So many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press and T. Greenwood for the opportunity to read this amazing book.  I am still reeling.

Based on the true story of a kidnapping in Camden, NJ, that was the inspiration for the novel Lolita, this is a novel centering around Sally Horton.  Sally never quite fit in with the girls from school - she was being raised by a single mother after her father left and her stepfather died by suicide.  When a group of popular girls invites her into their group if she will complete an initiation, she goes for it.  They tell her she must steal something from the local Woolworth's store.  When she walks out with a composition notebook tucked under her shirt, she is grabbed by a man who tells her he is from the FBI and she needs to come with him.

From that point on, it's just such a sad tale.  Sally will pull at your heartstrings and not let go.  Plus, all the angels along the way who saw what was happening and tried to help but never quite did - a lesson for all of us in today's world.  This also shows the effect this crime had on Sally's family - her mother who was crippled with rheumatoid arthritis, her sister and her family.

This story is told from multiple points of view and is beautifully written.  This one will stay with me.  Highly, highly recommended!

RUST & STARDUST
By T. Greenwood

Thank you to Net Galley, T Greenwood and St. Martin's for making this title available in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is a hard one for me to review because I found it so difficult to read. Perhaps because it is based on a real kidnapping in 1948 using the same name Sally Horner who was 11 years old. I don't quite understand why my stomach was dropped to the floor throughout reading the entire book. Those that know me probably are perplexed why I find this book so challenging, since I read a lot of psychological thrillers and am in the mood for a good scare. All I can think of to explain why I was white knuckled holding this while feeling a terrible sense of dread is that it really happened. I understand this is a fictional account of the story, but that didn't make it easier to read. The writing is excellent and the story flows easily so I applaud the author for painting me a very vivid picture in my mind of what was happening.

I really felt a ton of empathy for Ella, Sally's mother in this recreation. I have made the same mistake she did by allowing my youngest son to sleep over his friend's house without knowing the parents well. If my youngest son asked me if he could visit or go over a friend from school he knew I would trust the parent if I spoke to either one of them and they invited him. I felt for both Sally and her mother Ella the same agony they felt. Knowing that I was reading fiction based on factual events still horrified me.

Maybe it is the timing and I needed something lighter. I don't want to scare those folks off who want to read this. I remember reading "Lolita," five years ago which the factual case was inspired by and not feeling as squeamish. The "Lolita," character seemed more sophisticated and more mature. I was able to read "Lolita," without an ounce of feeling as horrified as I was while reading this. I don't think I have become more empathetic and more sensitive suddenly. I had to keep taking breaks with this one vs. "Lolita." I think it all comes down to me knowing I am reading a fictional accounting of a factual story that I know has happened.

Rust & Stardust is a break-your-heart novel based on a true crime, the kidnapping of Florence (Sally) Horner by Frank LaSalle in Camden, NJ in 1948. It is a dark, disturbing story told very well.

It is June of 1948. Sally wants to make friends with a group of girls who have a secret club. School is almost over, and if she can make friends, she’ll have someone to play with over the summer. The girls tell her that she can join if she passes the initiation – stealing something from the local Woolworth’s store. With the other girls waiting at the soda counter, Sally roams the store and eventually puts a composition book into her sweater. As she’s ready to leave the store, a man (Frank LaSalle) gets up from the counter, grabs her arm and takes her aside. He tells her he’s an FBI agent, and would hate to see a girl like her be placed in juvenile detention for stealing. He won’t tell the police about her crime, but will get the matter cleared up himself with her at the courtroom if she just does what he says. Sally looks around for the girls, but they have disappeared. 

Within days, Frank tells Sally that he has been told that the case must be heard in the Atlantic City courtroom. Sally is to tell her mother that a friend has invited Sally to join her family on their week vacation to Atlantic City. Her mother, Ella, is worried because she doesn’t know the family Sally is referring to, yet doesn’t want to deprive her daughter of something that she herself cannot provide to her. She agrees to meet the father. Frank cons her as well, telling Ella that his wife and daughter are already in Atlantic City, but he has asked a female co-worker going to AC as well to act as a chaperone, because it would seem improper if the two of them travelled alone. Satisfied, Ella sees Sally and Frank off on the bus.

But one week turns into two, then three, then four… Frank has Sally write Ella postcards saying what a wonderful time she’s having etc., but in reality, Frank ties Sally up and locks the room anytime he has to leave. He tells her that the court date has been postponed, that if she tries to escape, he will tell the police about the theft and she will be sent away, shaming her family.

Then the sexual assaults begin. With each new assault, Sally loses more and more of herself and soon realizes that he has no intention of letting her go. They move from place to place, for two years before LaSalle is caught and Sally is returned to her family. 

During that time, her family and several police departments are searching for her, offering a reward for information. Several people they encounter think something is amiss, but don’t step up to get involved. There are also a couple of missed opportunities when people are prepared to help her and then, due to differing circumstances, have to leave the area before they can follow through on it.

Greenwood does an excellent job of telling this story from multiple viewpoints to provide the reader with a complete view of what’s going on from multiple angles. The characters are complex and very well drawn.

This is a very good, but disturbing read. 4.5 stars.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

I got an ARC of Rust & Stardust a while ago, but I was never really in the mood to read it, so I kept postponing. But I finally started it last week and totally powered through it in 3 days.

As is my style, I knew very little about this book going in, except that it was about the true crime that inspired Nabokov’s classic, Lolita. Disclaimer: I haven’t read Lolita, so I’m not really sure what intrigued me so much about this one, but I’m glad I requested it because it was a really interesting fictional account, based on the true kidnapping of 11 year old Sally Horner.

Rust & Stardust features a series of narrators from Sally’s family and from individuals that crossed paths with Sally during her kidnapping, but it is predominantly narrated by Sally herself. I don’t often like child narrators that much, but I thought Sally’s voice in this book, and Greenwood’s style of writing, we’re perfect for this time setting and plot. Sally reads a copy of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn throughout this story (one of my personal favourite books), and I thought that the writing and narration style were very similar to Betty Smith’s classic and I thought it was such a fitting comparison to have Sally relate to Francie’s experience.

For some context, this story starts when Sally gets caught trying to shoplift a notebook by Mr. Warner, a customer in the store. However, he convinces Sally that he actually works for the FBI and that she is in big trouble for trying to steal. He essentially blackmails her into coming to Atlantic City with him so that she can clear her name before a judge and convinces her she needs to keep this shame secret from her mother and sister.

What follows is 2 years of captivity for Sally at the hands of the perverted Mr. Warner (Frank La Salle in real life). While her family is desperate to find her and slowly starts to fall apart in her absence, Sally is coming of age in extremely horrifying and abusive circumstances. Her kidnapping is pretty horrifying, but I appreciated the author for not being overly graphic in her descriptions. I thought the author totally nailed Sally’s voice. As the reader, you just want to rage at Mr. Warner, but you can also understand Sally’s confusion at the turn of events, her inner guilt and shame at what she’s done and what’s been done to her, and how her thoughts get so turned around by Mr. Warner’s constant gaslighting.

In reality, almost all of this story is fabricated, but the bones of the novel are based on true events. It is mostly unknown what actually happened between Sally and Frank La Salle during the 2 years of her captivity, but Greenwood has appropriately conveyed how evil Frank La Salle is (even if some of the events are fabricated). He was a character that made me so mad, mostly because of how he mentally abuses and gaslights Sally throughout the entirety of the book. He is so manipulative and aside from physically abusing her, he really gets inside her head and makes her question everything about her family and the world. It was so heartbreaking to watch a young girl have to come of age (something that can be traumatizing enough for an 11 year old) without her mother and sister for support.

There’s also a whole side story going on with Sally’s mother, Ella, and her sister and husband, Susan and Al. I didn’t find the side plot as compelling as Sally’s story, but it did add an interesting dimension to the story.

Mostly I just liked that I learned something new from this book, and my enjoyment was greatly aided by Sally’s voice in this novel. I thought the writing fit the time period perfectly. I felt like I had been transported to 1950 and even though I thought the writing was told in a slightly detached kind of way, it conveyed so well Sally’s horror and confusion and how a single event can compound and become unimaginably bad and seemingly insurmountable without proper emotional support.

A good (but upsetting) read, I liked this a lot more than anticipated.

A horrible story about the manipulation by a sociopath (my diagnosis) upon an 11 year old girl and her mother. While deplorable, we dutifully read on, wishing that Sally survives. While not my genre, it was a well written book that I’m glad I read. Although her other story was even more enjoyable. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Knowing that this fictional book is really based on a true event made this even more engrossing to me. I really liked this book. I think the author did a great job with the research and the writing was engaging. I wasn't expecting it to be so sad, but that could have also been my frame of mind when I was reading it. I highly recommend this book. Thank you NetGalley!

Wow. This book was definitely not easy to read. I had never heard of Sally Horner before I came across Rust and Stardust and even when I did I was hesitant. What happened to that poor girl was horrible and I'm sure I won't be able to get it out of my head for weeks.

That aside lets talk about the book itself. The writing was just excellent. Even though this is a fictional account based on the real  story, I could feel the desperation, the misery of her family left behind and her own pain through which very few glimmers of hope would occasionally shine. It was hard to believe that the novel was fiction. Kudos to the author for that.

This book, honest to goodness, will rip your heart out, stomp all over it, and tear it to shreds. But you'll keep reading because what the protagonist experiences is a whole other level of despair and pain. Greenwood does a fantastic job with this story. The truth of its brutality shines through but those flickers of hope really do actually raise your spirits, particularly if you don't know the story of Sally Horner's abduction. 

But I knew Sally's story before reading and, even though I prepared myself for it, this book crushed me on a level that I don't feel often. As a writer myself who dabbles in the darker end of fiction and a fan of true crime stories, not much gets under my skin but this book did more than that. It settled weighty on my soul. It's haunted me since I finished it yesterday as I struggled to come up with the words for this review. Of course the pacing is perfection and the prose is a delicate balance between beautiful and revolting. The experience as a reader was top-notch. 

This story is more than the things that make up a good book. Reading this book is more than an experience in fiction, it's a moment of recognition. It's a witnessing, for Sally and for the countless other girls out there even today with stories like hers. So for all the anguish I feel for Sally's story (because it is HERS, not La Salle's), I think it's a very important book and I enjoyed the reading and the lingering of it after finishing that last page. 

Note: I received a free Kindle edition of this book via NetGalley in exchange for the honest review posted above. I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher St. Martin's Press, and T. Greenwood for the opportunity to do so.

Dark, sad, and beautifully written.  This reminded me why I did not like Lolita, which is also based on the case of Sally Horner.  Greenwood has chosen to tell the story from varying perspectives and it is Sally's mom who made me ache the most.  How was LaSalle able to fool so many people?  Well, he's not the only one who has been able to do something like this. This isn't a fluffy beach book but rather one to reflect upon.  Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for a free copy of this book for my honest review. 

Although this may be a tough subject matter, this book was beautifully written. Reading the author's note at the end made me appreciate the book so much more. The fact that this was based on real people during actual timelines but filled in with fiction does not take away from the how real the story feels. You are really able to feel the pain Sally's mother was feeling and feel frustrated with all the misunderstandings during the two years Sally was gone. Not to mention the heart break you experience for Sally with all of her loss she suffered. 

I love a book with multiple view points because you can feel closer to more characters and experience so many more emotions which you will with this book. I highly recommend this book.


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2452775056

I don’t think I have had a book both destroy me and fascinate me this much in a very, very long time. I only wish I had prepared myself in advance for what I was about to read.

As soon as I read the blurb for this book, I knew it was something that I would have to read. I’m all about the darker side of life; be it taboo topics, disturbing content or graphic realism. What I did not know about this book was that it was based on true events. Not true crime in a traditional sense but a true account mixed with fiction and it was very, very well done. I think I was about halfway done with Rust & Stardust before I decided to do a quick Google search on Sally Horner. I’m not going to lie; I got very excited as soon as I realized that this was based on fact and had to force myself to step away from Wikipedia until I finished this book. You have no idea how hard that was to do but I finished the book a lot quicker than I had originally planned so bonus points for that!

I was immediately drawn in to Sally’s story. Just a lonely child who wanted to fit in and would do whatever it took to make that happen, even if it went against her better judgement. My heart really broke for her over and over again. I remembered my children at 11 and even myself. It was a tough age and I can only imagine how much tougher it would have been in a time where children were less prepared and more naïve about the dangers of the world. 

Although this book flips around between a lot of different perspectives, it’s not done in such a way that confuses the reader. In fact I think that it really brings to light the way Sally’s disappearance affected those around her and how much her presence and personality touched those she came into contact with, even during those worse times of her life. 

Even though this is a fascinating read and a very powerful story that needed to be told, it is not an easy one. Not only is the content cringe worthy at times (definite trigger warnings for violence and sexual abuse), the author has obviously put so much heart into these words that you can really feel each and every devastating page. I pride myself on my ability to read some of the most horrific details and true cases without flinching but the author still managed to break me on the inside. Well done!

For books like this I always have a hard time completing a final thought. On one hand, I feel weird saying that I enjoyed it but on the other, it was a really amazing book. Rock…me…hard place.  

I have already recommended this book to many, many people and will continue to do so. Keep in mind; this is not for those who get triggered easily by crime involving children. If you are looking for a happy book where everything ends with rainbows and fluffy kittens…keep browsing. This is REAL and if you are able to stomach that I would highly, HIGHLY recommend Rust & Stardust. 

I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book. I would also like to thank the author, T. Greenwood, for seeing a story that not a lot of people would be familiar with now and bringing it back to life. For giving Sally a new voice.

Rust & Stardust is far outside my normal reading genres because I know these stories will break my heart. While Sally's story did completely shatter me, I did thoroughly enjoy this book. I appreciated that the story was primarily told from Sally's point of view. This really allowed me to see the true horrors and depths of her pain while also showing how strong and resilient she truly was. It's incredibly difficult to illustrate the effects of sexual abuse, but I felt T. Greenwood's writing was incredibly respectful and insightful as to how victims might feel and cope with those situations. Sally was such an incredibly sweet and lovable character that I was rooting for right away. Definitely not a read for the faint of heart but absolutely a worthwhile story.

In 1948, 11 year old Sally was kidnapped by Frank, a convicted child molester, and forced to travel across the country with him for 2 horrific years. Rust & Stardust was based on the true story of the real Florence "Sally" Horner who was kidnapped from her home in Camden, New Jersey in 1948. Even though this story was dark, chilling, and heartbreaking, I do highly recommend it because it provided a much needed voice for the real life Sally and is extremely relevant for the current #MeToo movement.

This story transported me back in time to the simpler, more innocent era of the late 1940s when a trusting, naive mother and a gullible, young girl were taken advantage of by a horrible man. Unfortunately, Sally quickly learned the hard way that not everyone was kind and innocent. After successfully luring her away from her mother, he lied to her and abused her mentally, sexually, and physically while successfully evading the police and the FBI for two years. 

How could this have happened? Why was (and often still is) it more important for a girl/woman to be "good" rather than "outspoken" and "smart?" Sally tried her best to make sense of Frank's nonsensical lies, but society's treatment of girls contributed to her naivete. 

Here's what I derived from the title ... Life is a mix of rust, the bad, and stardust, the good.

Trigger Warning: Child molestation. For the most part, the acts were implied and not overly graphic in nature, but obviously, still disturbing.

I received an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Location: New Jersey (Camden and Atlantic City), Maryland (Baltimore), Texas (Dallas), and California (San Jose).

Every once in a while, you stumble upon a book that leaves a huge impact in your life, Lolita was one of those books. I remember how as a young adult, after reading the book,Lolita, I became more cautious and slightly traumatised.
I admit that at first glance of this book, I thought "how pretty!". Then I read the synopsis and I was skeptical and perhaps, a little scared? After all, one cannot help but be slightly unnerved by books related with such traumatic human cruelty.

Rust & Stardust is based on the real life kidnapping of 11 year old Sally Horner by 52 year old Frank Lasalle.  Rust & Stardust is not a biography, neither is it a true-crime story, it is rather a fictional re-telling of a story that inspired the iconic book that created an uproar, LOLITA.

If you've heard or read Lolita, you have an idea that this book is NOT a happy one.

Rust & Stardust, written by T. Greenwood is a page turner that captures the horrors faced and the strength of Sally Horner. A book that delves into the innocence, the anger, the doubt and the helplessness of a young Sally Horner.
I cried endlessly while reading this book. I hated this book to be honest, yet I loved every bit of it.  The injustice, the human cruelty broke my heart.This book makes you question the morality of humanity.  This book makes you thankful for the little acts of kindness.
This book WILL break your heart.

I read this book through the night, until the sun peaked out behind the clouds. And When I was done, I realised two things:
1: Sally's story created a ripple effect... Her life, even though short-lived, was the luminous beacon that educated us to discuss about the immoral acts of nature, Warn our loved ones about pedophiles and different acts of abuse.

2: Sally Horner, the bright shinning star, whose story is painful and tragic , will never be forgotten.

Rust & Stardust is a profound book... a true, masterfully written book.

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!

The novel Rust & Stardust by T. Greenwood—a fictionalized interpretation of the 1940s Sally Horner kidnapping case—explores the horrific repercussions of rape and abduction. Not only does it delve into the thoughts, fears and hopes of 11-year-old Sally, but also the fear, despair and culpability of the people in her life. Those she was taken from in Camden, New Jersey. Those she encountered, in cities across the United States, during her two-year ordeal under her kidnapper’s control.

Greenwood gives voice to a cast of realistic characters we hold dear, despise, pity, or who make us feel conflicted. She shows us their innermost feelings thanks to powerful, lyrical language and themes weaved skillfully throughout the novel. For instance, instead of writing graphic scenes of violence, the author instead describes the suffocating, drowning sensations felts by Sally:

“She clung to the edge of the mattress so she wouldn’t drown, the weight of him, the weight of the entire ocean on her chest, compressing her ribs, her lungs filling with the sea.”

Events and encounters feel immediate and real. The quick pace feels unstoppable. It’s hard to ignore the pull of the book. Even if you know the details the infamous, devastating Sally Horner story and how it wraps ups, it’s sure to leave your spine tingling with bright instances of shock and hope. Terror and beauty. Rust and stardust.

Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

I’d like to thank and St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for sending me an advanced reader’s copy of the novel.  Rust and Stardust will be available, in various electronic formats, on August 7. Honest thoughts are my own.

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.