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A review by tamtasticbooks
The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel
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