Reviews with content warning for Antisemitism - The Forest of Vanishing Stars

This isn't my usual cup of tea, but for the most part, I enjoyed it. It has a different focus than other WWII novels, with much of the story happening in the forests of Poland and focused on survival. There's a sort of magical realism quality to the beginning of the story, and that kind of permeates through Yona's perspective.

The overall story didn't really go where I was expecting it to, which is always a nice surprise. It felt more like a character driven story than anything else. There are also a lot of discussions about identity and home, which is why a lot of people connect with the book.

Content Warnings

katesbooknook's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional slow-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

birtch's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? No

4.75

Content Warnings

maddiet425's review

Go to review page

emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Content Warnings

mheiling's review against another edition

Go to review page

tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

cassalsace's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

Content Warnings

lit_with_lauren's review against another edition

Go to review page

informative 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? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

leweylibrary's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

I'm an absolute sucker for a Holocaust story, and this one was superb. It's based on real people and events even though the main people are fictional which opens up the door for this amazing, badass main character Yona. She has a birthmark in the shape of a dove and one green eye and one blue (definitely some symbolism going on there) and is stolen from her Nazi parents when she's two by an old Jewish woman who lives in the woods. Yona gives major Katniss Everdeen vibes, teaching the runaway Jews she encounters how to survive in the wilderness on their own but ends up finding family along the way. She truly is one of the most badass female characters I think I've read in a while, and I really appreciated that I don't think anyone, especially the love interests, told her how beautiful she was. The compliments were about how strong, capable, and impressive she is (because she is).

The blurb on the summary says it's great for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, but I can assure you this book is LIGHTYEARS better than that monstrosity. It's way better researched and the romance parts are soooo much less cheesy. It's still not award-winning, gorgeous prose, but it moves quickly, and has some pretty great twists near the end. I also absolutely love the symbolism that comes from the book's title.

It's also an aspect of the Holocaust that I knew nothing about and haven't see this perspective before. The author mentions in her author's note that the main group she based a lot of the story on was covered in a 1993 nonfiction book and a 2008 movie, but I've never seen them. Basically, there were thousands of Jews who hid from the Nazis in the woods, and some were really successful, including giant communities. I also haven't learned before about any of the ways that the Jews fought back, so that was a really refreshing change of pace from the other Holocaust novels I've read that are primarily straight up depressing. I love depressing in a book btw, it was just nice to see this population that always gets shit on get some revenge and be shown as more than victims.

Quotes:

She was not Jerusza's--she never had been, and she knew that now. But neither was she her German father's. She belonged only to herself, a dove of the dark forest, the forest that called to her now. (270)
Full dark had fallen, but the sky was clear, and a half moon lit their way, the stars tiny pin pricks of light and a blackening sky. The children all looked up and awe, and even Leon, who at 70 was the oldest among them, side and contentment. "It has been many months since we've fully seen the stars," He said, and the group murmured their assent. "You can hardly make them out above the trees. They disappeared even the forest, don't they?"
"So do we, if we're lucky," Moshe said, and a few of the others laughed.
"Yes," Leon said, tapping his trust, we're once upon a time, the star of David had marked him as a lesser citizen, as a target for elimination. 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, maybe we all be vanishing stars." (293)
"Who are you here?" He touched her chest, just above her left breast, and then he left his palm against her skin. She could feel her heart beating against his hand..."You are a warrior. You are a hero, and a fighter, and a savior. You are a caretaker and a lifegiver." (321)
She hadn't it was happening, but somehow along the way, they had all become her family, each and every one of these refugees. She had thought she was teaching them how to live, but now she realized that in many ways, she had been the student all along. (336-37)

Content Warnings

More...