Kristing Harmel’s historical novels are both well researched and have relatable characters. This book is set during World War II. The novel begins with an older woman, Jerusza, kidnapping a young child because she believes that the parents are evil. Jerusza renames the child Yona and raises her in the forests surrounding Poland and teaches how to survive off the land and how to defend herself. After her captor passes away Yona puts these skills to good use by helping Jewish families that have escaped into the woods to avoid being imprisoned or massacred by German soldiers.

This was the first historical fiction novel that I have read that told the story of Jewish people hiding in forests in order to survive. It was heartbreaking to read about the fear, suffering and loses that these refugees went through in hopes of simply surviving. I liked the diversity of the characters and felt that Harmel did an amazing job of showing the readers how each character reacted under these circumstances.

Engaging, richly written historical fiction. Of all the WWII books I've read, this novel tops them all. The characters, the story line, the intrigue, it's all here and beautifully done. I cannot recommend this book enough.

A young girl is taken from her German parents and raised in the forest. During WWll she helps Jewish people survive in the forest she has lived in all her life. A story of friendship and love in the worst of times.

Five stars for this unique story with WW2 as a backdrop! I really enjoyed this story about Jewish people escaping to the woods during WW2 and surviving the harsh landscape for years.. I loved the rich characters, especially Yona. This book brought about so many emotions and I could not wait to find out how it ended. I enjoyed reading the author's information at the end about how she researched for this book. It has led me down a rabbit hole of other books and movies.

The Forest of Vanishing Stars is a mesmerizing tale told with a unique voice that draws you in from the first pages. Set during World War Two, the sense of fear and horror that the Jewish people feel is real. The invading Germans send many fleeing to the forest of Poland for refuge. Having been raised in the forests, Yona, who has lived a sheltered and isolated life shares her knowledge and learns what it means to belong.
This book is fIlled with beautiful imagery allowing the reader to feel the magic of Yona's forrest. This was my first Kristin Harmel book. I was drawn to this one NetGalley by the stunning cover and the intriguing description and I was not disappointed. Kristin Harmel is a new favorite.
Thank you to the author, Gallery Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy. Thoughts and opinions shared are my own.

A very young German girl is kidnapped from her parents and raised in the European wilderness by an elderly old woman. Her abductor teaches her how to survive off everything the forest has to offer. When she is a very young woman, her abductor dies and she is left alone to survive in the forest while World War II is raging in Europe. By chance she stumbles upon a Jewish family that has fled to the forest to escape death by the Nazis. Taught to fear strangers she is left with the dilemma of helping the family survive at the risk of her own safety. From this point forward her life is changed forever. Kristin Harmel has written a wonderful novel which evokes so many emotions. This book is a heartwarming, heartbreaking, magical, mystical tale. It is a must read!

This is the first book I’ve read from this author. I thought it was a very suspenseful, unique WWII story of survival. As the book description states the protagonist, Yona, is very reminiscent of Kya in Where the Crawdads Sing. The only aspect of the book that I did not enjoy was the mysticism surrounding Yona’s kidnapper- it just didn’t fit the rest of the story. And somehow made the Jews survival a fairy tale and not a historical fact as referenced in the Afterward. Thank you for the ARC

This is a wonderfully written bistorical fiction novel set in the early 1940s as WWII takes over Europe. I happen to love historic fiction but I really do not believe all historic fiction is as thoroughly researched as Harmel researched this book. Most of us know the facts--that Jews were hunted down and routinely forced into ghettos then killed or simply rounded up and killed, often buried in mass graves. However, most of us do not know the stories of how some Jews survived and actually lived through the war.

This story begins with the abduction (or literally the stealing) of a two-year old child from her bed. She is taken by a woman who lives entirely in the woods yet is highly intelligent. All we know as to why this child, Inge, is taken is that her family is bad and the child is being saved. The child, whose name is changed to Yuna, grows up under the guidance of Jerusza, who teaches her everything she needs to survive. She learns to speak several languages fluently, learns history, reads many books, and so much more. She learns the most important thing--survival in the woods--what to safely eat,how to survive in all types of weather, how to find items needed through theivery, and move.

We see Yuna grow into a young lady who is eventually on her own. Now she has seen otehr people; has even spoken to one or two, but does she actually know how to interact with people? No. As the talk of war begins and the Jewish communities are targeted, Yuna meets some Jewish people trying to escape. Knowing the difference in good and bad, she knows she must help those escaping the wrath of the Germans. Through remarkable research, Harmel shows us how Jewish communities thrived and survived in the woods. In this novel, they had the help of the remarkable Yuna

Her family never knew what happened to her. Of course, she does "run into" her father but that is all I will say to that as it would spoil things. Some events from this time, along with others, are based on actual events happening during the time period.

Many authors will share information about their research after the novel is finished. I found Harmel's information compelling as to the length she went in her research. She went beyond books to actually talking to people who had survived and I really believe she went to the area where her story took place. I am pretty sure she has traveled as part of her research before.

Now, I did find this book from Net Galley and somehow had forgotten I had it. What a thrill to find it because I have been waiting on it to come out. I heartily recommend it as a well-written story but also one to more deeply explain life for Jews in WWII.

#Goodreads #Netgalley

Wow! This was an excellent book! I don’t read a lot of historical fiction books, but I’m glad I chose to read this one! I once had a Polish professor who had escaped from the Germans multiple times during WWII, and I imagine his life might have been like some of the characters lives in this book. I’m glad I read this book and will definitely be recommending it to my book club.

I received an advanced readers copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Forest of Vanishing Stars is one of those books that will stick for a while. To even imagine what the Jewish community endured is painful. The pain they felt, the lives lost, the things they did to survive. Many of them broken. To know that there was so much hate and pure evil.

Thank you Gallery Books and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

“The Forest of Vanishing Stars” is an amazing, unusual, and page-turning story set in WWII Europe. The main character, Yona, is stolen as a child and brought up in the forest by an elderly woman who’s a psychic and teaches Yona everything she needs to survive in the woods, knowing that her skills will be needed in the future to help communities of Jews fleeing from the Holocaust.

The author has done incredible research and it shows on every page. The book is compelling, beautifully descriptive, filled with a wonderful cast of characters, and evokes every emotion. You will feel as though you have traveled back in time and are in that forest, on the journey with these people. It’s a story you will never forget.

"But the forest knew no difference when it came to race, religion, or gender; it smiled and frowned upon all of them in equal measure, sometimes providing protection, sometimes peril. 'By the grace of God, may we all be vanishing stars.'" Yona ,a child stolen from her family and raised for an unknown purpose, struggles as she finds what family means in a way she never imagined. She finds herself leading, teaching, and saving others from dangers in her beloved forest. The Forest of Vanishing Stars is a look inside the difficult struggles to survive in a forest when you are hunted, have nothing but a glimmer of hope, and learn of the beautiful provision and security of the forest. History and other books allude to those who lived in the forest during WWII, but Kristin Harmel helps us understand how they lived and survived to tell the tales of loss, anguish, and survival that they experienced.

The Forest of Vanishing Stars demonstrates the dichotomy of WWII life in the forest: lyrical yet harsh, comforting yet uncomfortable, home but can never be home, beautiful and bountiful yet barren and brutal. The forest is a character in this novel like Alaska is in Kirstin Hannah's The Great Alone and the marshlands of Where the Crawdads Sing. A beautiful journey that has yet to be told.

Kristin Harmel is an author I discovered about a year ago. Every book I’ve read of hers I love. The Forest of Vanishing Stars is by far my favorite! I love historical fiction but this book is exceptionally great. The plot is original, full of hope. I love the characters and the emotions that I felt surrounding them. This book will be on all the bestsellers lists!!

I would rate this book a 3.5 if I were able to. I have loved all the previous books I have read by this author, but this one fell a little flat for me. I can’t even really describe why - I just couldn’t get into the story and perhaps there were too many characters, so that I never really came to know them too well. I think a lot of readers will enjoy this, but for me it was just okay. Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Forest of Vanishing Stars is very different than any other World War II book I’ve ever read. Full of hope and sorrow, the story that unfolded was amazing. I was not able to put this book down. I highly recommend this book.

Usually, I devour a Harmel novel from the get-go, but for some reason, this one didn't grab me at the start, but once it did, there was no releasing me. The Forest of Vanishing Stars is set in a location I have never seen in a WWII novel, obviously, the forest.

I did not like Jerusa as a character because I felt she was cold, but in the events that unfolded, I realize she was vital to the setup of everything. Yona was a delight. She was a character you could relate to because she was conflicted between how she was raised and what was the right thing to do.

This may not be my favorite Harmel novel, but it is good, and she shows us once again that she is a creative and detailed writer. I believe my friends are going to LOVE this one. and I am excited for them to get it in July.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This falls somewhere between 3 and 4 stars for me. I was so excited to start this, the description sounded amazing. However the writing didn't really draw me in and I didn't find myself excited to pick it up at the end of the day (I didn't hate picking it up either but I wasn't thinking about it throughout the day). In the spots where major things happened I found I didn't have much to any emotional reaction until the end and even then I should have had a stronger reaction. I also felt it ended super abruptly.

The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel is an excellent WWII-era historical fiction novel that truly capitivated me from beginning to end. The atrocities, the rawness, the fear, loss, and complex emotions that the characters exchange and feel themselves really affected me. As always, it was hard to read so much hurt, fear, and damage. This book gives a harrowing account that has some historical fact/basis, and it was just so remarkable and stunning, Inspired by true events, Yona is abducted at the age of two by a strange woman who lives in the forest. She is stolen away from her German parents and raised for twenty years, completely in the forest. When Jerusza, the woman who both kidnapped her & then raised her, dies in 1941, Yona finds herself alone for the very first time in the forest. Her loneliness is soon over as Yona finds herself in the middle of a group of Jews who are fleeing into the forest to escape the Nazi’s in order to survive. Yona pledges to teach the group all she knows about surviving in the forest so that they can remain safe and healthy. In return, Yona finds herself learning much more about life, love, and family-from the group of Jews in return.

The Forest of Vanishing Stars
by Kristin Harmel isn’t just another WW2 story. It is a novel @ a young woman who was abducted from her wealthy German parents as a toddler by a very old Woman. They live in the woods, avoiding contact with other people, as Jerusza, the old woman, teaches Yona, the girl, how to survive on her own. She seems able to see into the future and tries to teach Yona what she needs to know about people she might encounter. After Jerusza dies, Yona encounters groups of Jews fleeing the Nazis. She tries to help the first family, but they don’t accept her help and are killed. She then vows to help others. When she encounters a fairly large group she teaches them how to hunt, fish, gather herbs, berries and other useful plant life and how to create shelters. She is betrayed by one of them and leaves them to venture into a town but it is occupied by Nazis.

The tale has many twists and turns including a reunion with her father, a Nazi officer and a group of nuns who want nothing more than to help people. There is a mystical tone to this novel about a young woman living in the woods. I read everything this author writes and loads of WW2 fiction. I liked this book despite feeling that parts were just too contrived.

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

I was eager to read this book, since I have enjoyed Kristin Harmel's other novels. This one does not disappoint! Yet again she tells a little known story about WWII with fascinating characters, heart-racing twists and turns, and nail-biting story arcs. The bold and instinctual heroine Yona is certainly a character that you will root for. Finally, I loved how the title held several different meanings for me by the time I had finished the novel. Kudos to Kristin Harmel on a well-told story that will stick with me for a long time.
Thank you to Gallery Books, Kristin Harmel, and Netgalley for this ARC. #theforestofvanishingstars #gallerybooks #kristinharmel #netgalley