I feel like I am the only person who read this that didn't love it. Maybe it's because I'm going for a Ph.D. Myself and the way it was depicted in this book was so outrageous incorrect, I couldn't get passed it. I'm not a big YA fan and this book read very immaturely to me. More than that, the way Jo handled Gabe's mental illness shows me that this author is very ignorant to depression. I'm disappointed all together.

What an amazing and special book. One which will stay with me for a long time
I was hooked from the very first paragraph
The characters in this book will live in my heart for a long time

Amazing book! I loved this so much, a beautiful story that I will be thinking about for a long time to come.

I initially glossed over this book because I wasn't sure about the description but then I read a bunch of amazing review for it from my reading buddies and I had to see what it was all about.

This is such an example of not judging a book by its cover because it was so much more than I was expecting. I will admit, I don't read books that are sci-fi or fantasy, EVER and I totally threw this one into that category and moved right along. One of the most wonderful things about being a part of the online reading community is the ability to be inspired to try books that are out of my comfort zone.

The gorgeous storytelling and amazing relationships in this book were the highlights of this book for me and I cannot believe this is Vanderah's debut novel! While this book did have a paranormal aspect, that really wasn't what stood out for me as the reader. The story of friendship, connection, and healing are so powerful and I am so happy I gave this one a chance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was amazing! I don't know where to start. It has everything, mystery, fantasy, and romance. I enjoyed this book and was captivated from the first page. You will not be dissapointed this book is beautiful.

I would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own and are not influenced by the author, publisher, or other related entity.

Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah is a beautiful read. I loved the set up of the first scene and I enjoyed that the narration left me slightly confused along the way. I liked that not all of the information was delivered easily and that the reader was left to feel like Jo, trying to discover exactly what is the truth of Ursa.

The writing is comfortable and feels like normal conversation. There isn't anything that feels forced or unnatural. The development of the characters is great, though I did struggle slightly with the character of Gabe. I felt that the understanding of his mental illness could have been fleshed out a little better. In retrospect, it might be interesting to have this story written from his perspective. As for the character of Ursa, she is clearly the star here. She is written spectacularly true to the child she is explained to be. Her mannerisms, her speech, her method of thinking things through all felt right. And she feels like a child you just want to hug.

The narrative works nicely and flows well with the exception of a couple of small scenes that somewhat added to the story, but felt choppy in the mix. Again, a little extra development in these areas would have been welcome.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this read and found it quite heart-wrenching as well as heart-warming. It may not have been 100% realistic in its dealings with the wrap up at the end, but I don't care. I enjoyed Vanderah's approach all the same. 4.5 stars.

Beautifully written contemporary with a sprinkle of crime mixed in.

This book starts out quiet similarly as it continues: quiet but with surprises.

We follow along a woman that rented a house in the forest basically in the middle of nowhere from a professor to do her graduate study project.
And while she is out there, watching bird nests, taking notes and doing what she is there for to do, a little girl appears one night and does not leave.
Her story is a strange one, saying that she is an alien having come from a star to study earth and witness five miracles before having to go back.
Of course our main carjacker Joanna doesn't believe the girl that clearly shows signs of abuse or at least some violence. And with that the story evolves...

It moves from lovely nature talk, to discussions of health, in my eyes gives a good overview of what american child care systems are like and what even the people inside that system think of it!, dabbles a bit in loss and love and the overarching connections between it at: what family means and what family makes.

This is not a book for everyone and i know already, thought i loved it, quiet a few people will "complain" that its too slow, too unfocused on the important part of "What happened to the girl?"

And i can understand that. But i honestly don't feel that this book lacks in those departments.

I loved how it took it time with the girls story, because it give us the view not the adults lives... gave us an understanding on why Joanna and the "egg stand guy" would react as they do to the girl.

I loved how the author included illnesses both physical and mental into the story and how she didn't make one seem less real or important as the other, but just tried to show that both can find positive or negative endings.

The writing -yes again!- was lovely. It sucked me into the story and it felt as if it carried me through the entire story in such a cozy, quiet but warm and safe way that makes absolutely no sense for a lot of the things that are happening in the book... but that is how it felt to me!

So really the only reason that i can't give the book 5 stars and push it on everyone are those two things:
Its writing is not for everyone -as already mentioned.

And for me the ending was not as good as the rest of the book.
To me the last 50 or so pages felt incredibly rushed, and while it is clear that the entire book does build up to those moments that those last 50+ pages cover, for me it felt a bit too extreme in all things.
I also didn't appreciate the epilogue. I understand why the author did it how she did it but to me, especially with the just mentioned last 50+ pages it made next to no sense to me. And if i hate one thing in books that up until a specific point where pretty realistic and logical in most aspects? I hate it if they just end on this completely unrealistic note that make me question if the entire book wasn't as logical and real as it felt to me up until then.

Overall that doesn't take a huge amount away from this book. Its just those little things that i wish the author could have done as beautifully as the did the rest of the book.

Overall? I loved it
and i highly recommend it if you want a beautiful read, with a different family-type story that has a bit of a crime element but is not overly heavy on it and clearly not an actual crime/thriller/mystery type of book.

It certainly is one of those books that is as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside, i mean look at that cover and title! How can you not want to pick it up!
And i would defiantly recommend you doing so as soon as you can!

At first I was hooked by the title, and the cover I admit it ... those things do sometimes matter. But then it was the reference to Egg Man; that is absolutely a label that I can relate to. It’s something I would say and think and it put me in touch with the main character on a more personal level. I thought about what I might say further about this novel, and wonder if part of the magic is reading it this time of year when the birds are nesting and I’m dreaming about campfires and more time outside. Whatever the reason, and I don’t want to spoil it, let’s just say I dove into this book and didn’t really surface until it was over. Well painted scenes and overall a thoroughly enjoyable book.

At first I wasn’t sure if this would be a fantasy or literary fiction but in the end, the story was told well and made me both laugh and cry, which to me is the marker Of a well written novel. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and will recommend to all my book loving friends. Bravo to the author 👏.

The first few pages had me questioning if maybe this wasn’t a book for me, anything paranormal or fantasy turns me off. Little alien Ursa from the stars convinced me otherwise, and I just needed to keep going to find out what the real deal was with this sweet girl. What I first thought was a possible fantasy story, is actually a story about friendship, family and love.

The characters won me over with their first introductions. Every one of them has a story of hardships and makes you feel something for them immediately. The writing was beautiful, and told the story quickly. Every word in the book is important and meaningful.

Where the Forest Meets the Stars touched my heart and my soul. I laughed at the quirky Ursa, I had tears in my eyes in other parts. Such a unique story, about the people who randomly come into your life and have an impact on you forever.

[synopsis] When Jo's mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, it's discovered that they both are carriers of the BRCA gene mutation, meaning Jo's chances of breast and ovarian cancer are imminent. She undergoes testing and does in fact have breast cancer. During the recovery process after double mastectomy and ovary removal, Jo's mother dies.

After she is cleared for work, Jo returns to her post-graduate studies in ornithology, examining the nesting habits of birds in rural Illinois. One night, an eight year-old girl shows up in her yard; dirty, bruised, in her pajamas, and barefoot. Although Jo tries to understand where this girl has come from, Ursa determinedly claims to be an alien, sent to Earth to witness five miracles. What follows is a heart-wrenching tale of love, loss, and redemption.

[thoughts] This beautiful story hooked me right away. I couldn't stop asking myself, "What is going on here?!" It was a relatively quick read and I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy!

Full review at http://tinyw.in/MO2s

Oh. My. Gosh. I was not prepared for this book and how quickly it would take over my world. I started it YESTERDAY and it is now DONE I could not put it down!
This is a love story between characters that struggled with "love" itself, and a story of a mysterious girl who defines herself as an alien create a tightly woven story that tugs at your heart and emotions. I had to keep reading to find out Ursa's story, see if Gabe would come out of his shell, and see if Jo would find joy. I personally felt joy and hope while reading this story, as well as feeling stronger, like I could overcome anything.
Highly recommend this one, and may be my favorite book of 2019 so far.

This book was ok. It was interesting to begin with and then I felt like I could have skipped whole chapters and not missed much. It was easy reading, but slow reading. It didn’t seem believable to me. I really wanted to love this one. I just can’t recommend it.

I really ended up liking this book. When Ursa, shows up while Jo is working on a project for her graduate program she changes her life and adds so much too it. She is an exceptionally bright little girl that has an active imagination that helps her create a beyond unique story about where she is from. Jo grows close to the girl as she tries to protect her from her past. I really thought the characters were well written, yet parts of it just seemed like it went in circles instead of just ending. I will recommend this to others and will look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

It’s so emotional, heart warming, poignant, amazing story of three people who try to live with the hand life’s dealt them. Within the first chapter I was hooked! I laughed, cried, cried again this story was really special. I think that the premise and the characters were built on a solid foundation. They were as real as characters in a book can be. I thought of them as friends, relatives just people I know and care about! I will be reading more by this author!!

What a sweet and surprising book! I didn't quite know what to expect from it - was it fantasy, was it chick lit? Was the "alien" theme going to go too far and ruin it for me? Thankfully, the answer was "no" and I just fell in love with the characters and story right from the start. Ursa a was just simply endearing, and I found myself wanting to know and comfort this little firecracker of a child who was clearly hiding from something horrific. Jo and Gabe were great characters as well - some pieces were predictable, others went in a direction I never would have expected. My only real complaint - I loved the idea of the 5 miracles, and was looking forward to those being a centerpiece of the storyline, but I felt like they were treated only as an afterthought, and basically got lost within the rest of the story. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it!

This book was absolutely amazing!

Jo is a grad student, working on her research project on nesting birds after receiving a triple whammy of losing her mother, being diagnosed with breast cancer, and breaking up with her boyfriend. Gabe is hiding away from the world, dealing - or not dealing - with his own trauma. They come together, reluctantly at first, to help the mysterious little girl, Ursa, who appears from nowhere and claims to come from the stars.

Ursa's miracles are small ones and highlight the joy of everyday life. Ultimately, all she wants is someone to love her and a place to call home, but first she has to deal with the past she claims not to have.

I thought the author did a terrific job with this book, even giving Jo a legitimate and believable reason for not reporting Ursa to child services. The only thing that rang an odd note for me was the age of both Jo and Gabe. Both of them seemed much older than their designated ages and far more mature.

As much as I'd love to know what happens to all three next, I think the book ended at the perfect spot. I would definitely read more books by this author!

Where the forest meets the stars is an enchanting debut by Glendy Vanderah.
Jo, our main protagonist, meets Ursa one night out in her backyard; the little girl who claims to be an alien in a girl's body. But when the young girl returns, over and over, Jo knows she'll be stuck with the child for long. She enlists the help of 'egg man' who is her neighbour - Gabe Nash. They both try their best to help the girl, and in the journey, learning to trust and love and accept their pasts.

Jo cared a lot about Ursa and more so when she noticed the bruises on her body. Despite knowing how wrong everything was, she never faltered from helping Ursa and trying her best to help find the girl's true whereabouts. Another aspect I loved about her was her work. Studying birds' nest was an interesting job that I have read about for the first time. It was exciting to read a little about the process and the whole idea of the work. I loved the fact that the author imparted knowledge without much info-dumping.

Ursa is an extremely intelligent kid with a curious mind and jolly nature. But when we reach the end, we understand her curious claims about being an alien sent to witness five miracles. She is understating, clever and at times, extremely stubborn. I loved her character a lot.

This debut is definitely an excellent one. It's fast paced, and intense and funny at the same time. For anyone who loves the stars, science, Shakespeare and literature, birds and a little bit of magical reality, this book should definitely be in the radar.

Thanks to netgalley for an uncorrected proof of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Have you ever started reading a book and just knew it was going to ruin you? That is Where the Forest Meets the Stars for me. This book absolutely destroyed me.
I found myself struggling to put this book down and managed to read this in one sitting, the story-line was that captivating to me.
I was unsure about where the story was going at times, as it started out almost in a sci-fi sort of direction, but this book is most certainly NOT sci-fi.
There are triggering scenes that were certainly unexpected, these scenes left my mouth agape and forced me to take a breathing moment.
Enough words cannot describe my love for these characters. Ursa, our very own alien girl, warmed my heart at every moment and I just wanted to reach into the book and hold her. Jo is such a brave and powerful woman, and a force! She survives cancer and struggles through the loss of her parents, despite those odds still manages to immerse herself deeply into her studies—I respect that at such a deep level! And of course Gabe, a character struggling with mental illness and throughout the book we see progress with it, and it’s so beautiful.
I loved this book so much.

This book tells the story of Jo, a young woman who has recently faced some trials in her life. She begins PH.D research on birds in a small cabin near a forest. Outside one day, she turns to see a child around the age of 9 there. The child claims she is an alien and she cannot return home until she witnesses five miracles.

Jo takes her under her wing at the same time trying to find "Ursa" her rightful home. They both come in contact with the neighbor, Gabe, who has his only trials. Between the three of them, they learn how to overcome, love, and realize what it means to be a family.

I very much enjoyed this book. I would love to know what happens after the end. I do like the interesting plot twists, such as with Gabe's family. However, the book, of course it is fiction, seemed very unrealistic in terms of child placement, timing, etc.