All I can say is Kristin Harmel has done it yet again! She has clenched her spot in my favorite author list for another year. This book is beautifully written- as are all of her WWII novels. I loved that this one was just a little different, with a bit of a supernatural feel. When I first started reading about Yona and her rather unorthodox childhood, I wasn't sure if this story was going to really pull me in like the others. But, I am SO glad I kept reading. After about chapter 3 I couldn't put it down. I read the rest in 2 sittings! Getting to put myself in this heartbreaking tale, hiding with a thrown together family in the woods was a heart wrenching and beautiful experience. The characters all felt so real to me. I was with them as they tramped through the swamp. As they prayed for safety and held their breath. With the nuns as they gave all that they could to save the innocent. Even the author's note at the end had the tears pouring down my face. This story was lovely- and I wish I could have stayed with it just a little longer. I will be recommending this one to everyone this year!

I loved that this one was a bit of a different type of tale for Harmel and I loved seeing her try something new while still sticking with her gorgeous retellings of a dark part of history. It's just SO well done!

The Forest of Vanishing Stars offers new and refreshing perspective on a historical fiction novel. During WW2 when Jews are trying to survive, many escape to the forest in the hopes of disappearing. Our main character Yona has spent the majority of her life in the confines and quiet solitude of the deep and dark forest. Her only close relationship being her mentor who ingrained in her how to survive in the wilderness. When she finds struggling families trying to escape the Nazi’s, Yona has to open her heart and share her home to keep them alive. Will Yona be able to help them survive? Will she be able to make those close connections she’s been longing for? This story is a memorable read that reaffirms that it’s not your past that defines you, it’s your grit. Great read!

The Forest of Vanishing Stars is a not so typical WWII story that is based on true events. Yona, a young woman has spent most of her life in the forest. She uses her knowledge of survival in the forest to help Jewish people escape from Nazis.

I was immediately pulled into this book. Harmel has a way of bringing her characters to life and her research makes the story shine. I have read many historical fictions that take place during WWII and this book was like no other. Before reading Forest, I had no idea that so many Jewish people escaped into the forest and survived. My heart was completely captured by Yona, she was a strong intelligent woman. Throughout the book I cheered on Yona and her survivors.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for my ERC of this book!

There will always be a continuing plethora of WW2 historical fiction novels. But some will stand out more than others and are definitely worth the read. This is true of The Forest of Vanishing Stars because the book focuses on people who fled to the woods in order to survive during the war and how they managed to stay alive.
There they are fortunate to meet Yona, a young woman, who was kidnapped before the war and brought up in the woods knowing its many secrets and what is needed to survive. She’s lived all alone since her kidnapper died and always taught to stay that way, not trust anyone, and stay out of the villages. But when Yona sees this first group in the woods she knows they will not make it unless she reveals herself and teaches them all she knows. She soon comes to realizes she needs them as much as they need her.
Based on a true story, with romance and magic realism thrown in, this is a page turner, and a WW2 worthy of the collection.

A unique perspective on WWII from a talented author whose research is obviously thorough.

What makes “The Forest of Vanishing Stars” stand out from the crowded field of WWII historical fiction? For starters, it’s a mixed-genre tale incorporating a bit of magical realism and a dash or two of romance. I am also here to warn you about some fairly graphic violence—more than usual, even for a WWII tale. And finally, most of the action takes place in an extremely cold forest.

Brrrrr!!!!! But a solid, well-deserved five stars!!!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I marvel at how books about the Holocaust can be both horrifying and hopeful, heartbreaking and uplifting. Harmel tells a fictionalized account of a real life story of survival - that of thousands of Jews fleeing to and hiding in the forests of Eastern Europe to escape the death and destruction of German occupation. With a bit of mysticism and a remarkable young woman at its center, this novel is tenderly written and a remarkable testament to humanity's ability to survive and thrive in the midst of evil. I have read many, many historical fiction novels from the WWII time period, but I knew nothing about the communities that survived in the forests. A must-read!

WW2 historical fiction is so popular that I'm sure this book will find a wide audience, but it is not a time period I enjoy reading about. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

It is always interesting to learn about a different aspect of World War 2. This book related a scenario that isn’t really as well known as others. My problem was there were too many words. Too much description and too much repetition. The story is a lesser know aspect of the strength and resilience of those so horribly affected. The emotions were real and you could feel it in your heart. It was just too wordy and that bogged it down for me.

While I did not find this as magical as many people did, I do think it's a good story. During WWII, thousands of Polish Jews hid themselves in the vast forests, away from the dangers of the Germans who were murdering them. Kristin Harmel has given us an excellent look at the way these people survived in the forest for months and/or years. In this novel, a 2 year old girl is kidnapped from her parents and raised in the forest by an old woman with second sight. Many years later, after the death of the old woman, the girl finds herself helping a group of refugees learn to survive in the forest - while she learns to live and love among the people who become her family. Very well researched, this story illuminates life in Poland at the time, and is full of dangerous times, but also quiet moments of wisdom, mysticism and love. Many thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the e-arc. Solid 4 stars.

What a beautifully written novel! Kristen Harmel's The Forest of Vanishing Stars tells the story of Inge, who is stolen from her parents' home in Berlin as a two-year-old in 1922 by an old woman who raises her in the forest and renames her Yona. The old woman, Jerusza, is psychic and knows things before they are about to happen and she knows that Inge/Yona's father is not a good person and she raises Yona with a very ecclectic education, keeping her apart from others and teaching her all she needs to know to live in the forest, defend herself, and help people. After Jerusza's death, Yona runs into a group of Jews in the forest who have escaped from the Jewish ghettos and she helps them learn to survive while learning herself how to love. No spoilers - but this is definately a book to read if you love historical fiction, as I do. I even enjoyed the Author's Notes, where she talked about her inspiration for this novel. I am looking forward to reading more by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. This is my second Kristin Harmel book. I have to start by saying that The Book Of Lost Names was my #1 favorite book of 2020. I was so excited when I got approved through NetGalley to read this one. I was alittle worried that I wouldn’t like the story quite as much.
Reading the description about how a young girl is kidnapped and raised in the forest, gave me a first impression that it might be very unrealistic. But I was wrong. The book was so well written and kept my interest from beginning to end. The author did a wonderful job creating each character in this book, especially Yona. I can’t imagine anyone not feeling such sympathy for her and what her life was like. The emotions I felt while reading this book....it’s hard to describe. The way she cared for other people and did everything she could to keep them safe, it was just so beautifully written. There is a lot of tragedy in this book and some parts will really break your heart. To read about how Yona goes from being a child with two parents in a regular home, to living in a forest with the woman who took her and then ending with the “new family” she found and came to love...it’s just a really emotional and well written book. I highly recommend this one for anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

To read other reviews I’ve written, please go to my Instagram and Goodreads pages:
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*Goodreads - Cherihy808

The setting: a young woman, Yona, who was stolen from her wealthy German parents at age two and raised by Jerusza, the kidnapper who well knew the forest in Poland and survival skills. After Jerusza dies in 1941 [at age 102!], Yona uses the knowledge learned from Jerusza to help the Jewish refugees she comes across in the forest to elude the Nazis. She is thrown into a life with others {she and Jeruza were solitary]--totally new to her, This book is inspired by true stories [READ the Author's Notes].

A fast read, with thankfully few "mushy moments," this book kept me going. As they did [Jerusza, Yona, and whichever band of Jews]--the
plan was always to keep moving and cover your tracks.

Though Yona [especially] and Jerusza form the core of the book, there are multiple story lines as the original group of Jews fleeing Nazis grows. [The original group figures the most prominently.] That said, sometimes I got tired of them/their stories. However, I was quite engaged in the [brief] story of the eight nuns she met and especially Sister Maria Andrezja who believed G-d would take care of them.

I found it interesting how the various languages--German, Belarusian, Russian, Polish, and Yiddish--played a part in keeping discovery at bay.

3.5. BUT somewhat reluctantly rounding up because... [it often felt/fell flat]. Again, I'm in the distinct minority. I thought the book could have been a bit shorter. And the end, though believable, was too wham, bam thank you mam.

"'But there is light, too. In the times of greatest darkness, the light always shines through, because there are people who stand up to do brave, decent things. ... [I]n moments like this, it doesn't matter what you were born to be. It matters what you choose to become.'"

I was lucky to receive an ARC of this novel, after absolutely devouring The Book of Lost Names and becoming a Kristin Harmel fangirl overnight.

What I love about Harmel is her ability to take somewhat obscure historical information and transform it into human, engrossing, absorbing stories that you just cannot put down.

Especially in the current political climate, it is so important we continue to remember the atrocities of the past, but also the resilience and kindness that exists among them.

Thank you to @netgalley for this ARC! I was so excited to read this one after reading the Book of Lost Names a few months ago!

This is the story of Yona, born to German parents and who was kidnapped at age 2 and raised in the Polish forest by an old woman who had the premonition that Yona did not belong with her German family. As WWII progresses, the forest fills with groups of Jewish people fleeing the ghettos in Poland. As Yona stumbles upon one such group, she shares her knowledge of the forest and helps them survive. Being with people is a huge change for a girl who has grown up lonely and Yona learns much about love, loss and family, especially when her past comes colliding with her future.

I've read so many historical fiction novels about WWII but this one was a very different perspective. While the horrors of the Holocaust are the backdrop to this story, life in the forest and how a lonely girl finds love, family and purpose is truly at the heart of this novel.

This review is also posted on Instagram @maria.needs.to.read

I loved 🥰 this book 📚 it was extremely interesting I couldn’t put it down I finished it in one day. I really loved Yona she’s a very kind soul and I adored how despite her kindness and innocence she was still incredibly aware of the dangers around her. I liked that after helping the men to fish she didn’t immediately follow him or try to join the group despite how lonely she was it just showed how intelligent she is. Also she kind of reminds me of Rapunzel trapped in the woods with only the woman whose not her mother as her only companion and Jerusza is most definitely Mother Gothel. Like Mother Gothel, Jerusza is a complicated character due to two things one, she claims that Yona’s parents were bad people and two, she claims to hear God, God or the forest told her to take Yona but still I’m on the fence about her. However, her acts do save a bunch of characters by forcing Yona to live off the grid with her. Camping sounds absolutely miserable to so the fact that people were able to hid and survive in the forest like this is amazing to me, I’d be dead in a week even with Yona helping me. The community of the forest is astounding and I adored most of them but Zus most of all. I liked his and Yona’s relationship and the ending for each of them, it’s an insane time with unimaginable loss so I liked the now their relationship developed. This really is an amazing story and while the main characters are not real, there are a number of events and characters that are or are inspired by actual events and people. If you’re a fan of historical fiction I would recommend this I really loved this book and am excited to investigate her other books.

I have never read anything from Kristin Harmel and this will not be the last. I learned a whole new side of WWII in this book. I had heard people fled into the forest but I never knew what they faced. This books tells that story from a women's eyes that learned how horriblean can be.

This story is a unique WWII fiction novel. I love historical fiction books and I have never read anything about the people that survived the war living in the woods. The story begins with an older woman kidnapping a little two year girl from her bed. She proceeds to raise this little girl in the forest where she teaches her everything she would need to know to survive living a whole lifetime in the forest.
After Yuna grows into a young lady, her kidnapper dies. She is now living alone in the woods where she was raised. After a time she comes across several different groups of people that she struggles with what she should do….help or not to help. She will meet many people in the woods who she teaches to survive the war and how to hide from the enemy soldiers.
The whole story is about Yuna’s life of learning what is truly right and what is wrong and finding a place where she belongs. It is about her finding a family.
It is an incredible story that I highly recommend reading. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this story early.

“The Forest of Vanishing Stars” tells the little known story of Jews that survived the Holocaust by hiding from the Nazis in the woods in rural Poland. The main character is Yona, who in 1922 at 2 years old, was kidnapped from her German parents by an elderly woman named Jerusza. Jerusza was compelled to abduct Yona by God, whose voice she heard in the forest. Jerusza reared Yona in the wilderness, teaching her languages, and how to survive on the resources she found in the forest. When Jerusza dies 19 years later, leaving Yona completely alone in the forest, Yona has to learn to survive on her own. She soon discovers Jewish escapees from the nearby ghettos and helps them survive in the forest, using the skills she learned throughout her life.

Although this book was well-researched and does a good job of portraying Yona’s yearning to belong to the groups she assisted, the book failed to resonate with me. The basic premise, that an old woman kidnaps a two year old girl after hearing voices, seems a bit contrived. Moreover, the repetitious details of the continuous struggle for survival in the forest year after year became somewhat monotonous. Finally, the next to the last chapter, where Yona discovers details about her real parents, seemed a bit ludicrous.

In conclusion, this book did a good job of illuminating a little known aspect of Jewish World War II history and depicting Yona’s personal growth from being a hermit to becoming a member of a tight knit group. However, the somewhat farfetched basic premise and the monotonous descriptions of survival in the forest kept me from fully enjoying this book.

This was a captivating story about a woman who was kidnapped as a toddler and was raised in the wilderness. She was taught how to survive in the forest and this eventually in turn helped her teach the fleeing Jewish people how to survive. With the new knowledge of what was happening, she was determined to help these fleeing people escape from the Nazis. I thought the author wrote beautifully about life in the forest with the description of plants and herbs used medicinally and how to build shelters. I couldn't help but feel for these people trying to stay alive. The hardships and traumas were felt while reading this book. Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

A very different story of Jewish people fleeing Nazi tormentors. One filled with danger and sadness, yet also filled with hope and love. I really appreciated that this was not your typical concentration camp story.