Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio / Gallery Books
Published: July 6, 2021
Source: Audio – ALC via Simon & Schuster Audio / Print: Netgalley
Summary:
The New York Times bestselling author of the The Book of Lost Names returns with an evocative coming-of-age World War II story about a young woman who uses her knowledge of the wilderness to help Jewish refugees escape the Nazis—until a secret from her past threatens everything.
After being stolen from her wealthy German parents and raised in the unforgiving wilderness of eastern Europe, a young woman finds herself alone in 1941 after her kidnapper dies. Her solitary existence is interrupted, however, when she happens upon a group of Jews fleeing the Nazi terror. Stunned to learn what’s happening in the outside world, she vows to teach the group all she can about surviving in the forest—and in turn, they teach her some surprising lessons about opening her heart after years of isolation. But when she is betrayed and escapes into a German-occupied village, her past and present come together in a shocking collision that could change everything.
Inspired by incredible true stories of survival against staggering odds, and suffused with the journey-from-the-wilderness elements that made Where the Crawdads Sing a worldwide phenomenon, The Forest of Vanishing Stars is a heart-wrenching and suspenseful novel.
My thoughts:
This is the second book I’ve read by Kristin Harmel, though I do have quite a few of her other books on my to-be-read shelf. And after absolutely loving this one, I will definitely be moving those other ones up on my list.
It’s no surprise that I love historical fiction and no matter how many books I read that touch upon WWII, I feel there is always a new take and this one is like none I have read before. I was immediately captivated by this story that primarily takes place in the forests of Poland and has almost a mystical quality to it. It’s a book that manages to evoke such a wide range of emotions throughout. I found myself becoming very emotionally attached to these characters, most especially Yona, but some of the others as well. I laughed, I cried, I got angry and I cheered with these characters. I was completely invested and I did not want it to end.
I love when we are given a strong female lead and that is what we have here. Time and again, Yona is forced to rely on her survival skills not only for herself but to help others stay alive and safe from the Germans. It’s not only a matter of life and death, but it ultimately becomes a matter of trust.
This book showcases the atrocities that went on during this time and the author’s note at the end is fascinating in it’s own right. I am so glad I picked this one up and I’m even more excited that to be discussing it in one of my online book clubs – this book has so much to unpack and chat about. I will definitely be recommending this one to everyone I know…it’s not to be missed!
Audio thoughts:
I was completely captivated by the narration of this book. Madeleine Maby did such a great job with the voices and her pacing and intonation were spot on. She infused just the right amount of tension and emotion into her voice as needed. This was a great book to listen to and I’m glad I did – there were so many names and words that I would have stumbled over had I been reading, yet the narrator handled them with ease, keeping me completely immersed in the book the entire time. And as a bonus, Kristin Harmel narrates the author’s note which I loved!
