3.5 rounded up.

The kidnapping of Sally Horner actually served as the inspiration for Lolita, which I honestly do not know much about. I was incredibly frustrated with so many events that took place but since they are steeped in reality - I really can't complain! Greenwood did a great job of bringing this story to life and I loved the short chapter format and the multiple perspectives. Overall, I just never found myself totally loving the story and was very middle of the line on it, but there were times where I was definitely engrossed, hence the more positive swing in my rating.

Thank you to St. Martins for an advance copy. All opinions are my own.

"She imagined herself turning to stone, and she wondered if that was where the word "petrified" came from."

This is a very sad story, with what one hopes is a happy ending, only it's terribly tragic. While this is loosely based on the life of Sally Horner and the events that happened to her, it's gut-wrenching nonetheless. Rust & Stardust is told from Sally Horner's point of view, while it's unclear exactly how Sally felt during her days of captivity, this novel is a delicate yet sorrowful portrayal of what might have been.

I'll be honest, I was not familiar with Sally Horner's story, having only heard about the novel Lolita, but never having read it or knowing what it was about. It was hard for me to not want to Google her story while reading this. I did not want to ruin the novel however, so I decided to wait until I was finished. After learning more, I became even more blown away by T. Greenwood's ability to create something so beautiful.

Sally Horner, at the age of 11 years old, desperate to fit in with the girls at school walks into her local Woolworth's with the intent to steal something... an initiation. Sally is determined to prove to the girls how much she wants to be in their group, so as she walks the store she desperately seeks something worthy of stealing. As she decides on a composition notebook and makes her way towards the door, she is suddenly stopped by a man; the man claims to be with the FBI, and that he's going to arrest her for stealing. Thus begins the story of Frank La Salle and Sally Horner.

Frank La Salle, is not only what some might call the most cunning con man, he's also a known pedophile. Sally spends her years with this man held captive because of his lies, his manipulative and deceitful ways. This novel had such a yo-yo affect on me, one minute I feel hopeful for Sally, then the next such a complete and utter loss and pain, and then it's back to feeling hopeful, and then the rug is pulled out from under me, and I'm back to feeling completely defeated as Sally does. This would have been no way to live, yet somehow, Sally held on for all those years.

I think the most tragic part of this whole story is that the happy ending for Sally is so short lived, to be returned to her family, to have lived through her ordeal only to later suffer from a fatal car crash at the age of 15, well, that's just the universe playing unfair.

"How sad it is that grief has a shelf life, he thought. It's only fresh and raw for so long before it begins to spoil. And soon enough, it will be replaced by a newer, brighter heartache... the old one discarded and eventually forgotten."

I want to thank NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and T. Greenwood for allowing me the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for my review.

This is an amazing written yet heartbreaking story of a young girl abducted from her home and her former life by a pedophile. This is an emotional, sad and disturbing tale that had me crying or raging against some secondary characters for their ineffectiveness (mainly the cops and Sally's family for getting so close to finding her but never actually being there in time). Although I thoroughly enjoyed the novel it did have a permeating sadness, it felt like it affected my everyday emotions.

Thank you to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for a free copy.

This story follows 11 year-old Sally Horner and her abductor Frank LaSalle, fresh out of prison. He convinces her that he’s an FBI agent.

This novel was difficult but well-written. It covers the two years Sally was held captive and tortured, forever changing her life, and the lives of her family and friends. Disturbing, harrowing account. Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read in exchange for an honest review. 4 Stars

This tragic but beautifully written novel is fiction, yet is based on true events involving Frank LaSalle kidnapping Sally Horner in 1948, as well as, their years together while she was held captive. Told from multiple points of view, author T. Greenwood has created an engaging and addictive novel about how Frank came across Sally in the first place, as well as, the effects of the kidnapping had on Sally, her family, classmates, and many more characters that are introduced along the way. This heart-wrenching and often horrific story about Sally’s kidnapping and subsequent sexual abuse has also been assumed as some inspiration for Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita. Greenwood quotes Nabokov in her novel, an aside from Humbert Humbert, which historians and critics have suggested is a clue regarding Sally inspiring his story, “Had I done to Dolly, perhaps, what Frank LaSalle, a fifty-year-old mechanic, had done to eleven-year-old Sally Horner in 1948?”

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I much prefer this fictional account by T. Greenwood, however, because rather than Sally’s story serving as inspiration for a novel of similar subject matter, it feels as though Greenwood has brought life to Sally and her story.

First, despite the difficult moments in this novel, in which there are many, I absolutely loved this one. Like, “there should be more than a 5-star rating” loved it. Greenwood’s writing blew me away with her ability to include so many different first-person points of view, yet still seeming to honestly capture what they may have truly felt. Moreover, her vivid imagery and description were amazing, specifically as she detailed Sally’s mother Ella and her downward spiral over the years that Sally was gone, and even after Sally returned. There were several moments where I felt I was in the room with this woman, in her rundown home, void of any family members that had been there previously. Her pain, guilt, and physical sorrow was not only evident but seemed to jump off of the pages into my heart and soul.

I could go on an on for days about Rust and Stardust. At some point within this novel, Greenwood manages to touch on almost all of the possible human emotions that we can experience. However, despite the horror and loss within the novel, I loved how the ending beautifully brought the symbolism regarding the name of the novel, the cover, Sally’s on-going experiences, her death, and the thoughts and feelings of those left to mourn her full circle. Specifically, Ella has a memory regarding her late husband on the fourth of July that when combined with the narrative of Sally’s death, almost gives the reader a peaceful feeling in the end.

Whether you are a fan of historical and/or biographical fiction or not, Rust and Stardust is a must-read. Greenwood’s writing is reason enough to dig into this one, but all of the unusual and fascinating characters that Sally meets throughout her nightmarish journey make this a compelling novel that you will not soon forget. This is hands-down one of my top three reads of the year.

*Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing this copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book was not for me. I got about 40% of the way through and it was actually really slow for me. I know a LOT of people have loved it. But I think, for me, I'm going to have to move on. I haven't felt any urge to come back to it. I don't ever want to DNF a book, so I'd like to come back to it some day, but it won't be any time soon with all of the other books I want to read! Like I said, I feel bad, it's for a lot of people, but it's just not for me.

I think overall I'd probably give it 2 stars. It's written well, and it was enjoyable at first.

This is not a pretty story to read but T. Greenwood writes beautifully.
A fictionalized version of a true crime set in the later 1940's. A young girl is abducted by an evil man & this is their story told in a variety of chapters- Sally's, her mom's, her sister & various other people along the way.

I think it is fair to say that most 11 year old girls are fairly innocent, but this story is pre social media, pre interment, etc yet children still acted mean towards one another, played tricks & teased. That's how this story starts, a child who wants friends & wants to fit in goes along with a silly prank & gets "caught". Sally is a sheltered, sweet child.

There are many comparisons to Lolita with this book. I was not one who raved about Lolita or looked at it as a wonderful work of art. It made my skin crawl & it gave a "human" voice to a pedophile. Rust & Stardust focuses on Sally, her family, the people she meets along the way & the changes this dreadful ordeal has on her over time. It was sad, difficult at times & yet, we had hope throughout it all & the author's way with words are a thing of beauty.

I gave it 5 stars not because of the content but for the way the story was told, how it kept me turning pagers until very late at night & because I cared about what happened to this little girl.

Florence “Sally” Horner just wants to fit in. When a few of the girls from her class dare her to steal from Woolworth’s – if she does, she can join their exclusive club – Sally reluctantly takes a notebook. Only on her way out, she’s caught by a man claiming to be FBI agent Frank LaSalle. She knows she doesn’t want to go to jail, and she really doesn’t want her mother to find out, so Sally follows Frank’s list of demands…

Rust & Stardust by T. Greenwood is the fictionalization of the crime that inspired Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita. Sally’s story is heartbreaking, but Greenwood’s storytelling is wonderful. At its heart, this is a painful, chilling novel about the abduction of an eleven year old girl. It’s also a thoughtful coming of age novel, one played out within the most vicious of circumstances. Told from Sally’s perspective, and that of her family, we slowly learn what survival cost her, and what it cost the family she left behind. It’s a fantastic piece of historical fiction with a literary, true crime connection.

There is a nonfiction account of Sally Horner's story that is garnering a lot of media press lately, which is unfortunate because from what I have been hearing, it is not the greatest reading experience. It is also unfortunate that the nonfiction version is getting all of the publicity because T. Greenwood's fictionalized version is so very, very good. With the freedom of fiction, Ms. Greenwood places us into the mind of Sally and that of her mother and sister so that they are once again alive and vibrant and telling their collective story so that all may know what happened during those lost years at the end of the 1940s.

Rust & Stardust is not an easy novel to read. While Ms. Greenwood does not get explicit in the forms of abuse Sally experiences, she provides enough contextual clues to understand just what is happening to Sally at any given time. This understanding is enough to turn your stomach and is most definitely a trigger for readers sensitive to pedophilia and other forms of child abuse. While it would be easy to say that such knowledge is not necessary to Sally's story, Ms. Greenwood presents it in such a way to understand not only her experiences but also her frame of mind during and after her abduction. In turn, this helps frame her state of mind that leads to her ultimate fate. It may be some of the most difficult reading you might do, but it is vital reading if only to recognize the mental trauma such sustained abuse causes Sally and the strains placed on her relationships with her sister and mother as a result of her trauma.

Because of the sensitive nature of her subject, Ms. Greenwood tiptoes delicately through the grimier aspects of Sally's story. She provides Sally with a modicum of privacy within her most horrific scenes. Some of this privacy is out of necessity if only because we truly have no idea what Sally thought or felt throughout her ordeal. However, even among those aspects of the story in which Ms. Greenwood had to utilize her imagination, her speculations are so realistic that you forget you are reading fiction. In point of fact, Ms. Greenwood's diligent and very thorough research shines among the pages of Rust & Stardust so that you do not have to do any further research on your own. Adding to that is Ms. Greenwood's ability to paint a picture, which is so good that you have no need to Google Sally and find the images to which Ms. Greenwood refers throughout the story.

To that end, Rust & Stardust is an excellent historical fiction novel specifically because Ms. Greenwood not only did her homework on her chosen subject but also presents it in such a way that blurs the line between fiction and reality. It is easy to forget that Sally's story is real, that Sally herself was real, and that she did endure years of sexual, physical, and mental abuse at the hands of her abductor. That her story inspired Vladimir Nabokov only serves to make his classic story even more disturbing - because it forces us to realize that for all his rationalizations, Humbert Humbert really is a disgusting and depraved character, something not so easy to realize while reading it.

Sally's story is a tough one, and there will be times you will set it aside thinking you cannot possibly get through it, but there is something so beautiful about Rust & Stardust that it bears continuing with it. Sally may have undergone horrific situations, but her family never gave up on her. They continued to search and pushed the police to continue their searches. They offered rewards, even though money was tight. They physically searched areas themselves. They fought, and Sally fought. That is the story worth telling and worth experiencing. That we should never succumb to what is happening to us but continue to fight to achieve our goals - whether they are to lose weight, travel more, or escape your abductor. For the many instances of a roiling stomach her story causes, Ms. Greenwood's Rust & Stardust is a beautiful, sensitive novel that provides you more insight into the Horner family than a certain other nonfiction publication out on the shelves right now.

Wow. What a heartbreaking story. The book is written perfectly. At first I thought this was a fictional story but then I did some research after seeing a review on Goodreads and discovered that this story is based on a true story. This made reading the book a bit harder but I think the author did a good job Of not exposing too much of Sally Horners abuse. You could use your imagination as to what happened to her. Still heartbreaking on all levels. The book really evoked all of my emotions: sadness, anger, even joy. Can’t wait to see what this author comes up with next. Excellent way of writing and I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

T. Greenwood captures the anxiety and depression of the characters in this story so well. There were moments when it was hard to read, because of the emotions it stirred up in myself. Thank you for diving deeper into this story and trying to show more of what happened. Such a tragic story.

I'm a little embarrassed being a town away from Camden and never hearing this story. Camden today is a far cry from Camden in the past. Camden is where my family rooted after moving here from Puerto Rico. It was a nice area to live in during this time. T. Greenwood painted Camden at this time truthfully. As a gang-ridden city today and often labeled America's most dangerous city now, this story is surprising for the time.
There is nothing but heavy material here. Reaaaalllly heavy material, but the author does a phenomenal job of keeping the read lighter by not going into details and really just skimming the surface of what she believes Sally's life with her kidnapper was like.
This was a quick read for me, not because I wanted to know what was going to happen (I like most know the conclusion) but because I felt like not reading it was keeping Sally's story on hold. This is a sad, mainly true, fiction and her story needs to be told.
I had to get past the fact that these situations would not play out like this in today's world. Our technology such as cameras, and cell phones, and even the internet would add so many different facets to Sally's story and as our kidnapper (I won't glorify him by naming him), didn't seem to have a murderous trait at least for the majority of the book, keeping Sally for so long would have been much more difficult. The time period, an important facet of setting, really makes this crime possible. The trusting factor during this time period was much higher, as I had to keep reminding myself as I was constantly hating Sally's mother, Ella. She seems to just throw in the towel which was also very hard for me to imagine but again, times have changed that make our society more urgent and able to track information down quickly. I actually feel that had Sally been kidnapped today, her survival factor would have been diminished as her kidnapper would have been tracked easily which may have resulted in using her for a short period of time, killing her, and finding a new hostage. When reading, please keep in mind these time period differences. Sally's naive nature is also more likely a result of the time period. I think I would have been a much different 11 year old to kidnap and would have been much more clever in an escape long before and also much less naive in believing what was happening but our culture of kids grow up much faster in our day in age so this may just be a facet of the time.
I felt for Susan the entire time of course but so many happenings that would have put this tragedy to an end long before two years made me so much sadder. I kept hoping that she would be found even though I knew she was not going to be yet.
This is not an enjoyable book in the sense of liking what you read but definitely one worth reading. My lower rating is partially because I would have liked some more character depth. I understand this is based on a true story but gaining more insight into the monster himself, or even more of Susan's hatred towards Ella would have made this an easier 4 because these vague portions of the book left me wanting more for me to understand.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, St. Martin's Press, for giving me a copy in exchange for my honest review!

Wow.....really really sad. Heart rending. Of course the true story of a young girl kidnapped by a sociopathic pedophile could not be anything but deeply affecting. I suggest sandwiching this one between two very lighthearted books.
In spite of the terrible events, I kept reading on, engrossed, wanting to find out what would happen to the girl in the end. The end, as is so true of real life, is unpredictable and shocking.
What has stuck with me since finishing this book is a new appreciation of the mindset and vulnerability of children. How do you parents bear to let your kids out of your sight?! This might be a cautionary tale for some parents, but it might scare the heck out of parents already aware of such dangers. I was quite surprised at how easily duped a preteen could be at the time, but maybe today’s kids are more savvy and wary. I hope so.
Recommended for adults only of course.

Note: I received an advance copy of the ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Rust & Stardust is based on the 1948 kidnapping of 11-year-old Florence “Sally” Horner, a crime that would go on to inspire the Vladimir Nabokov classic Lolita. Despite being pulled straight from history, Greenwood’s novel is less a true crime story and more historical fiction, exploring the horrors that Sally was most likely forced to endure during her 21-month ordeal, and the ramifications it had on the people in her life. This heartbreaking and beautifully written novel deserves every single star (and then some).

In a week's time, I read this book, THE REAL LOLITA and LOLITA. The combination of which was incredible as a reader. I got a fictionalized retelling of Sally Horner, a true crime nonfiction of Sally Horner's abduction and connection to LOLITA and then the actual book that started it all. If someone is looking for an immersing reading experience, I recommend this method as well.

RUST & STARDUST is the kind of book I love (strange, I know). Dark and twisty with a heroine you just want to wrap in a blanket. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

4 /5

This is an incredible story based upon a true life crime. Absolutely mesmerizing account that won't let you put the book down. The characters are so complex and chilling that you remember them long after the story has ended.

It dragged on at times and was painful to read at others, but overall it was a beautiful book. The only thing I’d want different would be for the author to expand more on the research done during writing. We’re interviews of people involved conducted? And so on. But the story was intriguing and hard to put down. Would definitely recommend.

This was an excellent read on the case that inspired Lolita. All I knew was the basics of the case from when I took my courses on 20th century literature, and this really filled in blanks.

Rust & Stardust A Novel by T. Greenwood has kept me up way past my bed time considering I work tomorrow. St Martin press you have put out some great books this summer by some amazing people so thank you for that. This has to be one of the most gripping true crime novels I have read this year so again thank you. Rust & Stardust... where do I begin? Oh my gosh 5 huge gut wrenching and beautiful stars!! You will cry and it will be those leave me alone ugly cries that not many books are able to bring out of me. The only thing I didn’t like about this book is that it is over. I have to say this is the first book I have read by this author but it will not be the last. Now on to the story. Greenwood tells a disturbing and heart-breaking story of Sally Horner and her abductor Frank LaSalle. The novels starts off in 1948 with Sally stealing a notebook from Woolworth's in order to impress her friends. Sally is approached by a man outside the store, claiming to be an FBI agent who says he is going to save Sally from prison due to her stealing.  The book is then spanned over the two years that this little girl is tormented by this monster. Across many state lines and so many people know something is wrong and do nothing or realize too late that they should do something. This book is so beautifully written that you cannot put it down. I will say that this book touches on some dark subject is not for the faint of heart. The ending is heart breaking and the chapters are told by each family member which makes you feel for cry with everyone involved. 5 stars all the way go get it NOW!

This book is a fictional account of the real life kidnapping of 11 year old Sally Horner in 1948, the crime that inspired Nabokov's Lolita. Sally was held captive by this monster for two years, during which time she faced unspeakable horrors. 

Let me start off by saying that this is not a "light" or "pretty" read in any way. As one would expect, given the premise, it is chock full of potential emotional triggers, largely abuse related. Proceed with caution and take care of your mental health. <3

That said, the author took great care in the crafting of this novel. The reader is spared any graphic detail and although I don't usually require a light touch on the darkest details, I feel that when it pertains to a child, a light touch is all I can handle. The author managed to show restraint without underplaying the tragedy of what happened to Sally. 

The writing itself was so stunningly beautiful and eloquent there aren't even words for it. There were sentences that I would read and re-read just to soak them in. It was such a unique combination of beautiful word crafting and heart-wrenching plot that I couldn't give this book anything less than 5 stars. 

"How sad it is that grief has a shelf life … It’s only fresh and raw for so long before it begins to spoil. And soon enough, it will be replaced by a newer, brighter heartache—the old one discarded and eventually forgotten." 

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.