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A review by leweylibrary
The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel
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:
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
Graphic: Antisemitism, Genocide, and Murder