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justme_emily's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism and Genocide
bohemianrhapsodyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Gun violence, Antisemitism, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Alcohol, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Bullying, and Animal death
Minor: Deadnaming
teacupsandfirereads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.0
I always look forward to a new Harmel book, because I can always guarantee learning something new from a different perspective. Having read almost all of Harmel's backlist, I would say this one take a different route and tone that we are used to from her, but it was still a worthy read. There was definitely more mystery and adventure to it than her previous novels.
What I enjoyed about this one was that the main character, Yona, was still learning about herself and her past while still fighting to support the Jewish community in a very harsh time period. Yona is navigating her own story and coming to terms with her story and this I really enjoyed. It was sort of a historical fiction coming of age. Yona's character was quite well developed, the most developed and enjoyable in my eyes. Despite her own struggles, she continues to support others in need where she has developed skills.
I also really enjoyed the portrayal and importance of the forest and the land in this story. It almost felt like its own character. I would argue that the forest was my favourite character. There was a lot of intrigue to it and it was an essential component to the story overall.
The writing was detailed, but also straight forward (not flowery), which helps the reader become more immersed in the story. The story had twists and turns, but was never slow or sluggish. The though and research that went into it was strong.
The significance of the title to this story is something else. It was a really beautiful piece of the story and tied it together in a wonderful way. This story is about redemption, survival, community, forgiveness and much more. I think many readers will enjoy it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
What I enjoyed about this one was that the main character, Yona, was still learning about herself and her past while still fighting to support the Jewish community in a very harsh time period. Yona is navigating her own story and coming to terms with her story and this I really enjoyed. It was sort of a historical fiction coming of age. Yona's character was quite well developed, the most developed and enjoyable in my eyes. Despite her own struggles, she continues to support others in need where she has developed skills.
I also really enjoyed the portrayal and importance of the forest and the land in this story. It almost felt like its own character. I would argue that the forest was my favourite character. There was a lot of intrigue to it and it was an essential component to the story overall.
The writing was detailed, but also straight forward (not flowery), which helps the reader become more immersed in the story. The story had twists and turns, but was never slow or sluggish. The though and research that went into it was strong.
The significance of the title to this story is something else. It was a really beautiful piece of the story and tied it together in a wonderful way. This story is about redemption, survival, community, forgiveness and much more. I think many readers will enjoy it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Death, Violence, and Antisemitism
tamtasticbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
tense
fast-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
The Forest of Vanishing Stars takes you through the life of Yona, who was stolen as a toddler by a woman (who is highly skilled in survival tactics) who takes her into the forest, where they live and learn about the land for years until her kidnapper dies, roughly around the time of World War 2. The woman had always warned Yona to not get close to other humans, but even with that voice in her head, Yona gets involved with Jewish refugees escaping from terrible situations, teaches them her survival tactics, and gets very attached. Betrayals lead to discoveries about her past, which cause Yona to reevaluate who she really is, and who and what she truly belongs to.
This book kept me engaged from the get-go. Harmel has a very straight-forward writing style that I appreciate, where even the descriptions of things keep the story moving and captivating. The characters were written so well, and I got very attached to quite a few of them. I also found the book to be unpredictable in a great way. I was always caught as off-guard as Yona and felt like I was there experiencing it all myself. The story is also absolutely heart-wrenching, though it is "historical fiction," it is based on events that did happen and references true events. It hurts to read something that puts you in the place of such pain, as Jews trying to survive after witnessing and being subjected to such horror. But it's also beautiful. This is a great book to open up a lot of empathy. Highly recommend, if you are even remotely interested in historical fiction.
Thank you Netgalley for an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book kept me engaged from the get-go. Harmel has a very straight-forward writing style that I appreciate, where even the descriptions of things keep the story moving and captivating. The characters were written so well, and I got very attached to quite a few of them. I also found the book to be unpredictable in a great way. I was always caught as off-guard as Yona and felt like I was there experiencing it all myself. The story is also absolutely heart-wrenching, though it is "historical fiction," it is based on events that did happen and references true events. It hurts to read something that puts you in the place of such pain, as Jews trying to survive after witnessing and being subjected to such horror. But it's also beautiful. This is a great book to open up a lot of empathy. Highly recommend, if you are even remotely interested in historical fiction.
Thank you Netgalley for an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Antisemitism
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