The Forest of Vanishing Stars
Ratings18
Average rating4.1
Yona has used her knowledge of the wilderness to help hundreds of Jews escape the Nazis. But what happens when a secret from her past emerges and threatens everything? After being stolen from her wealthy German parents and raised in the unforgiving wilderness of eastern Europe, a young woman finds herself alone in 1941 after her kidnapper dies. Her solitary existence is interrupted, however, when she happens upon a group of Jews fleeing the Nazi terror. Stunned to learn what's happening in the outside world, she vows to teach the group all she can about surviving in the forest – and in turn, they teach her some surprising lessons about opening her heart after years of isolation. But when she is betrayed and escapes into a German-occupied village, her past and present come together in a shocking collision that could change everything. Praise for Kristin Harmel: 'A powerful story of survival and resilience. I couldn't put it down' - Heather Morris 'A cracking story and characters that zing from the page. Totally immersive' - Liz Trenow
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WWII h/f - Polish Jews surviving in forests to evade Germans. Protagonist - Yona - who was raised from age of 2 by Jerusza who kidnapped her from her German parents because she was called to do so. Lived in forest, just the 2 of them, and Jerusza told her she had a purpose in the future. Bit of mysticism/magic to this). After Jeruza dies, Yona (20 YOA) starts to see people in the forest– the persecuted Jews. She ends up teaching them how to survive in the forest environment. And she finds family and human connection that was missing from her life. Twist: Confronts real father (a Nazi) and spurns him.
Enjoyable despite the topic
Very well written, I flew through this book. The descriptions were brilliant and the story moved along well. A few twists were foreseeable, but somehow still managed to surprise.
It was an interesting POV. I know it's fiction, but the theme of good people doing what's right during tragic and evil things like the holocaust is something I often wonder about. Who were they? What motivated them (aside from doing what was right)? How did they cope with the loss? Anger? Not set in a ghetto or internment camp, this story gave a different POV.
