dear, especially her innocence. The sad shell of a young teen who returned home is gut-wrenching. The reaction and treatment of her family and public is deplorable; no one can believe she was duped so easily or LaSalle was so enthralled by an 11-year old child. Surely she was promiscuous; obviously, she had some mental issues that attracted him. As stated earlier, the American public wasn’t ready to accept that these creeps existed and lived among us in 1948.
I strongly recommend this book. It’s probably best if you haven’t studied the history of the case, to avoid that until you’ve completed this book. It's heart-wrenching. To this day I feel sadness and loss for the child who just wanted so badly to be accepted by the popular girls at school.
(I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for making it available.)

A parent's nightmare. A fictionalized version of a true child abduction, one in which Lolita was based on. A quick horrifying read. Well written to horrify anyone with a child.

It is hard to find the words to express how I felt about Rust & Stardust. The subject matter was difficult, because I knew it was a true story and reading what Sally possibly went through was emotional and upsetting. T. Greenwood is definitely up to the task of writing abut Sally's experience in a way that is not exploitative but highly empathetic and puts the reader right into the hearts and minds of Sally and those who love her. Although I knew how the story ended, it was still devastating. Warning--the last few pages will tear your heart right out. I have not been this moved by historical fiction since Mary Beth Keane's The Fever, which is high praise. Highly recommended.

This book recounts the true crime abduction that was the inspiration for Nabokov’s Lolita. This time, the story is told from the point of view of Sally, the victim. It is unflinching and beautifully written.

Excellent story! Sad, tragic, memorable! Absolutely engrossing read. Looking forward to reading more by this author!

Heartbreaking. That's the only thing I can say about this one. Even more so because it's based on true events.
It's 1948. Young Sally, still reeling from the death of her father, is desperate to fit it. So, on a dare, she steals a notebook from the local Woolworth's. This one childish mistake sets in motion a chain of events that will have lasting repercussions. When a man posing as an FBI agent approaches her outside the store, Sally's innocence and gullible nature guarantee that she'll believe him. But what excuse for her mother, who allows this man to take Sally off on a supposed trip to the seashore? The only excuse I can think of is that it was a different time, simpler and more trusting.
For almost two years, Sally is victimized by Frank. They travel across the country, Sally being held against her will. Along the way, there are people who see something in Sally. And these people even make attempts to help her without truly knowing the extent of her abuse. Still, Sally must reach within herself and have the courage to speak up before she can be rescued.
While some liberties have been taken in the telling of Sally's story, the fact remains that she was a real person and a real kidnapping victim. An interesting side note: Sally's story was the inspiration for Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita.

This story is so full of sorrow yet it is so beautifully written. I cried multiple times while reading this book and the characters have stuck with me in the last two days since finishing.
My review is 5 Star for one main reason. I want to give credit to the author for picking such a hard story to write and it was done in a way that left me speechless. Great job! This will be one that I recommend to my friends and family for sure.

Release Date: Aug. 7th 2018
Camden, NJ, 1948. When 11 year-old Sally Horner steals a notebook from the local Woolworth's, she has no way of knowing that 52 year-old Frank LaSalle, fresh out of prison, is watching her, preparing to make his move. Accosting her outside the store, Frank convinces Sally that he’s an FBI agent who can have her arrested in a minute―unless she does as he says.

This chilling novel traces the next two harrowing years as Frank mentally and physically assaults Sally while the two of them travel westward from Camden to San Jose, forever altering not only her life, but the lives of her family, friends, and those she meets along the way.

Based on the experiences of real-life kidnapping victim Sally Horner and her captor, whose story shocked the nation and inspired Vladimir Nabokov to write his controversial and iconic Lolita, this heart-pounding story by award-winning author T. Greenwood at last gives a voice to Sally herself.


Before even starting this book I had very mixed feelings about. I wanted to read it because it's compared to Lolita (the real story of Sally is the inspiration for Lolita), with the title itself being a quote from the book. I was also super hesitant though because it's based on a true story. For me book that depict real events of pedophilia, rape, mass shootings, either turn out really wonderful and leave me in tears, cursing humanity, or the author romanticizes the crime to the point where I want to throw the book at their face, repeatedly.
This book was the former. I hate hate hate this book, and I mean that in the best possible way. After reading this my heart has been torn apart, for the fiction Sally Horner, and the real one whose life paralleled these events. This book will want you to hold your children close if you have them, it will make you curse and hate everybody that had ever hurt a child. This is an absolutely heartbreaking tale of a girl whose life was destroyed before she had a chance to really live.
I loved the different view points in this book. Although the majority of the chapters were Sally, we got to hear from her family back home, and the family she tried to piece together during those awful years. I loved these chapters. The hope, the agonizing, the glimpses of these other lives happening around Sally.
The secrets her skin kept now, the horror that flowed in her veins.
The most terrifying part of this book is when Sally blames herself. It's a story you hear over and over again. She constantly blames herself for the situation she's in, she's scared she'll go to jail if she tells anyone. These thoughts made the story so much more real, and really made you believe you were in the head of this poor 11 year old girl.
I started crying before it ended because I knew what happened in real life. Even though this is a work of fiction, I knew that T. Greenwood would not insult the real Sally by giving her fictionalized version a happy ending. The ending is absolutely awful, and will break you're heart if you don't know what happened.
certain she had hit the bottom, the ocean floor, the weight suddenly lifted from her chest, and she was light, ascending, dizzy and disoriented. The sky of water becoming a sky of stars. She was suspended, floating.
This was beautifully written, and each character definitely had a distinct voice, helping the story flow better than I ever could have imagined. I'm so in love with this book and I still have tears in my eyes.
5//5 Owls 🦉🦉🦉🦉🦉

The ARC was given to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.