Great premise, sort of loses traction 1/2 way through but has a satisfying ending. Anyone who grew up in an industry/union area will be able to relate.

A compelling piece of literary horror that examines the theme of decay in its various forms.

The Rust Maidens themselves personify decay as their bodies literally change. The surrounding neighbourhood-a steel based economy in 1980 Cleveland-similarly decays from the larger scale (economic collapse) to the smaller (family collapse).

An uncomfortable read, but powerful and difficult to look away from; basically just what I look for in horror.

Absolutely beautiful book.

Also as someone who saw their own dad strike during the minors strike this really struck a chord with me.


It’s also frustrating. The main character simply can’t communicate properly with anyone apart from her best friend. The book moves from past to future and just like when she was a teenager. Now she is an adult she still can’t explain things and communicate her feelings. There seems to have been no growing of her character and that’s the point.

It’s a dark book, much cleverer than me. I think it’s about those girls that don’t conform to the usual type. Those ones that become different and in this case even the body changes and becomes different and sharp and unworldly. And she. Girls become different and more powerful, the less people see them as real girls.

This really is a fabulous book. The whole time you are thinking, why hasn’t the lead character become a rust maiden? She’s just as angry and despondent as everyone else?

She makes the wrong move every time and as much as you won’t to scream and shake her, it works for the story. Every time she says ‘nothing’ instead of answering questions you get even angrier at her.

The rust maidens are such a great invention. Really scary and incredibly sad.

Interesting narrative structure with an overpowering theme of decay.

A solid 4 stars for me! Neat nonlinear story with some parts bouncing back from 1980 to the current(ish) day. Some parts of the story really engaged me, at other points it was hard to keep me engaged as before.

The Rust Maidens as a concept is really good, like the symbolism involved with it, but at the same time they could have been used more. I feel like the story left me with wanting more out of, but not in the traditional way of wanting more. More like something was missing that I wanted. I think I wanted more involvement with the Rust Maidens themselves and spend more time with them y’know?

But yeah, could've used more Rust Maidens, some parts dragged on, but for what the novel wants to tell, I felt like it did pretty good at it.

Atmospheric and beautiful, The Rust Maidens took me by surprise. On the heels of reading a few extreme horror books, this was almost a breath of fresh (stagnant/rusty) air. The writing is gorgeous and while the main character did get a tad whiny at times, I was rooting for her to find her answers. The Rust Maidens themselves were intriguing, and unlike any character I've read before. I would love to read an accompaniment to this, told from their point of view.

The premise of this was so interesting!! Loved the twist on body horror

But man, the overwhelming misogyny and hate in this book was exhausting!! That’s not a knock on the author or the book, just on the characters that were truly just assholes

I cried and I was livid - so that gets a 5 star from me

Supernatural characters with a not so interesting (and definitely not supernatural) protagonist. The story had potential, but seemed to squander it. I probably would have enjoyed it more had I not been in a mood for something more horrifying.

If you've ever been to Cleveland, this book will make sense to you. The feeling of decay that permeates the air in Cleveland also permeates this novel. It's a very unique concept and if you enjoy surreal and atmospheric horror, this book is for you. I enjoyed everything about it except the writing style, which used a lot of short, choppy sentences, and just isn't my preference. I also had a hard time connecting to the protagonist or the other characters. They all feel distant and aloof, somehow. Even so, this is a good, quick read, especially if you want to read something strange and wholly original.

There are books you read and then there are books you feel—ones that get under your skin and become a part of who you are. Gwendolyn Kiste is a writer like that, one who creates stories that live and breathe, and when they shift into strange darkness, you go with them willingly, almost not realizing you’re leaving reality behind.

The Rust Maidens is set against the backdrop of a small Cleveland neighborhood in the 80s and the slow but inevitable decay of the factories that are the lifeblood for the families who live there. Told through the lens of the girl who saw it all and never recovered, this is the story of five girls who began to rust and inexplicably transform into something not entirely human.

Young girls, just graduating from high school, should have their entire future ahead of them, ready to face the world head-on and seize their dreams. That isn’t really the way it works for the girls from this town, a town where everyone knows everything about you and there isn’t a whole lot of room to breathe without someone gossiping about it. This is the kind of town you get stuck in, marry a mill worker, have kids young, and become your parents.

These girls don’t really have a chance, don’t really own their futures—or their bodies. And what’s the point, anyway, when the town is dying around them? So their bodies take things into their own hands, as it were.

So what is The Rust Maidens about? To me, it’s about choice. It’s about coming of age as a girl and facing every obstacle—no matter how difficult, horrific, or even close to home—to remain true to yourself.

The weaving of supernatural elements is effortless throughout and fuses all the elements of the plot, which is important to me; this isn’t craziness happening for no reason. Instead there is a deeper meaning to every strand of the story. And it will drag you under its spell.

Kiste also has a chilling and entrancing style: extremely atmospheric and unsettling yet with a strange compelling beauty that constantly pulls you in. I loved finding her unique voice when I read her collection And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe, and this novel only develops on her strengths.

Kiste is a welcome voice on the horror shelves, the soft beauty of her words mesmerizing, beckoning you to come closer and see, but when you get too close, she smiles and opens wide—and the darkness swallows you whole.

I can’t wait to see what she writes next.