Reviews tagging 'War'

The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel

18 reviews

courtscruggs's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Violence, Infidelity, Genocide, Kidnapping, War, Child death, Death, Racism, Murder, and Hate crime

cassalsace's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, War, Genocide, Antisemitism, Violence, Hate crime, Gun violence, and Grief

blueeyedshook's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

3.5

In a genre that often feels regurgitated and oversaturated, this story shines with originality and a unique perspective. Wow. This was like nothing I had ever heard. And while all of the stories of this time period and any war time books are heartbreaking, it was also beautifully done. It was a little difficult for me to get in to. I was kind of confused by the almost magical realism feel that the opening had. Almost like a Tangled back story…a baby stolen from parents by an old woman. But in this case the woman is trying to do something good, saving a baby from bad people who are parents. And in a bigger way, she saves her…not only her life but raises her and teaches her how to survive in the first and stay away from the enemies of war. And so she does. So many in fact that it felt slightly repetitive. But in the end, truly beautiful and heroic story.



Language: 3/10

Sex: 5/10 (one specific scene)

Violence: 5/10 (mild, especially for a war book)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment and War

toriwatson's review against another edition

emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Antisemitism, and Death

Moderate: Infidelity and War

whereamiwaldo's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism

Moderate: Death and War

Minor: Gun violence

wellreadmegs's review against another edition

emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Kristin Harmel does it again. She is quickly becoming a must-read author for me. 

I absolutely loved this story of Yona and I felt so many different emotions. As someone who even hates camping, I am fascinated by someone's ability to survive and thrive in the wilderness. It took me a solid 70-80 pages for the book to pick up. But once Yona reached adulthood I didn't want to put the book down. 

Historical fiction is my comfort genre and it was nice to get lost in this story. Every time you thought you knew what was going to happen there were twists and turns right until the very end. I can't wait to read more of Harmel's books! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, War, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail

cc0906's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Violence, and War

Moderate: Infidelity and Pregnancy

funkylitchick's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Antisemitism, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Violence

Moderate: War