Inge was two years old when she was stolen from her Berlin home by Jerusza in 1922. Taken to live in the forests of Eastern Europe, Jerusza taught her how to find food, build shelters, use the resources of the forest to heal and to kill if necessary. They supplemented their supplies by entering villages and stealing what they needed. Inge is now known as Yona and when Jerusza dies twenty years later she is left alone. Even though Jerusza warned her to avoid contact with the outside world, she comes across a group of Jews who had escaped the Germans and were hiding in the forest. Close to starving and unfamiliar with the resources around them, Yona promises to teach them. Even though she intends to stay with them only until they have learned survival skills, she develops a relationship with one of the men. Their numbers grow as they encounter another group, but Yona never feels that she really belongs. When she is betrayed by someone she trusted it is time to leave. She has vague memories of her life in Berlin and decides to discover who she once was.

Yona is unprepared for the brutality that she encounters. Jerusza warned her of dark times ahead, but the starvation and murder of the villagers by invading Germans is more than she could imagine. Putting herself in danger, she does what she can to help the people that she encounters. When she discovers German plans to hunt the Jews in the forest she knows that it is time to return to the life she left behind.

Kristen Harmel fills her story with well developed characters and scenes that fill you with the sights and scents o the forest. It is an emotional story that draws on the German persecution o the Jews and their determination to survive. It reminds you that the actions of just one person can have an impact in the world and will leave an impression long after the last page is read. I would like to thank NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing this book for my review.

Lyrical in the telling, Kristin Harmel’s novel The Forest of Vanishing Stars relates the journey of a Yona, a young girl brought up in the forests near Poland who decides to help Jewish refugees escaping from the surrounding ghettos.. Yona knows how to find food, how to built shelters, how to find medicinal plants — all critical skills taught to her by Jerusza, the old woman who raised her. Jerusza also taught her to read, to speak several languages, and to be cautious. But this woman also stole her from her wealthy home in Berlin when she was only two, telling Yona that she was not safe there and that Yona had a purpose. Believing that her purpose may lie in helping the refugees survive, Yona risks losing the comfortable, solitary life she’s known. Being around people for the first time is challenging and frightening, forcing her to question why she was taken from her parents. Although fiction, the book is based on much historical research and the accounts of groups who survived in the forests eluding the Nazis. This novel offers a heart-wrenching journey of loss, survival, and hope amidst the horrors of Nazi occupation in the villages of Poland. I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley for an unbiased review.

Yona is kidnapped as a child from her family in Germany and ends up in the woods in eastern Europe with her kidnapper, Jerusza. She is forced to learn to live in the wilderness and establish survival techniques. Fast forward some years and eventually Jerusza dies. Yona is now a young woman with keen survival skills but completely isolated from others for most of her life.

This changes abruptly when she runs into a group of Jews hiding from the Nazis. She quickly joins forces with this group after learning about the horrors that the Nazis were causing for the Jewish people. Yona teaches this group how to survive in the forest and helps them to escape the Nazis and the group teaches Yona how to trust and care for others once again.

Are you ready for something completely different? I really loved this historical fiction book from Kristin Harmel. I felt this was a really new and unique take on WWII fiction. You can definitely appreciate the intense research that went into this great storyline. A bit of an emotional and inspirational story of survival that kept my attention from beginning to the end.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) on July 6, 2021.

I requested this as background reading for a promotion on BookBrowse (as agreed with Abby). You can see the reviews at https://www.bookbrowse.com/reader_reviews/index.cfm/book_number/4296/the-forest-of-vanishing-stars#reader_reviews

Due to the very high member-reviewer rating, in addition to the First Impressions promotion, we will be running an editorial feature including a "consensus review" created from the best of the reader reviews and a beyond the book article. Links will be sent to Abby.

WOW! My first book by Kristin Harmel and I am hooked! I absolute love historical fiction, especially that which involves Nazi Germany. This story touches on so many emotions; it will pull on so many heart strings so be prepared.

The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristen Harmel
This is the first book by Kristen Harmel I have read. It will not be the last. If you are a fan of historical fiction, Ms. Harmel’s writing and storytelling is wonderful!
It is obvious how much research the author did for this book. Her attention to detail was phenomenal! She is able to take a piece of history and give it a perspective that you may not have thought about. This book is a World War II historical fiction story. Yes, it involves the atrocities that the Jewish people suffered. However, it looks at the story from the perspective of those who fled to the woods in hopes of surviving. It is filled with raw emotion. The aftermath and the survivor’s guilt that many suffered is addressed as well.
Ms. Harmel probes the definition of family and home. Family -blood verses love. Home – a place verses the people you choose to love.
I cannot recommend this book enough to those of you who are fans of historical fiction. This is a must read!!!

I have read a few of Kristin Harmel’s books and The Forest of Vanishing Stars does not disappoint. It is the story of Yona who is abducted from her home at the age of 2. Her abducter raises her in the forest and teaches her many life skills to survive. Once her abducter dies, Yona realizes that she misses people even though she loves the forest. She sets out on a journey where she is helping Jewish people to survive in the forest to escape the Nazi’s who are hunting them. This book is filled with love, hate, growth and so much personal endurance. Loved it!

Fascinating, meticulously researched and utterly unique, The Forest of Vanishing Stars is a heart-racing and heart-wrenching tale of survival against almost impossible odds during WW2. Kristin Harmel is an extraordinary storyteller and this book is another stunning example of her remarkable ability to bring characters to life., Thank you NetGalley.

Historical Fiction fans will LOVE this book! It's set during WWII which many people may associate with a certain type of novel, but it is in a league of its own. It was so interesting to read about survival in the forest and the lengths that people had to go through during this period. But it was also a story about finding yourself after a tragedy or trauma. Yona had to find herself all over again after being in isolation for so long and it was so well written. This is a book that will require tissues as I teared up multiple times and I can't wait for everyone to be able to read this fabulous book.

The Forest of Vanishing Stars follows a young girl Yona who was raised by an old woman in the wilderness. Yona was born the child of German parents but taken by this woman after her second birthday. Yona was given many skills to survive in the wilderness along with education by the woman who took her. Shortly after the woman dies and Yona is left alone, she meets people who are fleeing into the forest to escape persecution by the Nazis. These camps of Jewish people will learn from Yona the secrets of the forest.

This story is a new take on a subject that I have read much about. Not only did I learn much about the spirit of a young girl who must learn to relate to others, I learned much about surviving in the wilderness. The author describes many ways to survive and hide in such a harsh climate.

While this was not my first book by this author this was definitely my favorite. I could not put it down until I learned all of Yona's story and how it would unfold. The author does not disappoint.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for a copy to read and review. All opinions are my own.

I couldn’t say enough good things about Harmel’s previous work, The Book of Lost Names, so when I saw she was releasing another WW2 novel, I was thrilled. I’m a lover of historical fiction and feel like there are so many well done books set in WW2, but what I really appreciated about The Forest of Vanishing Stars is the unique perspective it offers.

We follow our protagonist, Yona, as she is kidnapped from a wealthy German family and brought up in the forests of Eastern Europe by an enigmatic old woman. She learns not only to survive, but to thrive in the wilderness without assistance from others. When she comes upon a group of Jews fleeing the Nazis, she makes a decision that changes the course of her life forever. By forgoing her solo existence, she opens herself up to danger and additional pressure to provide for them. She teaches the group all she knows until her past life and present collide threatening all the memories she holds dear and all the refugees she seeks to protect.

I really enjoyed this one and also appreciate all the research Harmel put in to tell the story of the many Jews who fled to the forests of Eastern Europe to escape the terror of the Nazis. The best historical fiction to me provides a story that totally captures my attention while also teaching me something about the time period that I didn’t know before; The Forest of Vanishing Stars does just that! Thank you to Gallery Books and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC.

Hello readers! I wanted to tell you about another great book to check out – The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel. It’s already creating a buzz in the book world even before its July 6 publication date.

Kristin, a master storyteller through the historical fiction outlet, continues her exploration of the Jewish experience during WWII. She takes a fresh angle by setting the book in the forests where Jews are hiding, rather than in the ghettos or extermination camps.

Twenty-some years ago a woman kidnapped two-year-old Yona from her German parents. (Don’t worry. This isn’t a spoiler. The kidnapping happens right at the opening of the book.) Since then they have lived together in the forest. Yona is taught survival skills – how to provide food, shelter and physical protection for herself. Just as the war closes in on them, her kidnapper dies leaving Yona on her own.

Russian partisans and German troops begin canvassing the forests for Jews who have escaped nearby occupied towns. Although Yona was taught to fear people, she feels the need to help the Jews she finds in the forest. She can teach them the skills they need to survive.

For a book set mainly in the forest, it covers many topics: love, family, betrayal, surprises, danger, sacrifice, evil, discovery of self, questioning of ancestry, leadership vs. power, and more.

The story feels realistic because it has balance. Yona can help some of the groups she encounters; others she cannot. Sometimes she feels like part of a family and sometimes she feels like the outsider. She makes mistakes and she makes wise decisions. Other characters aren’t simply good or bad; they are complicated like real people.

I cheered for Yona, wanting her to find her place in the world – a “family” she can completely feel part of, a true love, and survival in a horrific time in history. You’ll need to read it yourself to discover if she gets those things.

In past blogs I shared how I loved Kristin Harmel’s novel, The Winemaker’s Wife (blog review link here), and her last book, The Book of Lost Names, was the best book I read in 2020 (blog review link here). I didn’t know if The Forest of Vanishing Stars could equal it, but I was, of course, pleasantly surprised. It’s in the running for my favorite of 2021. Why, oh why Kristin, would I expect anything less from you?! (No pressure intended for your next book.)

You can learn more about Kristin Harmel and her books here at kristinharmel.com.

If you’re interested in picking up The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel, please remember you can help support the author the most if you 1) pre-order through your favorite bookstore or 2) buy it during its publication week – starting July 6. Of course all sales are helpful, but these sales help drive best seller lists which help get the word out about a great book.

Whether you buy or borrow, I hope you’ll come back and comment here after you’ve read it. And don’t forget to leave even a short review (like 5 stars) on places like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, etc. If you love to read, please tell others about books and authors you love!

Main character Inge/Yona is kidnapped from her bed in the middle of the night just before her second birthday. Her kidnapper Jerusza takes her to live in the forest and teaches her how to survive in the brutal forests living off the land entirely. As WWII begins to take over Eastern Europe and Yona finds herself completely alone, she comes across a few groups of Jews who have fled and are hiding out in the woods to escape the Nazis.

Having lived in isolation her entire life and unsure of her background, Yona struggles to understand societal expectations and find her place in a group, but her sense of responsibility continues to lead her back to the forest as she tries to teach and help the groups she encounters to survive the seasons in the forest.

Perhaps I’ve just been in an overly emotional state, but this book threw me for a loop! While Kristin Harmel’s books always affect and move me, I was surprised by how many strange nightmares I started having about the possibility of my own child being kidnapped (he’ll be 2 in September and I’m still adjusting to our recent move to a rural house from NYC). Is this just how crazy mom brain goes?

Despite the kidnapping thread, this novel is another one of Harmel’s poignant looks at WWII. I’ve read a few of her novels set during WWII – The Winemaker’s Wife, The Room on Rue Amelie and The Book of Lost Names – all set in France. This was such an educational look at another side – in the forests around Poland and Russia. I knew that people fled and hid out in the forests, but having never really come across a story as in-depth as this one, I hadn’t really considered how long people had to live in the trees, how difficult it was to survive or even all of the obstacles they had to overcome just to keep breathing from one day to the next.

I have to commend Harmel on her research here as well. This book was so clearly thoroughly researched and written so well that I was really immersed into the forest. There are so many more hurdles beyond just hiding from the Nazis, particularly with the harsh climate in that part of Europe that is often overlooked, but must’ve had a pretty big impact on survival odds. From the types of shelters to be built and the various kinds of berries, mushrooms and other sustenance, the details were comprehensive and exhaustive to the point where I felt like I could go figure out my own way in the woods with Yona and this story as my guide!

Unique, enthralling and heart wrenching at times, The Forest of Vanishing Stars tells the story of Yona and her journey from being alone, surviving in the forest, to finding new people who she does not know if she can trust.
Kristin Harmel was a beautiful and captivating style that makes you keep reading and really helps you connect with the characters. I deeply enjoyed reading this book, and I felt it was a bit different from her other books, maybe because it develops in the wilderness. Nevertheless, it was good to know about this side of history that I had not read before.
The characters are complex and of course, given the development of the story, we get to see them in extreme conditions. I still did not like all of them but I did like the main characters like Yona and Zus.
However, the pace of the book was a little inconsistent in my opinion. Sometimes it was a bit slow. I still liked the story, though. It is very detailed, seems to be well researched and I am not the one to say it makes justice to real history, but I do believe it could. It is stories like this that people should know about for they help us see light in the darkness. That is pretty much what the story is about.

After being taken from her wealthy German parents at the age of two, Yona is taught to survive in a Polish forest by her kidnapper, an old woman named Jerusza. Years later, in 1941, her kidnapper dies and she is on her own. When she meets a group of Jewish people hiding in the forest from the Nazis, she teaches them how to survive while they teach her what it means to love.
Another heart breaking WWII novel by Kristin Harmel, but I enjoyed how unique this one was. The setting, the bits of magic and the well developed characters. Based on true events and people, well researched (see author’s notes) and so hard to put down! Read this when it releases on July 6th, 2021.

The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel was the first book I read by this author, and I've decided I will seek out more.

Yes, it is another historical novel about World War II, but yes, it also sheds light on a topic that is little known. The book focuses on Jewish people who fled or escaped the ghettos they were forced into when the Nazis invaded Poland. Groups of various sizes hid in the forest and mainly lived off the resources they could find. Yona, our protagonist, was raised in the forest by a quirky old woman who kidnapped her when she was a toddler, which I found a bit jarring. We learn a bit about the woman's motivation later, but her actions still did not make sense to me. The woman treated her coldly but carefully in the woods as she taught Yona everything she needed to know in order to survive, but cut her off from human contact.

Fast forward to WWII, and the woman dies of old age. Yona wanders aimlessly until she comes upon a family of Jews who have escaped their ghetto. As she helps them survive, she learns that she has been craving the company of others. Throughout the story Yona helps many escaped Jews and joins their groups. Although her social skills were limited, I found her successes a bit hard to swallow; for a person who grew up among only trees, she made quite a good leader. Eventually, Yona wants to learn more about where she came from, which leads to more danger.

The book contained more romance than I expected, but I will admit I loved that part. I cheered for Yona and her love interest. The story led to a satisfying conclusion, and the writing was excellent. The author's note at the end really tied the novel together by explaining the research that went into the book.

I will recommend this to readers who enjoy learning some history with their historical fiction.

Thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

*3.5 stars rounded up.

The most delightful and interesting part about reading historical fiction, especially World War II fiction, is coming upon some information that is new to you when you'd thought you must have heard it all. In this case, it is the fact that many hundreds of Jews escaped the ghettos of Poland and managed to survive by living in the wilds of Naliboki Forest. As Kristin Harmel relates in her Author's Note at the back of the book, she has done extensive research into their stories and interviewed one such survivor, Aron Bielski, in preparation to write her new novel. His advice to all of us? "Be nice if at all possible, and help always poorer and weaker individuals."

Harmel's novel begins however twenty years before the war, when two-year-old Inga is kidnapped from her family in Berlin by Jerusza, a wise old woman of the forest. She calls the little girl Yona, meaning 'dove,' because of the birthmark on the girl's wrist. She teaches the girl many things, languages and such, but most importantly she teaches her how to survive in the forest.

Twenty years later, Jerusza passes away, leaving Yona on her own. The young woman is curious about the world and other people so when she discovers a Jewish family hiding in the forest, she tries her best to help them but the wife won't listen and later Yona finds them dead. The next time around, Yona spots a young man in a river trying to catch fish and she quickly teaches him a better way. When he begs for more help to feed his people, she reluctantly agrees. Yona has a sixth sense for when it's time to move on and pushes the small group to leave their comfortable spot and cover their trail. It is part of learning how to survive. She begins to think of them as her family but when she is betrayed, she leaves them behind and ventures into a village. There she comes face to face with her past and the horrors of the war.

There is a touch of magical realism in the early years of the story that I quite liked and sort of wished Harmel had carried that on throughout the rest of the book. Jerusza often spouts something mysterious, hinting that she rescued Yona from 'bad' people because she is destined to do important things. I'm not sure though that I believed they could survive for 20 years that way but had more trouble suspending my disbelief at certain events that happen later in the story as being even remotely possible, so my rating dropped a 1/2 star because of those issues. This is an odyssey with no goal in mind other than survival--and it's remarkable to learn that in truth many people did just that!

I received an arc of this new work of historical fiction from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Many thanks!

Holy wow, this book! Kristin Harmel does it for me once again and I'm so so grateful I got to be one of the first to read this book and now I get to recommend it to all of you.

The Forest of Vanishing Stars takes us on a journey with our main character Yona who strives to find her own identity after she is stolen from her Berlin home and raised in the forest by an older woman named Jerusza. I thought Kristin wrote this book beautifully. The character and story development were done so well and really kept me intrigued throughout the whole book. What I enjoyed the most about this book is that I was brought into a setting of WWII that I knew nothing about despite how many historical fiction books I've read that have taken place during this time of history. So, if you are exhausted by WWII novels... good news!! - The Forest of Vanishing Stars is definitely not your typical WWII book. Kristin Harmel has a special way of writing about this time of history that makes it feel under done and leaves you wanting to learn more.

I cannot recommend this book enough. Go read it. And after you're done with this one go grab The Book of Lost Names next! You won't be disappointed.

Thank you so much to Gallery Books and NetGalley for this #gifted copy and this opportunity!

4.5 stars

Is it possible that another Nazi Germany could be in the making where prejudice, hate, and death await those who do not fit into the mold established by the state, the media, and now social media? It's a horrible thought, but one which seems to be possible in the world we live in now.

In Kristin Harmel's wonderful book, we again learn of this hate that occurred all those decades ago. It is a story of a girl child being taken by a woman of the forest who recognized in her, something special, something wonderful, someone who would stand up against the hate in the future.

The time is the 1940s, the place is Poland, the setting is the forest where Jews escaped in order to save their own lives plus that of family and friends. It is through these Jews, that Yona has her first contact with others. Jeruzsa, the woman who had taken Yona at age two, had well trained Yona in the ways of the forest, the ways of survival, the ways of believing in God. However, Jerusza is a tough parent, never really showing Yona love or the care a child need. As Yona grows well educated by Jerusza, she is witness to many of the cruelties of the age she was born into.

Yona can't believe what man is doing to man, so she intervenes in the one way she is well versed in. She leads the Jewish group she encounters deeper into the forest and teaches them ways of finding food, of what is edible, and how to seclude and travel so that their steps sound like a calm breeze blowing through the trees. Life is ever so hard, especially in the winter, but Yona and the Jews do just that facing innumerable odds. As more escaped Jews, come to the forest with the Nazis in pursuit, Jona is enamored by two men, one of whom will disappoint her, while the other having lost his entire family, is just not ready to open his heart.

The author includes a reunion with Jona's real father, a Nazi higher up, and Yona soon realizes that his and others intent is to eliminate all the Jews. She will not stand for that and leaves him for her friends and the man she loves in the forest. After witnessing intense cruelty at the hands of her father, she runs back to her Jewish friends with warnings that could end their lives. Yona, is a true hero, she stands tall for what she knows is the right of all to have access to a life, one where all are equal, one where all are free.

This powerful story, which has a touch of magical realism, courtesy of Jerusza, is one that reiterates the total horror of a race whose destiny seemed to have been almost extinguished by hate. The author included many factual details in the telling as well as some gorgeous words coming from the various characters. It is well worth reading this heartfelt and heartbreaking story that Kristin Harmel has written. The characters, the settings come to life in this tale and it is a sure tribute to those three million Jews who perished in Poland, and all those who were left behind wondering forever why they survived. A definite recommendation for this story!

Thank you to Kristin Harmel, Gallery Books, and NetGalley for a copy of this story due out July 6, 2021.

Title: The Forest of Vanishing Stars
Author: Kristin Harmel
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5

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.

This was a fantastic read! I had never heard of the historical facts behind the premise and found it both fascinating and heartbreaking. I read a solid amount of World War II-set historical fiction, but this was new territory for much. Surviving in the forest like this required so much strength and resiliency, and I am just in awe of these people.

I liked Yona a lot and seeing her grow from a child to a woman---and how her thoughts evolved---was engrossing to read. I loved how she left her comfort zone behind to help others---she knew it was the right thing to do, even though she’d never been taught that. Proof that people are inherently good (which I tend to forget). Loved this read!

Kristin Harmel is a bestselling author. The Forest of Vanishing Stars is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Gallery Books in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 7/8.)