Little Sally Horner just wants friends, real girl friends. So she approaches the group of gals she has her eye on, asks if she can join their group. She has to steal something from the local convenience store to join. Poor Sally gets caught snatching a composition book by a man who told her she was with the FBI and her life will never be the same again. While this book was devastating in it's own right,it just wasn't as dark and twisty as I was expecting it to be. I really liked that it was based off a true crime kidnapping and the two years she was held captive. The Multiple POV's showed you what others were going through while she was gone which didn't necessarily add to the story because you mostly just got to go through their motions of guilt for what happened.

I don’t even know what to say about this. What a heart breaking, beautifully written story that had me holding my breath most of the way through. The book was loosely based on the kidnapping of Sally Horner by a rapist in 1948 as he held her captive for 21 months and they moved across the country eluding the police. This was so disturbing, yet I couldn’t stop reading. I would highly recommend this to most people, yet not everyone might want to read a book like this because it is so disturbing and not a pleasant read. A truly deserving August LibraryReads title!

Florence Sally Horner. This is a name I will never forget. This novel is based on true events and follows through-out two horrific years. The ups and downs of Ella, Susan and Al broke my heart and I wanted to step inside this book and give them all a hug! The story, from beginning to end, pulls you in from page one and you’ll find it hard to put this one down. Thank you NetGalley.com, St. Martin’s Press and the talented T. Greenwood.

Rust & Stardust is a beautifully told, heartbreaking tale of young Sally Horner who is abducted by a sick pedophile and spends years away from her devastated family as his captive.

First off, T. Greenwood’s writing is flawless and the story is compulsively readable. The characters are so well-described and believable, as is their inner turmoil while dealing with Sally’s predicament.

Most importantly, the book is based on actual events and I feel that it is a story, though definitely fictionalized, that needs to be told in order to honor the Sally’s memory. Greenwood does this with sensitivity and intrigue.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh, this book just tugged on my heartstrings from the first page. Poor Sally Horner just wants to fit in. So, when the popular girls tell her she must steal something from Woolworths to join their club, she tries. But instead, she’s picked up by Frank LaSalle, fresh out of prison, pretending to be an FBI agent.

This book is based on the true crime that took place in 1948 and which was a possible inspiration for Nabokov’s Lolita.

The book is told from multiple perspectives. And each chapter is more plaintive than the prior one. When Vivi finally confesses to the priest and all he does is deal her penance, my heart went out to her. Or when the Catholic Church fails Sally, I actually moaned out loud. Surprisingly, Al’s chapters resonated as deeply as Sally’s. He’s so desperate to do something; incapable of sitting still.

This is a beautifully written book. “She remembered lying in bed, trying to remember his smile. But she came up blank. She concentrated hard, working on remembering one detail at a time. But the memory was like confetti in a kaleidoscope, fragments (nose, chin, grin) never to be assembled correctly again.”

Such a sad and intense book, I kept having to put the book down and give myself a few minutes to collect myself, but it’s so well done I have to highly recommend it. One of the best I’ve read in 2018.

My thanks to netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this book.

I flew through this book in one sitting. I could not stop reading - from the moment I started I was drawn into this book, and I am still amazed at how wonderfully written it was. 

I have never read Lolita and didn't even know it was inspired by Sally Horner's kidnapping, so I was going into this story blind, which I think was the best way. Right away, I loved the style of the book. I didn't find it hard to keep track of characters, and I enjoyed getting to see everyone's point-of-view. The short chapters helped me to want to race through this book because I had to see who was going to be in the next chapter and what they were doing to help Sally. 

I like the liberty that Greenwood took with this kidnapping and really made it to be something that was believable. Her writing of Sally impressed me the most because of how she wrote about difficult topics without making the reader uncomfortable or ostracized.

I'm trying to find the words for this one and they're just not there. This book is THAT good. I'm sitting here staring at the cover with the pin and the red ribbon, and trying to figure out how to put into words the love I have for a story so tragic. I found myself holding my breath through almost the whole thing. To say it had all the feels, is overly underestimating. The feels are overflowing and I might not have any feels left!

Rust & Stardust is based on a true story. The story of 11 year old Sally Horner, who was kidnapped from Camden, NJ in 1948 by an insanely disgusting man named Frank LaSalle, a convicted rapist and child molester. The book is not 100% true, but T. Greenwood weaves a tale by filling in some characters and plotlines, and imagines the thoughts that went though Sally's mind as Frank both physically and mentally assaults her while dragging her across the country over 2 years.

Sally's story is heartbreaking, and she is the the most curious, innocent, naive little girl. You root for her to find strength, to build courage, to finally get home. She is fortunate enough to meet some beautifully caring people on her journey who make her life a little bit bearable, and the way Sally touches so many lives along the way is inspiring. We not only follow Sally and some of the people she meets along the way, but also how the tragedy affects her family, including her grieving and widowed mother, who has lost so very much already.

And side note - it is said that Vladimir Nabokov's bestselling novel, Lolita, was drawn on the details of Sally's story as well as several other similar cases. They call her "The Real Lolita." It is also said that Sally Horner's ordeal was much worse ... so it's hardly an accurate homage, but both saddening and maddening the same.

I didn't know much about Sally's story going into this book. I prefer reading things this way and was SHOCKED at the end. This beautifully written story is definitely a sad read, but it's also uplifting to see how many lives Sally touched. Sally just comes alive across the pages and is intensely adorable. T. Greenwood has impressively crafted the homage that Sally deserves. I cannot recommend this book enough. It's worth all the loss of feels and all the loss of breath.

This is the story of 11 year old Sally Horner who was abducted in 1948 by a known rapist and child kidnapper, Frank LaPlante. Although it’s “based on a true story” it felt very real. It was very believable on how this poor child believed her abductor’s lies right from the start. I was grateful that it was not a graphic novel as I wouldn’t have been able to bear reading it. But, it did make me feel the need to reiterate to my own children about strangers and to never go off with anyone no matter what they say. This was very well worth the time reading it. Luckily, Sally had come across people who looked after her although I wished they would have fought harder for her. Just a tragic story that makes me feel sad but felt it was important to read as terrible things happen to good people. Thank you Netgalley for allowing me an ARC in exchange of my honest review.

I was first drawn to Rust & Stardust by both the title and cover. Both are certainly unique and intriguing. The dark, disturbing, fictional story is based on the real life kidnapping and abuse of a young girl by an ex-con in New Jersey in 1948. The pain and suffering this girl and family endured for almost two years at the hands of a monster is completely unimaginable and utterly heart-breaking. At that time, parents and children still felt safe in their unlocked homes as children often played outside, rode bikes, and traveled about unsupervised. Sadly, their sense of security was shattered when every parents' worst nightmare became a reality for the Horner family.

Sally Horner just wanted to "fit in" with her peers when she acted on a dare to steal a notebook from a Woolworth's store. She had no way of knowing that a man who confronted her claiming to be a FBI agent was actually a sexual predator. Threatening eleven year old Sally with jail time, fifty-two year old Frank LaSalle kidnapped her, stealing her innocence while repeatedly mentally and physically abusing her as they crossed the country traveling as "father/daughter" - always one step ahead of the law and curious strangers. Sally's fear, along with LaSalle's continuous threats, kept her mum and in line. Through her point of view (and that of family and friends), readers gain a sense of the horrendous pain, suffering, doubts and despair that Sally and her family endured. And yet, there was always a tiny spark of hope.

To say Sally's story touched me would be a gross understatement - it devastated me. No child or family should ever be forced to live this nightmare. Unfortunately, evil does exist and in this case, it has a name. Needless to say, this is a tragic, deeply disturbing story of lost innocence and shattered lives, but it's one that I think needed to be told, and this author did so with as much grace, care, and sensitivity as possible. Rust & Stardust is beautifully written and delivered, and I believe it pays homage to Sally Horner and her family with their remarkable strength and perseverance. While this is a fictional rendering, it's obvious Greenwood did a great deal of research in delivering a story that closely mirrors the true story. Like many other readers, after finishing this book I researched the real life story of Sally Horner's kidnapping, reading newspaper articles and looking at pictures. It certainly drove home how all too-real and tragic this story was, but I can still say, with tears streaming down my face, this is a Must Read! Well done, T. Greenwood.

Based on a real life story of 11 yr old Sally Horner. This book is well researched and it shows. Its an incredibly sad story as Sally is let down by everybody who should have been watching out for her. While she eventually gets rescued, she unfortunately dies in a motor vehicle accident while 15. She was with a man in his 20s at the time. Being kidnapped and raped scarred her for life and made her make poor decisions.

If you like true crime, you will love this book. The book/movie Lolita was based on Sally.

The infamous book Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov had an inspiration in the kidnapping of Sally Horner by a middle-aged child rapist in 1949 New Jersey. Author T. Greenwood uses this real crime to explore the story that inspired a classic. Told through the viewpoints of first the family, and then sprinkling in the various fictitious characters who interact with young Sally, the story unfolds slowly. We see the childhood taunting and bullying that begins the entire horror, the insidious mix of fear and charm that Frank LaSalle uses on his victim, and the cross-country odyssey of ugliness. Greenwood creates some quirky, creepy, and heroic minor characters that flush out Sally's tragedy and shows the need for strangers to care about other humans. It was a bit of a slow burn for me, even considering putting book down about 20% in, but ultimately the story gripped me, voraciously reading the last half, wishing so desperately for an elusive happy ending. The author uses the true-crime to tell a suspenseful, tragic, and fascinating story.

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

As a feminist and an English major, I have always been horrified by the cultural misunderstanding of Lolita as a seductive teenage sexpot, and I am glad to see someone try to tell the story in a more linear fashion. Not that Nabokov version isn’t wonderful, but it doesn’t seem like our culture is ready for that level of reading comprehension. This book isn't Nabokov, but it’s good, and it really brings home the fact that this is a young girl who is being abused and tortured. Can definitely be triggering so read with caution

Interesting read. I had read Lolita over thirty years ago and was captivated by the fictionalized "real life" Lolita's perspective. I have since gone back to re-read Nabokov's work again with fresh eyes.

Genre: Historical Crime Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pub. Date: Aug. 7, 2018

Mini-Review

“And the rest is rust and stardust.”—Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov.

In the summer of 1948, a real-life 11-year-old girl named Sally Horner was kidnapped by a child molester in Camden, NJ. At the time Vladimir Nabokov was working on his famous novel and struggling. He supposedly was about to burn the manuscript when his wife showed him the newspaper saying: “I found her. Volodya, stop! I found Lo.” This is the fictional account of the girl who inspired the famous novel “Lolita” (which Nabokov called his ticking time bomb,) as well as Sarah Weinman’s true crime essay and soon to be released, “The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel that Scandalized the World.” It appears that soon “Rust and Stardust” will have sales competition. If you have read the famous book or seen the movie, Lo appears to be a child temptress. Sally Horner was not. As the book rightly shows, Sally’s misfortune began after she stole a composition notebook from a Woolworths (remember them?) The kidnapper witnessed the minor theft and pretended to be an FBI agent taking her to jail. Her young gullible mind fell for it and she spent the next five years traveling around with her kidnapper, who posed as her stepfather. This book should break your heart. Unfortunately, the author, T. Greenwood, has written a novel filled with way too much detail, reading almost like a newspaper itself. I was impressed by her end-notes, but not her style of writing.




Goodreads:
Leave Me Alone I am Reading & Reviewing:
Twitter: Martie's Book Reviews:

This incredible book. Loved this book, even when I was not reading it I kept thinking about it and couldn’t wait to pick it up again and I finished it in a day. Would definitely recommend to others and can’t wait to read another by Greenwood.

One of the best I've read this year.

Heartbreaking & beautifully written true life story of the kidnapping of Sally Horner - captivating from the first chapter

Even as I write this, i have goose bumps from this disturbing chilling story. Based on the real case of 11 years old Sally Horner whose abduction from a Woolworth store by a man claiming to be from FBI, set into motion a two year hunt to find her. She thought she was being arrested by daring to steal a notebook but her naiveté and trusting manner put her in a very compromising position. Fearful for her life and for her family's life, she traveled the country in silence with this sexual predator until finally he was found and brought to court.Greenwood's characters felt very real,human and appropriate to the situation.Indeed,this book's fictionalization of Sally's life in real time became the stimulus for Nabokov's Lolita. This is a book that will tear you heart apart but also enforce the need to reach out when our guts tell us something is wrong; A valuable lesson at many levels in this day and age.

Rust & Stardust
T. Greenwood

A gripping and heart-breaking novel of a 1948 kidnapping of a 11 year-old girl from New Jersery and her haunting two-year odyssey

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY
Sally just wanted a friend. In order to be a part of a group of girls at school, 11-year-old Sally Horner is forced to steal a notebook from the local Woolworth’s in Camden, New Jersey. She doesn’t know that 52 year-old Frank LaSalle, fresh out of prison, is watching her, preparing to make his move. Accosting her, Frank convinces Sally that he is an FBI agent who will have her arrested unless she does exactly what he says. RUST & STARDUST 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.

The novel is based on the experiences of a real life kidnapping victim Sally Horner and her captor, whose story shocks the nation in 1948 and inspired Vladimir Nabokov to write his controversial and iconic Lolita.


REVIEW
RUST & STARDUST is haunting tale that every parent fears. It will shake you to your core to read this story from Sally’s perspective. T. GREENWOOD’s writing is phenomenal, presenting this horrific story in a beautiful and delicate way. You can’t help but fall in love with this naive, but brave little girl and your heart breaks for her everyday she is under the conniving spell of Frank LaSalle.

You become deeply invested in every character of this book. You want someone to do something. You feel the intense pain, struggle and embarrassment that Ella, Sally’s mother feels. You cheer when Al, Sally’s brother-in-law goes to Baltimore and knocks on doors, and you even laugh when Sally meets Lena, a circus performer in Dallas for the first time. My favorite character was the hairdresser, Ruth, who cuts Sally’s hair and was the first person in Sally’s journey to show her any care or motherly love. The story is robust, full of well-developed characters, and riveting dialog.

The title Rust & Stardust comes from a famous line in Lolita, and the words are independently masterfully woven into the story. This emotionally profound and eloquent novel is one of my favorite reads in 2018 and will not soon be forgotten.

This is the first T. GREENWOOD book I’ve read, and I am so looking forward to reading more of her work. I have already purchased The Golden Hour(2017). Greenwood is the author of twelve novels. She has won three San Diego book awards and she teaches creative writing for San Diego’s Writer’s Ink and online for The Writer’s Center. She and her husband and two daughters live in San Diego, California.

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Publisher St. Martin’s Press
Published August 7, 2018
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

Gritty literary fiction set in the 1950s. I had a hard time connecting to the characters initially but felt that as the story progressed, the writer found her voice. The latter half of the book felt stronger and the story gelled. 3.5 stars.

I really enjoyed this book but I feel like the ending kind of ruined it for me. I feel like the author was trying to be overly dramatic for the sake of being overly dramatic. Overall it was a great read I just wish the ending held up to the rest of the book!