As a proud "baby boomer" WWII stories have always been of special interest for me. I learned about the Holocaust in school and mourned the loss of nearly an entire race of people, but I had never known about those who managed to survive by living in the forests of eastern Europe. Through impeccable research, and based on true stories, Kristin Harmel gives us the fascinating story of a young woman raised in these forests.
Yona was stolen from her bed at 2 years old and raised away from civilization by an old woman who teaches her what it means to be one with nature and with God. In the early years of the war Yona comes across a group of Jews fleeing the Nazis she teaches them how to forage for food and build shelter for the winter. And how to survive and avoid the German army. Eventually their group merges with another. In this Yona finds family, a sense of home and eventually love.
Kristin Harmel has given us a beautifully written story about hope and heartbreak, and perseverance in the face of extreme hardship...and yes...triumph over evil. I heartily recommend this book for anyone that enjoys WWII fiction. And be sure to read the author's notes at the end of the book for some additional insites into the story.
Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a wonderful story of survival in its truest form. The historical encounters of the Jews, during WWII, are horrific. But need to be told. This story follows a young girl, kidnapped at only 2 years old. She is raised by an old woman in the dense Forrest in Poland. The story is fiction, with many authentic events, locations and people incorporated in, to make it a very reliable and gripping story. I enjoyed the Author’s note, at the end, explaining all of the research she did to bring it to life. The characters,, especially Yoma, were well written and engaging. With any wartime story, there will be graphic scenes that can be disturbing to some. Also the is 1 medium sex scene, any others are mild. I typically try not to read books that are very mild, but this story was worth rushing through that scene. I would suggest this book to, very mature, young adults to adults.

Kristin Harmel is fast becoming one of my favorite authors of WWII historical fiction. I love how she always manages to uncover and shine a spotlight on some aspect of the war, and in particular of the various Resistance movements, that I was completely unaware of. In the case of her latest novel, The Forest of Vanishing Stars, Harmel’s subject matter are groups of Jewish refugees who flee from the Nazis and try to survive by hiding in the vast forests of Poland. The author’s note at the end of the novel is just as fascinating a read as the book itself because Harmel shares the details of her research, including information about the real-life groups of Jewish refugees she based her fictional groups on.

The Forest of Vanishing Stars centers on a young woman named Yona who is stolen from her crib by an elderly Jewish woman when she is only two years old. It is unclear at first what the old woman’s motivation is. She seems to have some mystical powers that allow her to see the future and she “sees” that Yona is destined for something special and that she must teach her so that she is ready when the time comes. The old woman raises Yona in the forest and gives her what seems like the oddest of educations. She teaches her all about how to survive in the forest – how to build various kinds of shelters, how to gather and preserve food, how to use plants and herbs for medicinal purposes, and how to defend herself. She also teaches Yona many languages: Polish, German, and Russian to name a few. The old woman dies soon after Yona’s education is complete and she is left to wonder what exactly she is meant to do with all she has learned. It soon becomes clear when she encounters a large group of Jewish refugees fleeing for their lives deep in the forest. They are doing everything wrong and if they continue as they are, they will all surely perish. Yona makes it her mission to ensure that they all survive and begins to teach them everything she knows about living off the land and about how to stay hidden.

The survival aspect of the story is definitely compelling enough in its own right, but I especially adored the character of Yona. She is such a special young woman and I loved how fully she devoted herself to caring for this group of people even though they are complete strangers and she could be executed if she is caught helping them. I admired her bravery and her selflessness. I also became quite attached to the group of refugees. They are all so eager to learn everything Yona has to teach them and they become just as devoted to her as she is to them. They become a family and it’s just beautiful to see that bond form when everything around them is so dark and treacherous.

Made all the more poignant by Harmel’s characters and her exquisite storytelling, The Forest of Vanishing Stars is a story of strength, resilience, love, family, and sacrifice. If you think you’ve read it all when it comes to WWII historical fiction, I highly recommend giving Kristin Harmel’s novels a try. I’ve enjoyed all that I’ve read from Harmel so far and The Forest of Vanishing Stars is my favorite yet; it’s a real gem.

At age two, Yona was stolen from her German parents and raised in a forest wilderness of eastern Europe. After her kidnapper, survival expert and teacher dies, Yona finds herself alone in 1941. Her solitary existence is interrupted when she happens upon a group of Jews fleeing the Nazi terror. 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 what will happen when she comes in contact with the outside world that threatens her life and newfound family?
The Forest of Vanishing Stars is an interesting book based on true events. Part survival guide and part novel, the story is both educational and entertaining. Yona is a strong woman who knows her mind, listens to her intuition and loves people well. I wasn't a fan of the romance, but it's not too much of a focus. There is a bit of war-related violence as one would expect in a WW2 novel.

Harlequin Junkie TOP PICK!!

Having been raised by Jerusza in the deep forests bordering East Germany, Yona learns the powerful lessons of the earth, and absorbs the knowledge of the world without having lived in it. Jerusza, who was something akin to a witch, stole Yona from her German family in 1922 as a 2 year old when she had heard the mystic call that Yona’s life was predestined for remarkable things. Throughout their 20 odd years together, she held the deep knowledge that despite not wanting to be a mother, she must raise Yona to learn all she could teach to prepare her for what was to come. And whilst there was no softness between them, Jerusza performed her job perfectly, giving Yona more than just the skills required to survive the Nazi occupation as World War II begins. And yet despite this, Yona had little to no understanding of how to behave, how culture is created and how to engage in the most basic human interactions. Until, of course, she is put to the test and must do all she can to help those fleeing into the dark forest, escaping the Nazi brutality and horror that robbed the Jewish people of their futures, by sharing her knowledge of the earth to help them survive.

The choices she made, built on a multi-weave of instinct and compassion, and the deep trust she had in her faith, the earth and all things inexplicable, were what made Yona the perfect heroine from beginning to end. In many ways she was as much a victim as a creator in her own journey, given she had a sense of her pre-destined path and yet also knowing she must veer from that path when her heart voiced otherwise. In essence, this was a true tale of survival, purpose, hope, love and the fierce spirit of the people who were forced to build new families and find new ways to exist in the echoes of horrendous violence and inexplicable destruction. And despite the perfectly blended generic elements of Magical Realism and Historical Fiction, Harmel’s deep authorial research wholly underpinned the narrative, drawing from the real events that occurred in the many villages that sat on the outskirts of the dense trees.

For many, this will not be a quiet or gentle read, and yet its beauty lies in the necessity to repeat, recreate and share the tale lest humanity forget its darkest time and its capacity to do the unimaginable. Furthermore, there were so many stunning moments of love and joy that sat in utter contrast to the death and violence, which highlighted the sheer resilience of the human spirit and the necessity to look beyond religion and culture to find the voice of truth within. I cannot recommend The Forest of Vanishing Stars enough – this is simply a must read for all.

I don’t even know how to describe this book. Yes, it’s a WWII novel but it’s unlike any I’ve read before. There’s a sense of mysticism - Yona has intense premonitions and intuition. There’s a longing to be of service - to use her skills to help the Jews in hiding stay alive. There’s a bit of a love story - and survivors guilt for being able to love again when your whole family has been killed.

Yona was two years old when she was kidnapped from her German parents and raised in the forest learning all sorts of skills necessary for survival. When she discovers an encampment of Jews escaping the ghettos, she immediately knows her purpose in life - to help them survive. There is one passage where the people hiding decide they must attack a German convoy in order to collect more supplies. Opposed to killing unnecessarily, they begin to name who they are fighting in honor of -they list off the names of family members they lost. Wives, husbands, children, I was sobbing. This book is so beautiful. I highly recommend for fans of historical fiction, WWII fiction and anyone looking for beautiful writing and gorgeous storytelling.

Outstanding Survival in WWII Europe
This book is what I like to call likely fiction. The author certainly did her research with those who actually survived the atrocities, some in the great forests. I noticed the similarities between this book and the real-life story shown in the book and movie, Defiance. It is very easy for the reader to put themselves into the life these survivors led in the forest. The fear, hunger, and depression, are tangible when reading their story. I highly recommend this book. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

This is the story of a young German girl Inge who is kidnapped when she is 2 years old by an old woman who does so in order to protect her form her evil parents and the evil in the world that is to come,
She becomes known as Yona and she is raised in the forest with only the old woman for company. It isn't until the old When her kidnapper is dying she tells Yona who her parents were and where they lived and she tells Yona she will live to be 100 if she doesn't forget .all that she has been taught.
When she is twenty she sees more planes overhead and hears explosions and gunfire,,a young Jewish girl appears in the forest :: she is running away for the Nazis who have shot her father.. Yona promises to try and help heal her father.
Yona comes across a group of Jewish refugees fleeing Germany and she teaches them how to survive in the forest. However there isa woman i the group who doesn't trust Yona and is resentful of her presence She betrays Yona who leaves the group and goes back to live in the forest alone..
Yona starts thinking of her parents and tries to go to find where they once lived. She comes upon a village and a group of nuns who are helping Jewish people and it is there that she sees her father who has become an important Nazi officer.
He fails to keep the nuns from being shot so Yona flees back to the forest where she meets the group of refugees once more. The group decides to ambush a German convoy truck to get food they need for the oncoming winter.
Yona is tracked down by her father who shoots her when she tries to protect the man she loves from her father's intent to kill him and she kills her father.

Yona lives to be the agehker kidnapper had foretold and she becomes a legend.

I've had The Book of Lost Names on my TBR forever, but when my favorite virtual book club (Peloton Moms Book Club) announced an author chat with Kristin Harmel for her upcoming novel, The Forest of Vanishing Stars, I knew that would jump to the top of my TBR stack!

I appreciated that this was a different story from the many WWII historical fiction books I've read. Yona is stolen from her German parents when she is a toddler. She is snatched from her crib by a witchy woman, named Jerusza, who felt compelled to kidnap Yona based upon a vision/premonition. Together they spend the next 20+ years in the forest together where the young girl is taught self-defense, languages, religious studies, and how to survive solely based on what the land provides. When Jerusza dies of old age at 102, Yona is left behind to fend for herself which she is completely capable of doing. Her whole life experience up until this point has prepared her for what is to come.

When Yona comes across a small camp of Jewish people fleeing to the forest to escape the Nazis she makes it her mission to teach them how to survive. Upon hearing the atrocities that are happening to the Jews, she cannot fathom what the outside world has become. Using her skills to navigate the forest and her sixth sense to stay ahead of the Germans seeking to recapture the Jews, this is a slower paced story about perseverance, family being what you make it, and faith. At times it felt a bit repetitive ,but overall I still enjoyed the book.

Definitely read the author's note at the end of the book where Kristin details her research process and the real life inspiration for this story! The Forest of the Vanishing Stars is set to publish on July 6, 2021. Special thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an electronic ARC to read and review, but all thoughts/opinions are my own.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an e ARC of this book.
A different approach to yet another story about World War Ii. The forests of Eastern Europe are filled with Jews who are trying to avoid capture by the Germans. Tons has lived her life in the forests and knows how to survive. I mostly love the story and found the characters believable and likeable. Draggy in a few places but truly a wonderful book.

At the age of two, a young girl with a dove on her wrist and two different colored eyes is stolen from her crib by a harsh old women. She is raised along the trees in the forest, protected by nature, with no other interaction to people. Finding herself alone in the middle of a war torn country, Yona must decide to continue by yourself or teach others to survive not only the Nazis but the brutal wild.

This is like no other World War 2 book I have devoured. It is a true book of survival. It is a slow burn but the amazing story of bravery of Yona and the Jewish people makes you want to keep reading. I loved that the focus was more directed to the history and devastation of the time then the drama and romance, reading more like a nonfiction.

I loved Kristin Harmel's last historical fiction book and was totally blown away at the end when I discovered that most of the characters had been real people and circumstances. I guess I was expecting the same with this book, but the book started out almost as a fantasy (unexplainable things taking place). It starts out with an eighty year old woman who has lived in a forest her entire life going to Berlin because something is telling her to steal a two year old from her home. The old woman "sees and hears" things about what is going to happen. It had me shaking my head a little.

The book got much better as the story progressed and got more into the actual happenings around World War II. Yona is grown and the old woman has died, but taught Yona how to survive in the forest. As Yona encounters Jewish people in the forest trying to escape the Nazis, she feels the need to try to ensure that they know how to survive and goes about sharing her knowledge.

The story involves several encounters of Yona with different groups of people trying to live through the war. The ending was a surprise to me and I found it to be very satisfying. The unexplainable things in the beginning of the book and Yona's being able to feel when something bad was about to happen still has me a bit skeptical, but the book was well written and very enjoyable.!

I was given a complimentary copy via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

An amazing, powerful and emotional read about WW2. I didn’t realize when I requested this that it was based on a true story, but when I found out, that fact made the story even more meaningful to me.

These days people throw the term “resilience” around a lot, and I’m sure they believe they are, or maybe they hope to be. What Yona and others like her endured goes so far beyond a catchy phrase, beyond imagination really.

I’m not shying away from re-telling the plot, I’m purposely not doing so. I hope you take the time, reserve some emotional bandwidth for this book because you’ll need it. Highly recommend.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

I struggled at the beginning with the fantasy aspects of Jerusza and Yona's connection with each other and the forest. (I also don't think the cover is a good representation of the story). Yet, this fantasy aspect wasn't very prominent through most of the book, and I was hooked by page 50.

Overall, I love historical fiction, and Kristin Harmel clearly does lots of research before writing. I loved learning about the people who survived WW2 by living in the forests of Poland/Belarus. I especially appreciated the historical information woven into the story about the surrounding towns and ghettos as well as the information about how groups were able to survive in the forests without being found. The main characters are well-developed, and the supporting characters enhance the story nicely. Furthermore, the narratives about "good" and "evil" really enhanced the story, and the discussions on the impact/importance of "family" were well done.

So many horrors in the world to bear witness to, and I will do my part to read about as many as I can. I loved that this book acknowledged how hand-in-hand good and evil are ... how we need the darkness to appreciate the light.

I give this one 4 stars. It does hook you very quickly, and you stay invested in the stories. There are also some elements of fantasy included, which I am still unsure if I enjoyed.

Jerusza an 82 year old Jewish Woman German steals a 2 year old baby Inge from her parent’s Berlin home. Why? Because Jerusza has a gift from God and she knows things. She knows that Inge must not be allowed to stay with her Nazi parents because Inge is important to the future. Inge’s fate is that she was born to repair the world, for the sake of tikkun alam. Jerusza takes the baby to her forest home and renames her Yona. Jerusza begins training Yona for her fated greatness. At 8, Jerusza begins teaching Yona things such as how to kill a man. She also taught her how to heal. Then In 1942 at the age of 102, Jerusza dies, leaving a 22 year old Yona all alone in the forest. Until she finds a child hurt wandering alone with a yellow star sewn on her sweater. Then everything changes and Jersuza’s teachings make sense.

This was a great book. There was a sense of magic that surrounds Yona and the forest. Her courage and strength to help the Jews she finds is amazing. Not all battles are fought with weapons, some our fought by defying what is expected. Watching Yona’s growth as a person was an incredible journey to join her on. This was well written and the language was beautiful. The story came to life in my minds eye. This book is full of love and hate, courage and fear, selfishness and sacrifice. It is beautiful and I highly recommend it
Spoiler: In the afterwards Kristen Harmel tells us she interviewed a leader of the Bielski group. And although this isn’t their story, it is loosely based on some of their methods and experiences. So fiction based rooted in facts.

*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.*

I love WWII setting for books. I try to find some that will give me a different different story from the book before. The Forest of Vanishing Stars did not disappoint. I am always amazed to learn how people survived the war. They truly survived against all odds. Yona is a great character and you can’t help but love her for her grit, heart and vulnerability. I loved having a strong female character that knows the forest better than anybody else. Could it have been a little boy who grew up and learned to be one with the forest? Yes, but it is a stronger book with a main female character. This book is fictional but Kristin Harmel did a lot of research to make parts of this story close to actual events. Please make sure to read the Author’s Notes at the end. Thank you Netgalley for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

The Forest of Vanishing Stars is an objectively good book that worked for me in some ways, but didn’t work in others. Kristin Harmel clearly knows her stuff about World War II and the Holocaust, from her family history to the number of sources she cited in her research while working on this book.

The setting is well-realized and immersive. I feel like I’ve read more World War II fiction set in Western Europe. So, by contrast, I really liked the way the Eastern European wilderness setting was realized through textual descriptions.

And in some ways, I did enjoy the connection to folklore, with some light mystical elements. I didn’t expect it at first, but it worked out pretty well.

I did struggle to connect the characters somewhat. Yona saving people was great, but I didn’t feel super connected with her.

And the book dragged a lot, pacing wise. I found myself bored a lot of the time. Some of the other positive elements kept me going, but it still impacted my experience overall.

I really enjoyed this different take on World War II and the Holocaust, and even with the issues, I’m interested in reading more from Kristin Harmel. If you love World War II historical fiction, but are looking for something a bit different, you might like this.

Dus zent ir

Yona was two years old when she was taken from her Berlin home by an 82-year-old woman named Jerusza. The woman claimed she was saving Yona from her 'bad' parents. The woman teaches Yona how to live off the land, to survive and endure.

When Jerusza dies in 1941, Yona believes she will be alone forever. When she finds a group of Jews fleeing the Nazis, she is stunned to hear what is happening in the world. She has been raised to not trust, to avoid people, to live and to stay safe. Yona decides to help them. They do not have the skills to survive in the wild, she is determined to teach them and in return, they become her family. Reeling from a betrayal, Yona ventures into a nearby German occupied village and her past collides with her present in devastating ways.

"In the times of greatest darkness, the light always shines through, because there are people who stand up to do brave, decent things."

I have a family member who was in Auschwitz. So many aspects of this book resonated with me - surviving against all odds, the beauty and strength in people, the cruelty in others, grief, loss, survivors’ guilt and the desire to live, to give and to love. Ma was the strongest woman I ever knew. She had PTSD and tremendous survivor's guilt. Yet she had a strength inside her that was unparalleled.

"-home is not a place, but the people you choose to love."

The characters in this book had incredible strength as well. How do you survive the unthinkable? Yona was a unique character and I enjoyed watching her grow, learn and find her way. To learn the meaning of family and what it felt to be a part of one. Jerusza was a gem. I was hoping for more of her, for more of her backstory. Yes, she was a kidnapper, but she was also a tough lady and I instantly was captivated by her character. I also enjoyed how she 'knew' or 'sensed' things'. I enjoyed the magical realism part of the book, it really added to the story for me.

I found this book to be beautifully written and moving. It evokes emotion and has several tense moments. I was engrossed in the story and went back and re-read several passages and found myself highlighting sections which spoke to me.

The Author's note at the end should be mandatory. It in moving. Harmel shares the research she did in writing this book, the people she spoke to, and her inspiration for writing it.

Riveting, Emotional and Engrossing.

A MUST read!

***Inspired by true stories of survival.

Thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

At age 2, Inge Juttner is kidnapped by an 82 year old woman, Jerusza, and brought to the forests in Poland where she raised to survive on whatever the forest can offer. In 1941, Jerusza dies at the age of 102 and Inge, who only knows her name as Yona, is all alone. But her solitary existence comes to an abrupt end when she encounters a small group of Jews who have escaped the ghetto where the Nazis had resettled them. Up to then, Yona was unaware of what was happening in the world, and she soon becomes part of a family that must adapt to this simple but dangerous life in order to survive. A captivating read, although I must confess that I wondered if this was truly historical fiction or just fiction set at the low point of WWII. The author’s note at the end of the book definitely puts in the former. While Harmel takes plenty of leeway in telling her story, the fact remains that there are/were survivors who lived to tell their stories. Despite all we know about the horrific years of the war and its effect on certain populations, stories such as this are for the most part unknown and show the amazing resilience of the human spirit. My thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review the ARC of this book.