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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
This was well written and an easy read. I feel like if I didn’t already know what happened I might have enjoyed it more but I listened to a few podcasts about this girls (sad) story so I knew where it was going.
Unexpected.
And as with other books by this author - a testament to the importance of female friendships.
And as with other books by this author - a testament to the importance of female friendships.
A sad and gripping story told (mostly) from the point-of-view of kidnapping victim Sally Horner from 1948 - 1950. Apparently this is the true-crime case that many say inspired Nabokov to finish Lolita (and from which he borrowed heavily for his story line). While it is beautifully and well written, I could not bring myself to give it 5 stars simply because the content is so disturbing. Kudos to the author for giving voice and humanity to this poor girl and her plight.
Holy heartstrings Batman!
What a book... This book had me so hooked by the end that I downloaded the audiobook so I didn't have to stop reading while I was driving. Highly recommend.
What a book... This book had me so hooked by the end that I downloaded the audiobook so I didn't have to stop reading while I was driving. Highly recommend.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
Well. This book. Wow. I didn’t realize it was based on a true story until the end and it was like an extra gut punch. I cried my way through most of this book. It was beautifully written. The author brought this story to life through these different point of views. I highly recommend this book if you can stomach difficult subject matters.
I was provided an advanced copy of the book by the publisher NetGalley and this has not affected my review.
I was provided an advanced copy of the book by the publisher NetGalley and this has not affected my review.
I read Nabokov's Lolita as part of my undergraduate degree, but it was only recently that I learned that it was inspired by a real-life true-crime story: the 1948 abduction of eleven-year-old Sally Horner by convicted rapist Frank La Salle, who held her captive for a total of twenty-one months.
Throughout Rust & Stardust, I got to know and feel for Sally, whose story remains one that needs to be told. The subject matter (the kidnapping and abuse of a child) is horrific and hard to stomach, but I felt the author wrote with the utmost grace and care, and though Greenwood admits in the afterword that she invented certain characters and event, they were integrated seamlessly to the point that I wouldn't have known had I not read on.
I can't say that I enjoyed reading this book because of the topic and the fact that Sally herself lived such a sad, short life, but it was certainly touching and well-written.
Throughout Rust & Stardust, I got to know and feel for Sally, whose story remains one that needs to be told. The subject matter (the kidnapping and abuse of a child) is horrific and hard to stomach, but I felt the author wrote with the utmost grace and care, and though Greenwood admits in the afterword that she invented certain characters and event, they were integrated seamlessly to the point that I wouldn't have known had I not read on.
I can't say that I enjoyed reading this book because of the topic and the fact that Sally herself lived such a sad, short life, but it was certainly touching and well-written.
This is a very tough book to get thru because it deals with a topic that will break pretty much anyone's heart: child abduction and abuse. That it is a fictionalized telling of a real crime doesn't diminish the impact of the original crime nor does it make it any less real in the feelings it evokes. That it is recognized as the story that helped inspire "Lolita" is much publicized, but as someone who has read Nabokov's seminal work, I can tell you that it does not prepare you.
Greenwood does a fantastic job of making every character feel as real as if they were standing in front of you, thus making every bad decision and situation hit you that much harder. There were times when I'd made up my mind to leave this unfinished because it was too much of everything, but I just HAD to know what came next. And that is all due to Greenwood's writing, so I don't know if I should thank her for an impactful, engaging read or ask her to make a donation to my therapy fund.
Mandatory note: I got my copy thru GoodReads' First Reads.
Greenwood does a fantastic job of making every character feel as real as if they were standing in front of you, thus making every bad decision and situation hit you that much harder. There were times when I'd made up my mind to leave this unfinished because it was too much of everything, but I just HAD to know what came next. And that is all due to Greenwood's writing, so I don't know if I should thank her for an impactful, engaging read or ask her to make a donation to my therapy fund.
Mandatory note: I got my copy thru GoodReads' First Reads.
A great book to read if you want to be really angry and sad.