Rust & Stardust by T. Greenwood

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.

Rust & Stardust A Novel by T. Greenwood has kept me up way past my bed time considering I work tomorrow. St Martin press you have put out some great books this summer by some amazing people so thank you for that. This has to be one of the most gripping true crime novels I have read this year so again thank you. Rust & Stardust... where do I begin? Oh my gosh 5 huge gut wrenching and beautiful stars!! You will cry and it will be those leave me alone ugly cries that not many books are able to bring out of me. The only thing I didn't like about this book is that it is over. I have to say this is the first book I have read by this author but it will not be the last. Now on to the story. Greenwood tells a disturbing and heart-breaking story of Sally Horner and her abductor Frank LaSalle. The novels starts off in 1948 with Sally stealing a notebook from Woolworth's in order to impress her friends. Sally is approached by a man outside the store, claiming to be an FBI agent who says he is going to save Sally from prison due to her stealing. The book is then spanned over the two years that this little girl is tormented by this monster. Across many state lines and so many people know something is wrong and do nothing or realize too late that they should do something. This book is so beautifully written that you cannot put it down. I will say that this book touches on some dark subject is not for the faint of heart. The ending is heart breaking and the chapters are told by each family member which makes you feel for cry with everyone involved. 5 stars all the way go get it NOW!

Rust & Stardust is a fictional portrayal of the 1948 kidnapping of Sally Horner, the event that inspired Nabokov's infamous novel Lolita. Sally attempts to shoplift a notebook from Woolworth's to join the “secret sisterhood” of some girls in her class, but she is caught by an older man claiming to be an FBI agent. 11-year-old Sally has no idea the man (Frank LaSalle) is actually a sexual predator recently released from prison, and she obeys his command to go away with him to avoid being sent to jail. For the next two years, Frank drags Sally across the country as her family works with law enforcement to find her.
T. Greenwood brings the story of this harrowing crime to life with attention to historical accuracy as well as imaginative fictional characters to fill in some of the blanks. While of course the story is disturbing and hard to read at times due to the nature of the crime, the care shown to Sally by people she encounters along her journey helps to restore the reader's faith in humanity. Rust & Stardust is a powerful and heartbreaking illustration of the impact one event and one person can have on so many lives.

This review can also be found on my blog.

3.5 ⭐️
cw: kidnapping, rape, CSA, abuse, suicide
disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for review consideration. All of the opinions presented below are my own.

It's a shame I read this one so soon after Eden, because the two handle similar subjects in such different ways and I think Rust & Stardust ended up killed by comparison. Whereas Eden handles mainly the aftermath of a kidnapping, including the lifelong implications of trauma, Rust & Stardust follows the kidnapping itself and examines how it impacts everyone in the main character's social circles. Where Eden is entirely fictional, Rust & Stardust is loosely based on a true story, something I actually didn't realize until the end.

The book had such a strong start that I was certain it would be a five-star read. I found Sally's naivety irritating yet realistic and thought the compounding issues in her life (her mother's chronic illness and the suicide of her step-father) brought an interesting complexity to things. I thought the story itself was compelling and was interested to see what would happen next. Unfortunately, this only lasted until somewhere around the 50% mark. What followed felt like a lot of monotony; I think I really became tired of the constant abuse. While it was interesting to see the relationships that Sally built as she and Frank traveled, I struggled to stay immersed and was waiting for the story to move on.

Gasoline, gasoline, gasoline.

I also found the ending abrupt and unsatisfying. Reading the author's comments after and finding out that this was the ending to the real-life Sally's story helped me understand that a little better, but I think things could have been fitted together in a more cohesive way. I guess that's the problem with true stories, though – they don't always make sense.

While this seems like a good read for lovers of true crime and/or historical fiction, it just didn't strike a chord for me. I'm glad to see that others have liked it, though, and think that speaks to T. Greenwood's strength as a writer. I also want to warn that it has a lot of triggering content in it, and that all of the items mentioned in the content warning are covered in pretty great detail on page.

Her arms were as long as her legs, and she used them to embrace the whole damn damaged world.