This is the story of Sally Horner, the real-life girl who the book Lolita was based on, and it's a really difficult book to read. Not necessarily due to the writing style (which I found to be half compelling and half juvenile), but due to the subject matter. Sally was kidnapped and repeatedly raped for almost 2 years. She was only 11 at the time of her kidnapping. While the book (thankfully) doesn't go into graphic detail, you're always very aware of what's happening, and the writer does a good job of making you feel Sally's anguish. The author is at her strongest when telling the story from Sally's point of view, as well as her mother and sister. I didn't care for some of the minor characters' points of view. I felt that some of them were unnecessary, but I also understand why the author wanted to include them. Overall it was a fascinatingly sad read.

Loved this book. Didn’t want it to end. Highly recommend.

Love love love. Incredible book. Fabulous book club pick too

Amazing, what a treat to read. It gets from you the very beginning. Highly recommend this book. I found the descriptions of the shoplifting part very vivid.

A harrowing re-imagining of Sally Horner’s life; one which will live on in my head for weeks to come, I believe.

Rust & Stardust is based on the real-life kidnapping of Sally Horner. The same incident also inspired Nabokov's Lolita.

After being dared by a group of friends to steal a notebook from Woolworth's, Sally is stopped by Frank LaSalle. Posing as an FBI agent, Sally is convinced to go with him for fear of arrest. The rest of the story follows them as they travel across the country for two years posing as father and daughter. Frank seems to be one step ahead of nearly everyone along the way, moving on when people begin to question too much.

This novel is disturbing and painful to read, yet it is also poignant and thoughtful. Kudos to the author for tackling the heart-breaking subject matter in an honest, yet considerate manner.

Now I need to go read Lolita...!

That was a heartbreaking, disturbing, but amazing book.It is definitely not for everyone, the book follows the story of Florence "Sally" Horner and her kidnapping by Frank Lasalle, the story that inspired Nabokov's Lolita. I am geniunely lost for words, just want to say that my heart was broken over and over during reading this book.

I had no idea that Lolita was true. This is a disturbing book and I truly felt horrible for the child and the child's family. While the book was well-written, I think it was a bit too long and could have been condensed.

This novel sheds light on the real life 1948 kid napping of Sally Horner, a sweet, innocent 11 year old girl.

Desperately wanting to fit in with a group of girls from school, Sally agrees to steal something from Woolworth’s department store. The initiation doesn’t go as planned because on her way out of the store with a notebook, Sally is apprehended by an FBI agent.

The agent tells her that he is going to take her to court and that she is lucky to have been apprehended by him because he isn’t going to send her immediately to jail. He requests that she meet him the next day, and on her way home from school her heart stops when she sees the FBI agent waiting.

He tells her she will need to go to Atlantic City for her court date and instructs Sally to lie to her mom, claiming instead she will be on holiday with a friend’s family. The ruse is ostensibly to keep her mom from finding out about her shoplifting but the truth soon reveals itself to Sally as much worse.

The man is revealed, slowly, painfully for Sally as not who he claimed to be. Not with the FBI at all, Frank is a monster who violates Sally on top of the lies made more raw by the trickery.

The book follows Sally’s discovery and journey back home to her family and digs in to the possible thought process of all involved.

Despite being familiar with the story of Lolita—from which this episode was based—the novel takes the reader several layers below. It is a heartbreaking novel about innocence lost and the strength of Sally to triumph over her captor.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s pr as for the eARC in exchange for honest review.

Rust and Stardust tells the story of a child's abduction from many points of view, including the child's point of view. The positive is that it gives voice to Sally Horton's two year ordeal. The negative, and this is huge for me, is that reading about a child's abduction by a sexual predator is an awful topic. I have to admit, though, that Rust and Stardust made me think. I have been thinking about all the times people thought something wasn't quite right with Sally and her 'father's relationship, yet they hesitated to interfere. Is that reflective of the time? Would people be more likely to intervene on Sally's behalf today?

What a gorgeous novel. I don't know if I was prepared for it. Sally Horner's story was one I was familiar with only in passing--I'd read Lolita, I'd heard the name and of her kidnapping. T. Greenwood gets into the head of Sally Horner and gives her breath. I couldn't put it down, even when I wanted to, knowing it was going to break my heart.

Greenwood's prose is gorgeous, as is her pacing and characterization. Even though this is Sally's story, there are others who help tell it, and I love the cast that she introduces (some based on real life, others imagined). Sally's family feels real, as do their joys, their sorrows, and their reactions.

I can't recommend this book enough. This was my first T. Greenwood novel, but it won't be the last.

I received a copy of Rust & Stardust #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book was truly heartbreaking, and more so because it was based on a true story, the real-life kidnapping of 11-year-old Sally Horner, and her kidnapper in 1948 in Camden, NJ. Like passing an accident, you want to look but at the same time you don't. The hope that everything will turn out ok is what motivated me to keep reading. I won't reveal the ending so as not to spoil it for others. This is an intense book, not something you would typically read on the beach on a vacation, as you will experience many difficult emotions while reading it, yet I highly recommend it.

Wow! What a heartbreaking read! Greenwood does a great job of delving in to what it must have been like to have a missing child in 1948. The use of various POV helps the reader to see all sides of the story.

This review may contain mild spoilers. If you don't want any hints, skip this review.

here's the thing about tragic endings: they need to be done really, really well for me to like them. if they are done well, then they can be one of my favourite sort. but when they aren't? it just feels like the author is trying to make it more Literary by making it tragic, because happy endings are often associated with genre fiction and so to prove that they are Not Like Those Other Books they make the ending tragic.

this is a sad and harrowing book. it is supposed to be. it is about an eleven year old girl who is kidnapped and abused by a child molester; of course it is going to be heartbreaking. it was very well-written, and although the pace lagged a little in some areas, overall i think it was pretty good.

but i just want to know what the point of that ending was. to have happiness nearly in reach, but then cut short. what was the author trying to say? that even though you think the worst is past, life will find a way to make tragedy even in the most unexpected and ironic of circumstances?

because i can't be bothered with that narrative anymore. i can't be bothered with that sort of pessimism. i live with that pessimism, that fear every day. people don't need reminders that life is terrible.

this was good, but it could have been more. i believe it should have had a happy ending. i'm not just saying that because i prefer them; like i said, i think sad endings can be done well. but here, it just left the whole book feeling like ash; made me think - well, what the hell was the point of all of that?

but this is a very personal opinion. this is the sort of book to evoke very personal, very subjective feelings. it's the sort of book you should read if you think it would be interesting, but not to look too hard at the reviews. it's a little like poetry in that sense.

Rust and Stardust by T. Greenwood is one of the most gut-wrenching novels I have read in a long time. It is the based on the true story of Sally Horner, the 11-year-old kidnapping victim whose abduction in 1948 also inspired Nabokov's Lolita. On a dare, Sally attempted to steal a notebook from a Woolworths when she was stopped by a man claiming to be an FBI agent. He was actually an ex-con named Frank LaSalle, fresh out of prison. He says he’ll arrest her unless she does what he says. She believes him. What follows is two years of confusion and anguish for Sally, as she and Frank move all around America, just beyond the grasp of the authorities. This is not a book for the faint of heart, but I loved it. The writing perfectly captures the era, it’s so suspenseful, and it is filled with characters who are interesting and complex. It’s tragic and very affecting, definitely a book that will make you FEEL. It’s out in August.

This heavily fictionalized version of the story the real life Lolita is tragic for the whole family involved. There is very little of the facts or of the accounts of those involved but it is well-told and creates a moving tale of young Sally Horner, her family and the invented kind souls who encounter her. A quick read, and recommended for another perspective on Lolita. but not for those looking for a true crime/ non-fiction version of the events, or even one based around the facts with some creative license to fill in the gaps. .

Rust & Stardust is based on the real-life kidnapping of 11-year-old Sally Horner in 1948. Desperate to appease her friends, Horner is pressured into stealing a notebook from a local shop. At this time, she has no idea she's being watched by Frank LaSalle, who abducts her after pretending to be an FBI agent.

This story is disturbing, heart-breaking, and such a mind-blowing historical novel. It really is the kind of book parents should NOT read because it's likely to send them over the edge (or maybe make them more vigilant? who knows.) Though it was not a happy book, I still enjoyed it's historical side and would definitely recommend to my friends.

While this is technically a fiction, it is based on the true story of Sally Horner. You can get the gist of it from the book description so I won't repeat it.

I can tell you that I couldn't stop reading it. I did pause to Google Sally Horner and Frank La Salle because I needed to see what they looked like. Look them up since I don't know how to add images on here.
This is written in multiple POV's but I really only cared about Sally and the intimate thoughts and feelings of an 11 year old girl before and after her abduction. This is where it is a fiction since Sally had only shared basic information about her ordeal to the public. Most are told from this story/article: https://hazlitt.net/longreads/real-lolita. The author then took those tidbits and created a complete story to give Sally a voice of her own. I loved that! I tried not to look up what the outcome was before I finished the book, but it was really hard.

The only reason for not giving it 5 stars was because there were so many POV's. I really wasn't invested in half of them. The conclusion of their stories, I thought, were completely unnecessary.

*ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Gosh, this book is a punch to the gut. I still haven’t read Lolita, but I have seen the 60s film adaptation, and it’s one of those literary references I’m well familiar with. But I didn’t know about the story of Sally Horner until a few years ago, and have been fascinated and saddened by the little I found on her. She was kind of like the Elizabeth Smart of her day, and any story of a child enduring what either of them did is heart-wrenching to read. The author handled this story well, not giving graphic detail of Sally’s ordeal but giving enough for the reader to understand how horrible it was and how frightened she was of her captor. I loved the portrayal of all the other people affected by Sally’s kidnapping getting their perspective told. That added an element to the story as a whole that made the entirety of it more relatable. Maybe not a story for everyone, but certainly a well-done story of a resilient young woman who faced a despicable situation.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC.

This book is a fictionalized account of the kidnapping of Sally Horner in 1948 which inspired the story Lolita. Sally Horner was tricked into going with Frank LaSalle when she was just 11 years old. When Sally attempts to join in with the girls in her class by shoplifting a composition book from Woolworths, LaSalle catches her in the act and tells her he's a FBI agent. Sally believes him. What follows is harrowing journey for Sally from Camden, New Jersey to San Jose, California.

T. Greenwood is one of my favorite authors and she did not disappoint with this novel. The characters in this story all have believable voices. Sally is portrayed as naive, but yet, also smart. My daughter is currently twelve years old and I could see her in Sally. Which is also extremely frightening given the story. Sally is so vulnerable and trusting for so long with Frank. He is a monster and I know there are still monsters like him out in the world. Then the real life ending of Sally's life makes the story even more harrowing. Though the story is sad T. Greenwood makes it hard to put down.

The story of Sally Horner, the inspiration for Nabokov's book Lolita. Gripping, heart-wrenching and ultimately unputdownable.