Book Review: The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel

New Release Alert!!

Publisher: Gallery Books
Release Date: July 6, 2021
Genre: Adult Historical Fiction

The New York Times bestselling author of the “heart-stopping tale of survival and heroism” (PeopleThe Book of Lost Names returns with an evocative coming-of-age World War II story about a young woman who uses her knowledge of the wilderness to help Jewish refugees escape the Nazis—until a secret from her past 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.

Inspired by incredible true stories of survival against staggering odds, and suffused with the journey-from-the-wilderness elements that made Where the Crawdads Sing a worldwide phenomenon, The Forest of Vanishing Stars is a heart-wrenching and suspenseful novel from the #1 internationally bestselling author whose writing has been hailed as “sweeping and magnificent” (Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author), “immersive and evocative” (Publishers Weekly), and “gripping” (Tampa Bay Times).

PURCHASE LINKS: Amazon | B&NGoodreads | Bookbub | Google Books

My Review 🖤

The market is currently saturated with historical fictions that focus on World War II.  It's almost to the point that one will breeze by them, a reader thinking that this will be like all the others, but when your eye comes to The Forest of Vanishing Stars, one immediately gets that sense that this is going to be different, and they'd be right.

When I first saw the cover my first thought was of Katniss from The Hunger Games, and in some ways I wasn't too far off.  Like Katniss, Yona has something special and unique about her, so much so that she is kidnapped from her German home at 2-years-old and raised in the Polish woodlands by her captor.  When the woman dies, Yona lives a solitary life until she comes upon a group of Jews that are fleeing the Nazi's.  This turns Yona's world upside down, and she finally realizes what her life's purpose is: to help these Jews flee persecution, and teach them the ways of the wilderness.

I can honestly say I've never read anything like The Forest of Vanishing Stars before!  It is a refreshingly unique take on a tale that has been told many times before that I just adored.  The character development is incredible, the author getting the reader into the psyche of this remarkable young woman, as well as several of the individuals that Yona crosses paths with.  There are moments that make you sigh with their sweetness, and moments that make you turn your head in disgust, seeing the imagery so vivid in your mind that you want to shake it out immediately.  Yona's fight and never give up attitude is inspiring, and it's hard not to fall in love with her strength, her knowledge, and her caring spirit.

Kristin Harmel has such an amazing talent for putting the reader right there in these worlds, and The Forest of Vanishing Stars is no exception.  You can tell that a lot of time and love went into the writing of this novel, and I am so thankful that she put the work that she did into it, because this novel is truly momentous, brining alive a world that I did not know existed, and getting me out of a nasty reading rut.

The ending was surprising and hauntingly satisfying, about as much as a happily-ever-after as you're going to get considering the circumstances, and for that I was grateful.  I closed the book with a contented sigh, no questions remaining, and my thoughts awhirl about the entire story.  I immensely enjoyed this novel and love that I had the opportunity to read it!
My Rating: ★★★★★

Other Books by the Author

  

Be sure to check out my reviews for The Room on Rue Amélie and The Book of Lost Names
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About the Author

Kristin Harmel is the New York Times bestselling and #1 international bestselling author of THE BOOK OF LOST NAMES, THE WINEMAKER'S WIFE, and a dozen other novels that have been translated into numerous languages and sold all over the world.


A former reporter for PEOPLE magazine, Kristin has been writing professionally since the age of 16, when she began her career as a sportswriter, covering Major League Baseball and NHL hockey for a local magazine in Tampa Bay, Florida in the late 1990s. After stints covering health and lifestyle for American Baby, Men’s Health, and Woman’s Day, she became a reporter for PEOPLE and spent more than a decade working for the publication, covering everything from the Super Bowl to high-profile murders to celebrity interviews with the likes of Ben Affleck, Matthew McConaughey, OutKast, Justin Timberlake, and Patrick Dempsey. Her favorite stories at PEOPLE, however, were the “Heroes Among Us” features—tales of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. One of those features—the story of Holocaust-survivor-turned-philanthropist Henri Landwirth (whom both Walter Cronkite and John Glenn told Kristin was the most amazing person they’d ever known)—partially inspired Kristin’s 2012 novel, The Sweetness of Forgetting, which was a bestseller all over the world.


In addition to a long magazine writing career (which also included articles published in Travel + Leisure, Glamour, Ladies’ Home Journal, Every Day with Rachael Ray, and more), Kristin was also a frequent contributor to the national television morning show The Daily Buzz—where her assignments included flying to London three times to interview the cast of the Harry Potter films. She has appeared on Good Morning America and numerous local television morning shows--and even stumbled into a role as an extra in the 2003 American Idol movie while awaiting an interview with Kelly Clarkson.


Kristin was born just outside Boston, Massachusetts and spent her childhood there, as well as in Columbus, Ohio, and St. Petersburg, Florida. After graduating with a degree in journalism (with a minor in Spanish) from the University of Florida, she spent time living in Paris and Los Angeles and now lives in Orlando, with her husband and young son. She travels frequently to France for book research (and—let’s be honest—for the pastries and wine) and writes a book a year for Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster.


Connect with Kristin: Website | Facebook | Twitter


Content Warning: Several fade-out sexual scenes
*I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from Gallery Books through NetGalley. All views and opinions expressed are completely honest, and my own.

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