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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
A very good book, but a disappointing ending. Absolutely loved the whole book up until the last few chapters. Not the ending I was expecting.
This was very well written but definitely not something to recommend lightly. The story is based on true life events surround Sally Horner. It’s a dark story but also a fascinating one given the 1940s setting and the way in which the story unfolded. I liked how we got to see the story from so many different characters and angles. It’s so heartbreaking and yet so compelling that I just couldn’t step away from Sally and her ordeal.
A harrowing take on what happened to Sally Horner those two years she was abducted and the couple of years following. A heart breaking rendering...and very well written. The story is compelling and completely gripping due to the variation of viewpoint as well as the level of detail involved in the storyline. It really made me appreciate my own life and understand how lucky I am and how dangerous the world can be for some. I will never understand how some people come to be like La Salle. This is an extremely sad story and is not for the weak of heart to read..
I had high hopes. While the book was good, it didn’t meet my expectations! Important and terrifying moments that happened to sally in real life could’ve been explored in the book and I think that’s why I docked it down a few stars. Good and heartbreaking read though!
“….and the rest is rust and stardust”
Rust & Stardust is a heart breaking true story of a real life Lolita. I got this copy from NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press in exchange of an honest review.
Every parents’ worst nightmare is losing his/her baby. And knowing she is being damaged beyond repair physically and mentally while you failed to protect her? I think it’s beyond our imagination what that parent goes through..
This story is a story of a real life “Lolita“, Sally. Sally was taken away from her mother when she was just a 11 year old little girl. It’s a story of a lost girl, forced into her womanhood in the worse way possible. It’s a story of a mother who failed her little girl over and over again. It’s a story of a brother-in-law who fought for her sister-in-law when no one else did, not even her own sister!!
I was so hesitant starting this book, due to the fact that its a real life story of a little kid being raped, repeatedly. Pedophilia always triggers some memories that I prefer to be left alone. Still I wanted to know what actually happened to Sally, I wanted to know her story, so I picked it up..
The book is narrated from different POV’s. You get to know about the thoughts of her, her mother, her sister, people she came across during those horrifying days. You get to learn their hopes.. and fears.. Desperations.. and frustrations. I wanted to hug that child tight every time she blamed herself, I wanted stroke her hair and tell her its not her fault that the world is a cruel place. I wanted to shake Ella, I wanted to argue with her, I wanted to force her to fight a little more, for her little girl!! I wanted to shout at everyone who was around Sally those years to make them really SEE!! It anguished me to see that so many people turned a blind eye while this little girls face practically screamed, save me!! The only one who really fought for her was AL and RUTH. And I really adored them both!
I hoped for a happy ending for that child’s sake, but I knew life ain’t a fairy tale. I cried for an hour after finishing the book.
Beautiful narration, heart breaking story…
Rust & Stardust is a heart breaking true story of a real life Lolita. I got this copy from NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press in exchange of an honest review.
Every parents’ worst nightmare is losing his/her baby. And knowing she is being damaged beyond repair physically and mentally while you failed to protect her? I think it’s beyond our imagination what that parent goes through..
This story is a story of a real life “Lolita“, Sally. Sally was taken away from her mother when she was just a 11 year old little girl. It’s a story of a lost girl, forced into her womanhood in the worse way possible. It’s a story of a mother who failed her little girl over and over again. It’s a story of a brother-in-law who fought for her sister-in-law when no one else did, not even her own sister!!
I was so hesitant starting this book, due to the fact that its a real life story of a little kid being raped, repeatedly. Pedophilia always triggers some memories that I prefer to be left alone. Still I wanted to know what actually happened to Sally, I wanted to know her story, so I picked it up..
The book is narrated from different POV’s. You get to know about the thoughts of her, her mother, her sister, people she came across during those horrifying days. You get to learn their hopes.. and fears.. Desperations.. and frustrations. I wanted to hug that child tight every time she blamed herself, I wanted stroke her hair and tell her its not her fault that the world is a cruel place. I wanted to shake Ella, I wanted to argue with her, I wanted to force her to fight a little more, for her little girl!! I wanted to shout at everyone who was around Sally those years to make them really SEE!! It anguished me to see that so many people turned a blind eye while this little girls face practically screamed, save me!! The only one who really fought for her was AL and RUTH. And I really adored them both!
I hoped for a happy ending for that child’s sake, but I knew life ain’t a fairy tale. I cried for an hour after finishing the book.
Beautiful narration, heart breaking story…
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.
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.
Childhood abduction is never exactly a pleasant topic, but this book was enjoyable with memorable characters and a story that pulled you from page to page all the way through. The title, Rust and Stardust, is a homage to Nabokov’s Lolita where the quote, “All the rest is rust and startdust,” resides. This is fitting as this novel is a fictionalized tale based on the true story of the abduction of Sally Horner in 1948, which is said to be the basis of Nabokov’s Lolita, fitting right? I am a fan of Lolita, it’s a classic, and this book does the story justice and partners nicely with it.
The tone and pacing of this book is what really sets it apart, sure it’s about a child’s abduction sick, career sexual criminal, but what it’s really about is the internal dialog and state of mind of a dozen different characters. Each chapter is told from a particular characters point of view, mostly this is the perspective of Sally, her mother, and her sister, but we also get chapters from outside observers to the main characters, which gives this novel a lot of different perspectives. I particularly enjoy the characters of the nun and of Lena the circus performer as they really start to see something is wrong, but just can’t put it all together. The key to this novel is of course, Sally. We see her mature emotionally throughout and rise and fall with her mental triumphs and physical defeats. Child abduction and abuse is gritty, distasteful and hard to read, but our author does a wonderful job of telling this story in a hard to read, but even harder to put down novel.
The tone and pacing of this book is what really sets it apart, sure it’s about a child’s abduction sick, career sexual criminal, but what it’s really about is the internal dialog and state of mind of a dozen different characters. Each chapter is told from a particular characters point of view, mostly this is the perspective of Sally, her mother, and her sister, but we also get chapters from outside observers to the main characters, which gives this novel a lot of different perspectives. I particularly enjoy the characters of the nun and of Lena the circus performer as they really start to see something is wrong, but just can’t put it all together. The key to this novel is of course, Sally. We see her mature emotionally throughout and rise and fall with her mental triumphs and physical defeats. Child abduction and abuse is gritty, distasteful and hard to read, but our author does a wonderful job of telling this story in a hard to read, but even harder to put down novel.
You can never go wrong with a T. Greenwood novel. This, as usual, is gorgeous and heart-wrenching, full of fully-realized characters with whom to empathize. The tension created in this story is outstanding and will keep the pages turning. I knew it was a fictionalized account of the kidnapping that inspired Nabakov's LOLITA, but I didn't know much of the particulars of the case.
Tammy creates such a vivid portrayal of the late '40s/early '50s as well as the interior worlds of all of her characters. I loved the choice to show perspectives of not only Sally, her mother, and her sister, but the other women she came into contact with in the years of her abduction. (I also loved to conscious omission of Frank's POV.) Seeing so many angles provides a three-dimensional rendering of the effects this type of event has on the central characters as well as those around them; the ripples extend far. The writing is beautiful as always, and the color imagery is Tammy's strongest since UNDRESSING THE MOON. Her use of red is especially noticeable. The final chapters also resonate with the titular stardust and are, quite simply, luminous.
The subject matter may be difficult for some readers, so this won't be for everyone, but I found it to be a sensitive approach.
*Note that I received an ARC from NetGalley
Tammy creates such a vivid portrayal of the late '40s/early '50s as well as the interior worlds of all of her characters. I loved the choice to show perspectives of not only Sally, her mother, and her sister, but the other women she came into contact with in the years of her abduction. (I also loved to conscious omission of Frank's POV.) Seeing so many angles provides a three-dimensional rendering of the effects this type of event has on the central characters as well as those around them; the ripples extend far. The writing is beautiful as always, and the color imagery is Tammy's strongest since UNDRESSING THE MOON. Her use of red is especially noticeable. The final chapters also resonate with the titular stardust and are, quite simply, luminous.
The subject matter may be difficult for some readers, so this won't be for everyone, but I found it to be a sensitive approach.
*Note that I received an ARC from NetGalley