The Forest of Vanishing Stars

Trigger warnings: antisemitism, murder, war, kidnapping

Yona is raised in the forest and helps Jewish refugees survive in the wild during World War II.

Yona is stolen from her German parents as a baby and raised in a forest by a Jewish woman with precognition. Jerusza teaches Yona how to live off of the land and survive in a harsh world.

When Yona is older, Jerusza dies and leaves Yona alone in the forest. She happens upon a group of Jewish refugees fleeing German persecution and decides to help the men and women survive in the forest.

Yona enjoys the company of the Jewish community and begins to see them as a family of sorts. Tensions between the villagers create drama and teach Yona about human nature. As Yona witnesses firsthand the hate and devastating actions of the Nazis, she must also come to terms with her German heritage.

Living in the forest is migratory so that the inhabitants can avoid discovery, so there's no specific setting and the forest itself becomes a character of sorts. The book takes place in rural German-occupied Poland/Belarus. Harmel explains in the author's note at the end that the area was part of Poland during the war, but is a part of modern-day Belarus.

Recommended for readers of World War II fiction who are looking for a markedly different story.

Kristin Harmel is a former sportswriter, magazine journalist, and TV reporter who has written several bestselling novels. She graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in journalism and lives in Orlando.

Publisher: Gallery Books

Length: 384 pages

Release Date: July 6, 2021

I received an electronic galley copy of this title from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.