“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 YouCamden, NJ, 1948. When 11 year-old Sally Horner steals a notebook from the local Woolworth’s, she … 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.
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Unflinching but compassionate, Greenwood deftly unravels the devastating layers of malice and carelessness that tore Sally from her family, but also the love and perseverance that eventually brought her home.
Greenwood is unmatched in her innate ability to weave lush, poetic language into a riveting story that hooks the reader from page one.
Rust & Stardust by T. Greenwood is a story about a little girl (Sally), that lifts a composition notebook from a store and is led to believe that the man who caught her was FBI and she is in serious trouble, this man is really a man that has been abducting and raping little girls and been in and out of prison for same, 2 years go by and this is Sally’s story along with her family’s story and the people that came to care and wonder/worry about her along the way. I had a hard time putting this book down, as hard as it is to read and the subject matter is hard but it is a very interesting and riveting book. Thank you Netgalley and the Publishers for allowing me to read this ARC book for giving my honest opinion. Than you also to the author:)
I am in the clear minority in my feelings for this book. I have read other books by Greenwood and loved them, but Rust & Stardust just didn’t do it for me. For starters, I really just wanted to shake some common sense into Sally. Was she really that stupid? I mean, she is 11 years old. Old enough to know that the FBI isn’t going to arrest you for stealing a notebook.
And then, all those times that Frank left her alone, in rooms, in the care of other people, she seriously didn’t tell anyone or try to call her mom and get out of that situation. I just had a hard time believing that she really didn’t think to try to save herself. I know, I know, she was scared, but even she started to suspect that something wasn’t right and still did nothing.
All in all, I was pretty bored with this book and I really couldn’t wait to get through it so I could start my next one. With that, there are buckets of 4-5 star reviews, so I would say give it a go, especially if true crime is something you enjoy.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for my copy of this book via NetGalley
I was intrigued by the story premise and description. I naively didn’t know that Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov was allegedly inspired by a true event. While I found the story disturbing and painful to read, the writing style left me wanting.
Author T. Greenwood did give Florence Sally Horner a voice, but it is a flat one. The story is told rather than painted. One cannot help but empathize with the kidnapped girl or her parents, however, my empathy didn’t come from the writing just the situation.
Rust & Stardust is told primarily from Sally Horner’s perspective, however, chapters from her family and people she has met along the way are interspersed throughout the story. Seeing how the family imploded with the loss of Sally was heartbreaking.
Overall, I was interested in the historical aspect of this story, but the writing style didn’t grab me.
Heartbreaking fictional account of a true abduction of 11 year old Sally Horner by 50 year old Frank LaSalle, a child molester. This story is referenced in the 1955 novel Lolita.
Sally wants to be friends with the popular girls, so on a dare, steals a composition book from a Woolworth. Frank is there eating, and sees what happens, and prays on Sally’s fear of getting in trouble. He kidnaps her, by posing as a friend’s father, and keeps her as his hostage for 21 months.
Story is disturbing because of the exceptional lying skills of Frank and the gullible nature of Sally’s mother and Sally herself. Monsters are all around, they were then and are now! The Franks of current are much more sophisticated. The author tells this story thru different people…Sally, Her mom, sister, and the few people who tried to help her. Author does a good job of keeping the story moving and of describing the climate of the 40s. Your heart will break for this child throughout the book.
Thanks to St Martins Press and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
What a heartbreaking story, I was totally engrossed in this one however I had so many, many interruptions and it makes me want to read it again. I felt so bad for this little girl, I mean for 5 cents look what happened to her life and such a short life. Al what guy right? Thank God for Susan and Al. This is a great free flowing book, the characters were great except for that disgusting man and the other people that let this poor girl down. It has short chapters and told from a few different views, which I liked. I liked getting everybody’s point of view and what they were feeling. Such a page turner. I mean the police should of tried harder. This was a smart little girl but so naive due to her age. I highly recommend, but be warned this book will stay with you for a long, long time.
Having been born in Camden and worked 10 years in Camden, a lot of the landmarks are familiar, it was like a walk down memory lane, just the sad kind in this book. I’m very surprised I never heard about this.
Anyhow. This book is amazing yet heartbreaking.
Thank you Good Reads and T Greenwood for this heartfelt novel.