T. Greenwood

“Greenwood’s glowing dark ruby of a novel brilliantly transforms the true crime story that inspired Nabokov’s Lolita. Shatteringly original and eloquently written....So ferociously suspenseful, I found myself holding my breath.” —Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You 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.

A Novel

Rust & Stardust

Sonja H

Hannah Derzanovich

Dark and horrible, but written so compellingly!

Ruth Parker 

This book destroyed me. I have no idea what to write in this review. It was a hard read, but beautiful and moving and horrifying and all at the same time. So well written. Perfect.

Jolie

As I stated in another review, I do not like historical fiction. It bores me. It takes a well-written book in that genre to captivate me. That is exactly what Rust & Stardust did. Captivated me. I couldn't put this book down. I had to read what was going to happen to Sally. I needed to know if she was ever reunited with her mother. I needed to know what was going to happen to Frank.

What I wasn't expecting, when I started reading this book, was the connection it had to Lolita. The author explains it in the author's note at the end of the book. That was something that made me go "Hmmmm" when I read it. Without this awful kidnapping, that book wouldn't have happened. It would have been burned.

The plot of Rust & Stardust was rather easy to follow. Sally was caught stealing a notebook from Woolworth's as part of a dare from a group of girls she wanted to be friends with. Frank sees her, tells her that he is with the FBI and she will go to jail if she doesn't do what he says. Within the next few days, Sally is on a train to Atlantic City with Frank. She convinced her mother that Frank was her friend's father and he was taken her to the shore to meet up with her. When Sally isn't home by the time Frank said she would be, Sally's mother becomes concerned. Then frightened when the police tell her that Frank is a bad man (read the book to find out how bad). Sally is moved across the country. She is beaten and raped. She is under Frank's control. Until she meets Ruth. But can Ruth help Sally escape Frank? Will Sally go home?

Rust & Stardust was told from 12 different POV's. Yes, 12 different POV's. I usually can't handle more than 2 before I start getting confused. But, in this case, it worked. I was able to go between POV's fine and wasn't lost. What I didn't like is that some POV's were only once. Then they were dropped from the story. But those POV's added more insight to what Sally was going through in the book.

I felt awful for Sally during the book. She went through hell with Frank. I wish that she had been rescued earlier in the book but it wouldn't have matched up with real-life events. She did have an inner strength that was showcased throughout the book. No matter what Frank did to her, she was able to keep a small bit of what she used to be alive.

I could not believe that Sally's mother went with her to the bus terminal and let her get on the bus with Frank. I know that the world was different back then. There was no stranger danger. People like Frank existed but were never given much thought. Still, as a mother of a 12-year-old, I couldn't believe that she didn't pick up that something was wrong. That Sally didn't want to go with him. I also thought the way she treated Sally after she came home was awful. I had zero sympathy for her.

The author did a great job of covering the abuse scenes. She gave enough detail at what was happening but didn't get graphic. The rape scenes were tastefully written. Still shocking and left me in tears but tastefully written.

I was not expecting what happened at the end of the book. I truly wasn't. It threw me for a loop. In the last scene (not with Ruth but before that), I was praying that what happened was to someone else. I put my Kindle down and cried when I realized who it was. Very sad. 

What I like about Rust & Stardust:
A) Captivating story

B) The tie to Lolita (which I didn't know)

C) Sally's strength

What I disliked about Rust & Stardust:

A) Frank. 

B) Sally's mother. I had no sympathy for her

C) The end of the book.

I would give Rust & Stardust an Adult rating. There is sex but it is not graphic. There is mild violence. There is mild language. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read Rust & Stardust.

There are trigger warnings for Rust & Stardust. They are kidnapping, sexual abuse, physical abuse. If you are triggered by any of these, I suggest not to read the book.

I would reread Rust & Stardust. I would also recommend this book to family and friends.

I would like to thank St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Rust & Stardust.

All opinions stated in this review of Rust & Stardust are mine.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

Nico J

This has so many rave reviews, and maybe it's my mood, something just didn't fit together for me, or I'm not in the headspace for a more fictionalized account, but the chords this was supposed to hit didn't, and those keys weren't plunked. I know very little of the historical account of this kidnapping and have no problem with non-fiction; in fact, it's my preference, and maybe that was the issue I was having while reading. Is it soulless to say that there were parts of this that dragged? We know at some point, they're caught, but it definitely lulled in the middle to examine how the people around her in life were effected by the loss. Everything was just suggested and it's like you drag your fingertips over it but never can wind your fingers in it completely, and then it flits away like a moth. Perhaps that's why it didn't emotionally meld with me the way I was expecting, for such a harrowing situation. Maybe I'm lacking historical-period context. 

There's zero insight into Frank except that, well, he's creepy and deranged. Perhaps this isn't the focus of this book and I'm expecting something that wasn't promised at any point, but with all of the perspectives, that's the one we lack. While the chapters about her mother were nuanced, it was extremely difficult to empathize with her. To be fair, her thoughts are partly of a reflection of her time and the religious and small-town culture that pervades the entire story, revealed in small snippets of dialogue and occasionally the appalling thought processes of blame.

There's no problem with showing more than telling, but even those wisps of horror don't move me enough to believe and create a connection with the characters throughout. Near the very end, where the final tragedy is described, the small parts about Al feeling blessed are just painfully cliched and out of place, feeling optimistic and slightly unbelievable in the face of how cruel the whole thing is. Something personal shifted inside while reading the parts with Al admonishing Susan about her mother, about how she treated her. Maybe it comes from having certain substance abuse issues in the family, so I'm familiar with how the selfishness of these diseases are consuming and how they harm others in the family who try to deal with it and help. Ella had issues as well and took them out on children - you don't have to be aggressive or pointed with your behavior to effect your children. Summarily, it was average and didn't meet the expectations I had.

Rust & Stardust A Novel

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