Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
I received this book as a Goodreads Giveaway. I have read Lolita and found it deeply disturbing, so learning that it was based on a true case, that I was not aware of, both saddened and intrigued me. When I won the giveaway, I felt some trepidation and put off reading the book for a bit, based on how affected I was by Nabokov's telling. While the stories are somewhat based on the same incident, there are fundamental differences that are noteworthy.
This book, Rust & Stardust, is more heartbreaking and sad and not nearly as disturbing as Lolita. In Lolita, Humbert is the narrator and it is told in first person. Being inside his head while Lolita's voice is silenced was brilliant...and creepy. Since Rust & Stardust is told in third person and from multiple POVs, the reader is more of a remote observer who is allowed a certain amount of separation from the atrocities that are being committed by Frank. It doesn't entirely mitigate the disturbing aspects of the story, but it does make it an easier, less personal, read, which may or may not appeal to more people.
Overall, I think both books are worth reading and would recommend them both. For me, Lolita is the more powerful telling, but Rust & Stardust is a more complete telling that definitely plays on emotions and focuses more on the true story of Sally Horner, which is important.
This book, Rust & Stardust, is more heartbreaking and sad and not nearly as disturbing as Lolita. In Lolita, Humbert is the narrator and it is told in first person. Being inside his head while Lolita's voice is silenced was brilliant...and creepy. Since Rust & Stardust is told in third person and from multiple POVs, the reader is more of a remote observer who is allowed a certain amount of separation from the atrocities that are being committed by Frank. It doesn't entirely mitigate the disturbing aspects of the story, but it does make it an easier, less personal, read, which may or may not appeal to more people.
Overall, I think both books are worth reading and would recommend them both. For me, Lolita is the more powerful telling, but Rust & Stardust is a more complete telling that definitely plays on emotions and focuses more on the true story of Sally Horner, which is important.
Heartbreaking, poignant and based on a true story.
The kidnapping of Sally Horner and her subsequent ordeal at the hands of Frank LaSalle were the basis for Lolita. Unlike Lolita this resonates with a powerful heart wrenching truth.
The kidnapping of Sally Horner and her subsequent ordeal at the hands of Frank LaSalle were the basis for Lolita. Unlike Lolita this resonates with a powerful heart wrenching truth.
"She believed that if she did what she was told that he'd eventually let her go home. He couldn't keep her forever."
This book is why there are trigger warnings.
The title and cover may look like some flighty YA fantasy. It is not. Don't be fooled. This is a punch in the gut historical fiction based on a true story, the spark that ignited Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita. That alone should give you enough info to decide whether or not you can handle reading this book.
It's a fictional account of the kidnapping of 11 year-old Sally Horner in 1948 New Jersey. Each chapter is told through the prospective of one of the characters: Sally, her mother, her sister, and sometimes the women Sally encounters during her two year imprisonment by Frank La Salle across America. In the Sally chapters the reader gets insight to how a victim can fell powerless and unable to help themselves, or worse see themselves as the problem. Her fear is so evident the reader can't escape it or forget it for long. It's an underlying current, constantly there. Greenwood builds upon Sally's desperation and reinforces La Salle's control - no one will help her. Even those who want to help her don't know how.
I was born in the 80's and take for granted the programs in place to protect children. While reading this book, I wanted to yell at the characters to call CPS. That's when I looked up that Child Protective Services didn't start in the US until 1974! This story, based on a real story, took place in 1949. How were children protected from adults? The answer is they didn't have advocates like they do today.
I'd like to believe that today children Sally's age would never fall for La Salle's bullshit unless the parents purposely sheltered and controlled their children to the point where they'd believe anyone and just follow orders. But that's most likely not the case. I can only hope that as a society we're progressing towards protecting the innocent. No one should ever want to go back to a time when marginalized people were so voiceless they felt they couldn't stop something bad from happening to them.
I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Story: 4 stars
It's based on a true story, so the author didn't have much room to explore but the tension is well structured.
Character Development: 4 stars
Sally changes over her time away, and not for the better. A wounded bird is returned home to a bitter and angry mother.
Writing/Prose: 3 stars
The writing is good. Nothing amazing, but also not bad. It's very clear and to the point.
This book is why there are trigger warnings.
The title and cover may look like some flighty YA fantasy. It is not. Don't be fooled. This is a punch in the gut historical fiction based on a true story, the spark that ignited Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita. That alone should give you enough info to decide whether or not you can handle reading this book.
It's a fictional account of the kidnapping of 11 year-old Sally Horner in 1948 New Jersey. Each chapter is told through the prospective of one of the characters: Sally, her mother, her sister, and sometimes the women Sally encounters during her two year imprisonment by Frank La Salle across America. In the Sally chapters the reader gets insight to how a victim can fell powerless and unable to help themselves, or worse see themselves as the problem. Her fear is so evident the reader can't escape it or forget it for long. It's an underlying current, constantly there. Greenwood builds upon Sally's desperation and reinforces La Salle's control - no one will help her. Even those who want to help her don't know how.
I was born in the 80's and take for granted the programs in place to protect children. While reading this book, I wanted to yell at the characters to call CPS. That's when I looked up that Child Protective Services didn't start in the US until 1974! This story, based on a real story, took place in 1949. How were children protected from adults? The answer is they didn't have advocates like they do today.
I'd like to believe that today children Sally's age would never fall for La Salle's bullshit unless the parents purposely sheltered and controlled their children to the point where they'd believe anyone and just follow orders. But that's most likely not the case. I can only hope that as a society we're progressing towards protecting the innocent. No one should ever want to go back to a time when marginalized people were so voiceless they felt they couldn't stop something bad from happening to them.
I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Story: 4 stars
It's based on a true story, so the author didn't have much room to explore but the tension is well structured.
Character Development: 4 stars
Sally changes over her time away, and not for the better. A wounded bird is returned home to a bitter and angry mother.
Writing/Prose: 3 stars
The writing is good. Nothing amazing, but also not bad. It's very clear and to the point.
What a book. Really hard subject matter but beautifully written. This is the Spring Park Coffee book club book this month and like most the picks probably something I wouldn't have picked up otherwise. This book was the inspiration for Lolita and I definitely see the parallels between the two. As a parent this book is horrifying. I cannot imagine having a kidnapped child but I also can't imagine being as careless as Sally's mom in this story. I know this is a fictional account pieced together from the true events but it was so plausible and hopefully worse than what really happened because it's truly terrible what Sally Horner had to endure. This book is not for the faint of heart. It's a challenging read. Not unlike Lolita. I really enjoyed the audiobook and will definitely be checking out Greenwoods other books
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is the most horrific horror story I've ever read. Oh, it's NOT horror, you say? What else do you a call a story with a heinous monster, innocent victims and edge-of-your-seat tension causing you to desperately hang on to hope that this nightmare will soon end?
Novelist Tammy Greenwood is the master of Point of View. In this story, told from multiple characters' perspectives (but, gratefully, NOT from the monster's!), each character's point of view is clear as can be, shedding light in the corners where your hope lives. Every ray of that light is necessary to the integrity of the story and keeps you turning the page.
If you like your stories told in uncluttered prose, with clear intention and purpose on every page, this is the story for you. I could not put it down.
Novelist Tammy Greenwood is the master of Point of View. In this story, told from multiple characters' perspectives (but, gratefully, NOT from the monster's!), each character's point of view is clear as can be, shedding light in the corners where your hope lives. Every ray of that light is necessary to the integrity of the story and keeps you turning the page.
If you like your stories told in uncluttered prose, with clear intention and purpose on every page, this is the story for you. I could not put it down.
4.5 stars.
Set in 1948, Rust & Stardust by T. Greenwood is a heartrending fictionalized novel based on the real life kidnapping of Sally Horner.
After seeing a group of girls become "blood sisters", shy and friendless eleven year old Sally Horner agrees their "initiation" to their club. Despite her qualms about getting caught, Sally steals a composition notebook from Woolworth's. She is caught leaving the store by a man claiming to be an FBI agent who tells her she is under arrest. Unbeknownst to Sally, he is in actuality, a recently released ex-convict named Frank LeSalle. In an effort to spare her widowed mother, Ella, the truth about her "crime", Sally convinces her mom that Frank is taking her on a family vacation to Atlantic City with her daughter's classmate. Ella has no reason to doubt the veracity of his story and she leaves Sally with Frank at the local bus station. Thus begins Sally's harrowing ordeal at the hands of a skillful manipulator who is also a child predator.
Sally is a lonely young girl who does not want to upset or disappoint her mother after Frank catches her stealing. She naively believes everything he tells her and although she picks up on puzzling inconsistencies in his explanations, she blindly follows his instructions. When she does ask questions, Sally's punishment is swift and violent. In a desperate attempt to return home, she inadvertently sets in motion their relocation to Baltimore.
In Baltimore, Sally continues to suffer horrific abuse yet Frank inexplicably enrolls her in school. He frightens her into keeping silent about their home life and she follows his order to the letter. Sally's teacher, Sister Mary Katherine, instinctively realizes something is amiss with the young girl and she keeps a close eye on her new student. Yet when she finally decides to take action, Frank once again evades capture as he escapes with Sally and moves to Dallas, TX.
Now living in a trailer court, Sally remains firmly under Frank's control while she forms a close bond with their neighbor Ruth. Unable to have children, Ruth spends many hours with Sally. It does not take long for suspicions to arise about what is going on in the trailer next door, but will Ruth be able to save the frightened young girl?
Rust & Stardust is a truly captivating novel that deals with some very difficult subject matter. The dark and distressing storyline is relieved by genuine moments of true compassion and caring from the people whose lives are touched by Sally's plight. This intricately plotted novel is loosely based on real life events and T. Greenwood brings this long forgotten crime vibrantly and sensitively to life. I highly recommend this tragic yet fascinating re-imagining of a horrific crime.
Set in 1948, Rust & Stardust by T. Greenwood is a heartrending fictionalized novel based on the real life kidnapping of Sally Horner.
After seeing a group of girls become "blood sisters", shy and friendless eleven year old Sally Horner agrees their "initiation" to their club. Despite her qualms about getting caught, Sally steals a composition notebook from Woolworth's. She is caught leaving the store by a man claiming to be an FBI agent who tells her she is under arrest. Unbeknownst to Sally, he is in actuality, a recently released ex-convict named Frank LeSalle. In an effort to spare her widowed mother, Ella, the truth about her "crime", Sally convinces her mom that Frank is taking her on a family vacation to Atlantic City with her daughter's classmate. Ella has no reason to doubt the veracity of his story and she leaves Sally with Frank at the local bus station. Thus begins Sally's harrowing ordeal at the hands of a skillful manipulator who is also a child predator.
Sally is a lonely young girl who does not want to upset or disappoint her mother after Frank catches her stealing. She naively believes everything he tells her and although she picks up on puzzling inconsistencies in his explanations, she blindly follows his instructions. When she does ask questions, Sally's punishment is swift and violent. In a desperate attempt to return home, she inadvertently sets in motion their relocation to Baltimore.
In Baltimore, Sally continues to suffer horrific abuse yet Frank inexplicably enrolls her in school. He frightens her into keeping silent about their home life and she follows his order to the letter. Sally's teacher, Sister Mary Katherine, instinctively realizes something is amiss with the young girl and she keeps a close eye on her new student. Yet when she finally decides to take action, Frank once again evades capture as he escapes with Sally and moves to Dallas, TX.
Now living in a trailer court, Sally remains firmly under Frank's control while she forms a close bond with their neighbor Ruth. Unable to have children, Ruth spends many hours with Sally. It does not take long for suspicions to arise about what is going on in the trailer next door, but will Ruth be able to save the frightened young girl?
Rust & Stardust is a truly captivating novel that deals with some very difficult subject matter. The dark and distressing storyline is relieved by genuine moments of true compassion and caring from the people whose lives are touched by Sally's plight. This intricately plotted novel is loosely based on real life events and T. Greenwood brings this long forgotten crime vibrantly and sensitively to life. I highly recommend this tragic yet fascinating re-imagining of a horrific crime.
4.5 stars
This novel was a completely devastating, exquisitely written story that I simply could not put down. Be prepared to have your heart broken over and over again by the story of Sally Horner, the 11 year old kidnapping victim who inspired Nabokov's Lolita. I will definitely be recommending this novel as well as rereading it myself.
This novel was a completely devastating, exquisitely written story that I simply could not put down. Be prepared to have your heart broken over and over again by the story of Sally Horner, the 11 year old kidnapping victim who inspired Nabokov's Lolita. I will definitely be recommending this novel as well as rereading it myself.
challenging
dark
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Based on the real life kidnap and abuse of eleven year old Sally Horner by fifty-two year old Frank LaSalle in 1948. Apparently, this is the "true crime" story that inspired Vladimir Nabokov to write 'Lolita'.
This isn't a book that I would usually pick up and I only have it because it was a gift from my husband for my birthday last year. To start with the positives, the character of Sally was well drawn and the author managed to get into the mind of a child to make the reasons why Sally believed she needed to go away with her kidnapper feel authentic. The chapters are told from different character's perspectives, adding to the layers of the story and how adults were either complicit or unable to help Sally. The author chose not to bring the story from Frank's perspective, which I think is the right decision because I couldn't have read this book if they had.
The biggest niggle for me is the retelling of a real life story involving the abduction and prolonged period of abuse against a child. I don't usually go for "misery porn" and this book has reinforced for me that this is not my genre. The author has been very respectful of Sally's story, no issues there. It just feels wrong to be reading it as an entertainment. Perhaps if the author had taken the basic premise as an outline for their own interpretation/fictionalised take (like you see films that say at the start "based on true events") I could have taken to it more (especially if there could have been a happier ending after all the horror). It's also convinced me that I never want to read 'Lolita'!
This isn't a book that I would usually pick up and I only have it because it was a gift from my husband for my birthday last year. To start with the positives, the character of Sally was well drawn and the author managed to get into the mind of a child to make the reasons why Sally believed she needed to go away with her kidnapper feel authentic. The chapters are told from different character's perspectives, adding to the layers of the story and how adults were either complicit or unable to help Sally. The author chose not to bring the story from Frank's perspective, which I think is the right decision because I couldn't have read this book if they had.
The biggest niggle for me is the retelling of a real life story involving the abduction and prolonged period of abuse against a child. I don't usually go for "misery porn" and this book has reinforced for me that this is not my genre. The author has been very respectful of Sally's story, no issues there. It just feels wrong to be reading it as an entertainment. Perhaps if the author had taken the basic premise as an outline for their own interpretation/fictionalised take (like you see films that say at the start "based on true events") I could have taken to it more (especially if there could have been a happier ending after all the horror). It's also convinced me that I never want to read 'Lolita'!
This story of child abduction could have been ripped from the pages of a current newspaper, however, it was not. It is 1948 and it is the story of Sally Horner who, along with her mother, Ella, were tricked into believing Frank LaSalle, aka Mr. Warner, aka Mr. Peterson, was an upstanding individual when in fact he was an ex-con, a sexual predator targeting young girls.
When she is caught stealing a notebook by Mr. Warner, who claims to be FBI, Sally agrees to his plan in order to stay out of juvenile prison. He tells her the judge in Atlantic City will need to hear her story and might exonerate her. Her mother in Camden, NJ never has to know about her daughters unspeakable crime.
Ella Horner is told he is Mr. Peterson, the father of Sally's friend and he will gladly take Sally to Atlantic City to join his family for a weeks vacation. Sally is only 11 years old, a bright little girl but she's scared so she follows the plan.
When one week becomes three her family begins to recognize that this vacation seems very suspicious and only then begin to take action.
Author, T. Greenwood's novel retells Sally's true story, which inspired Nabakov to write Lolita, in a page turning, heart wrenching, spine tingling, suspenseful fashion. The conclusion will stun you.
Special thanks go out to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this novel before it's August publication date.
When she is caught stealing a notebook by Mr. Warner, who claims to be FBI, Sally agrees to his plan in order to stay out of juvenile prison. He tells her the judge in Atlantic City will need to hear her story and might exonerate her. Her mother in Camden, NJ never has to know about her daughters unspeakable crime.
Ella Horner is told he is Mr. Peterson, the father of Sally's friend and he will gladly take Sally to Atlantic City to join his family for a weeks vacation. Sally is only 11 years old, a bright little girl but she's scared so she follows the plan.
When one week becomes three her family begins to recognize that this vacation seems very suspicious and only then begin to take action.
Author, T. Greenwood's novel retells Sally's true story, which inspired Nabakov to write Lolita, in a page turning, heart wrenching, spine tingling, suspenseful fashion. The conclusion will stun you.
Special thanks go out to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this novel before it's August publication date.