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oboesteph's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel
I've read a lot of WWII fiction, but I think this is the first book I've read where the characters have escaped the ghetto and are hiding and surviving in the forest. It's very unique and memorable in that way. Truly, it's so insane than people had to do that. Unfortunately, society hasn't improved since then, insofar as our treatment of fellow humans. However, this book, despite its tragic subject matter, does have glimmers of hope and kindness.
I loved Kristin Harmel's characters in The Forest of Vanishing Stars. They are three-dimensional and well-developed. They're faced with impossible choices and circumstances, and don't always make the best decisions. They grow and learn from one another, help each other, and break each other's hearts. The atmosphere of the forest and swamp feels very real and palpable.
I'm blown away by the amount of research that was done for this book. No doubt that contributed greatly to its feeling of authenticity.
I listened to the audiobook, which was very well read, in the car on the way to an event hosted by Kristin Harmel. (That kind of blew my mind. Wow, here's the lady who wrote this incredible book I was just listening to! She's right here in front of me, in the flesh!) It was such a wonderful and engaging book, and helped to make the drive a bit more bearable.
I've read a lot of WWII fiction, but I think this is the first book I've read where the characters have escaped the ghetto and are hiding and surviving in the forest. It's very unique and memorable in that way. Truly, it's so insane than people had to do that. Unfortunately, society hasn't improved since then, insofar as our treatment of fellow humans. However, this book, despite its tragic subject matter, does have glimmers of hope and kindness.
I loved Kristin Harmel's characters in The Forest of Vanishing Stars. They are three-dimensional and well-developed. They're faced with impossible choices and circumstances, and don't always make the best decisions. They grow and learn from one another, help each other, and break each other's hearts. The atmosphere of the forest and swamp feels very real and palpable.
I'm blown away by the amount of research that was done for this book. No doubt that contributed greatly to its feeling of authenticity.
I listened to the audiobook, which was very well read, in the car on the way to an event hosted by Kristin Harmel. (That kind of blew my mind. Wow, here's the lady who wrote this incredible book I was just listening to! She's right here in front of me, in the flesh!) It was such a wonderful and engaging book, and helped to make the drive a bit more bearable.
lilays43's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
pam2375's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book! This is Where The Crawdads Sing set during WWII and a bit of the same kind of magic that you would find in an Alice Hoffman novel! This book is filled with suspense, thrills, romance (maybe a bit too much for my taste) and so very much more.
You will spend almost the entire book surviving in the forests with Yona. You will learn how to survive the harshest of winter trying to evade the Germans and trying to stockpile enough to eat. But, we will know that the forest always provides. Then, you get to the passage of the title reveal, always my favorite jaw dropping part of any book and this one is spectacular!
Many thanks to Netgalley and Gallery Books for this advanced readers copy. This book is scheduled to release in July 2021.
You will spend almost the entire book surviving in the forests with Yona. You will learn how to survive the harshest of winter trying to evade the Germans and trying to stockpile enough to eat. But, we will know that the forest always provides. Then, you get to the passage of the title reveal, always my favorite jaw dropping part of any book and this one is spectacular!
Many thanks to Netgalley and Gallery Books for this advanced readers copy. This book is scheduled to release in July 2021.
jwinsberg's review
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
maryquitecontrary_22's review
3.0
If the movie Defiance and the book Where the Crawdads Sing made a baby… you’d get The Forest of Vanishing Stars …
Harmel bases her novel on the remarkable feat of human history in which Jewish refugees fled the Nazi takeover and survived in the forests of Poland during World War II. The group of Jewish people in the story are led by Yona, a young woman who has spent nearly her entire life as a nomad of the forest. The story is cleverly researched and quite an original take on WWII literature, especially considering how much of it is out there.
Read It if You Like…
-A strong female lead/heroine
-Issues of faith front-and-center, rather than swept under the rug (in this case, Judaism)
-Details of nature and survival skills
Skip It if You Don’t Like…
-Dialogue that may feel contrived at times
-A protagonist without any flaws
I received this book in a GoodReads giveaway (my first one, yay!). My thanks to Simon & Schuster for the free copy.
canadagirl1008's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
staceyjl's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
missywhidden's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0