For a period of history that has been written about more than just about any other, Kristin Harmel has again found a story which is not well known and written a novel that is both entertaining and informative. Using fact to craft her fiction, Harmel uses as inspiration the stories of Polish Jews who escaped the horrible ghettos of Volozhin, Mir, and Lida into the forests of Eastern Europe. Researching the Nalilboki forest and it's plant life brought an additional layer of realism to the novel.

The novel focuses on Yona who was kidnapped as a young child in Berlin and raised in the forest by Jeruzsa. Yona knows how to live, survive, and hide in the forest. Meeting Jews who have escaped into the forest, Yona begins using her skills and knowledge to help others survive in the forest. Yona's story comes full circle back to her German parents. Her story is both heart wrenching and inspiring. Kristin Harmel writes exceptional historical fiction on lesser known World War II stories. Worth the read!

I read a ton of historical fiction and this one is unlike anything I have read! This book reflects a completely different viewpoint on the atrocities of WW2 and the horrors that millions endured. The story centers on those that escaped and hid in the the forest for years trying to survive with relatively nothing but nature and each other. This is a story of survival, relationships, growth, love, and heartache. I finished this book days ago and its still on my mind. It pulls at your heart and touches your soul.
I have loved all of the books I have read by Kristen Harmel and this one did not disappoint. I especially appreciated the Authors Note with the true facts & research that went into this novel.

Thank you NetGallery for the preview!

The Forest of Vanishing Stars

Thank you to @gallerybooks for the advanced copy! #partner
I have been a huge fan of Kristin Harmel since I read Rue Amelie and once again Harmel did not disappoint!
Her historical fiction sucks you in from the beginning and had me hanging on to every word.
Her writing is so beautiful and enthralling that you literally feel like you are right in the forest with the characters.
As always, the author broke my heart multiple times and made me cry at least twice. But she also showed us the good in people and she showed that all hope was not lost as long as you knew where to look.
I wish that the drama at the end of the book wasn’t as short and there had been more aspects about her father being a Nazi throughout the book versus just the three big scenes as it made it seem a little thrown into the book but I did like the plot twist of her mother being Jewish and that kind of tied up the whole book.

5 ecstatic stars for this incredible story of a forest-dwelling heroine who helps to house and feed Jews during the Nazi occupation of Germany. I hated it when I had to put this one down, because the imagery of the forest was so rich and captivating.; I didn’t want to step away from it, as horrific the theme was. Part historical fiction, part mystical drama, this one is going to knock it out of the park for summer readers. Superb! Thank you. #NetGalley, for allowing me to preview this gorgeous read!

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book. I’m an avid reader of historical fiction but this subject was new to me. Based on real stories of Jews who survived WW2 hiding in the forest. Very well written and I’ll be recommending this when it’s published.

The Forest of Vanishing Stars is historical fiction at its best. Yona is kidnapped as a toddler and raise be a woman in the forest away from most human contact. During World War II Jewish escapees try to escape through the forest but are ill prepared to survive.

This is a story human ingenuity in the face of overwhelming odds. You will learn something about World War II in this book even though it is fiction. If you enjoyed "Where the Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens you will definitely enjoy this book. You will find yourself deeply invested in Yona's story until the very end. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to #Netgalley, @gallerybooks, and @KristinHarmal for a copy of this terrific book.

The Forest of Vanishing Stars was an excellent read! I enjoyed the story of Yona and her unique experiences living her life during WW2. Her perspective was so different than what we usually read about this time period. I particularly liked reading about how Jerusza trained her to survive in the forest - to care for herself and protect herself. I do highly recommend this book. TThe writing is great and it is an excellent story the author based on many true facts and experiences. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity!!

I am not sure how I’m supposed to read another book after this????

This is not your typical WWII novel. From the beginning, we know it is going to be something different than anything we’ve ever read before. The beginning is almost like a fairytale that captures you and from that moment on, you know you are stuck.

Inspired by true events (please research Bielski partisans after this book) Yona is abducted at the age of two by a strange woman who lives in the forest. She is stolen away from her German parents and raised for twenty years, completely in the forest. When Jerusza, the woman who both kidnapped her & then raised her, dies in 1941, Yona finds herself alone for the very first time in the forest.

Her loneliness is soon over as Yona finds herself in the middle of a group of Jews who are fleeing into the forest to escape the Nazi’s in order to survive. Yona pledges to teach the group all she knows about surviving in the forest so that they can remain safe and healthy. In return, Yona finds herself learning much more about life, love, and family-from the group of Jews in return.

I think I’ll leave the synopsis there; short & sweet, because this book deserves to be read with little knowledge. It is a story that will rock you to the core. THIS is a book that you cannot put down, ever. You find yourself rooting for everyone, hurting for all, mourning many.

I don’t think I really have words to explain how this book impacted me. I learned so much from it that I am so thankful for Harmel for writing it and sharing the stories of the thousands of Jews who had to live in the forest for years during WWII in order to survive. They had to live in the forest, so they would not be killed. Just think about that one for awhile.

Outstanding. Suspenseful. Gripping. Magnificent. If you like survival, this is for you. If you like historical fiction, this is for you. If you like books that can shift your entire being, this is for you. 5/5 ⭐️

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review—-so thankful I got the opportunity to read this one early!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Yona lives a life in the woods with her “mother” Jerusza. She knows she is not her mother, but doesn’t know until Jerusza’s last few moments of life who her family is. Yona has never lived in a home, never had a “normal” life. She knows the outside world is trouble, due to hearing bombings, but she has no idea what is going on beyond the forest edge.

There is so much to this story that all I can say, without giving too much away, is to read it! I’ve read a few WW2 books lately, one being The Nightingale, and this story is such a different story than you usually hear about the Jews surviving WW2. It’s an incredible story, and although the characters aren’t factual, the general story is. The Author’s Note at the end is a must read as she explains all of her research, and ties the factual parts of history in with her story. I truly fell in love with Yona and how compassionate she was to do the right thing. I felt her pain, and her joy. This is a heavy book though, which you can assume based on the context, so be prepared for some gut wrenching moments. The only thing I would change is the last chapter felt rushed and I wanted more from the ending. It does not change my 5⭐️ review though. I couldn’t put this book down and prioritized this one over the other 2 I was reading as this captured my attention more.

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @SSEdLib for the eARC and the opportunity to read and review this beautiful heart wrenching story. This story will say with me a long time.

What a wonderful book that held my interest from the first page until the last. A two year old girl is taken form Berlin in the middle of the night by an old woman named Jerusza who feels she is saving her from bad parents. She is raised in the forest which gives them all they need to live and survive. She is taught how to build a shelter for each season, to gather and preserve food for the long winters and how to kill a person if the need would arise.

As World War II starts Yona does not understand what the planes she sees flying overhead are nor the bombs that are dropping. As she retreats farther into the forest with Jerusza, Yona begins her survival training in earnest. Jerusza dies when she is very old and Yona is left alone when she sees a little girl staggering around the forest with ragged and torn clothing and no shoes. She realizes that the girl is sick and she helps her get better and find her mother and father. She wants to help the family move deeper into the forest to escape the Germans who are hunting them the mother is resistant to moving and feels they are safe right where they are because she does not like the way that Yona talks to her husband at night. She begs the family to let her help them and they refuse and a couple of days later she hears shots and finds the family killed execution style. She is determined to help the next group of people she encounters in the forest. She helps a large group of refugees stay alive until the end of the war.

I’m still a little shocked I was able to snag an e-ARC for this. This has been my number one most anticipated book since the author announced it last year.

This is the 5th book of hers I’ve read in just the past year, all of which focus on WW2 from a different perspective of survival.

This was... just... I have no words. Biggest book hangover in a while. It was riveting.. captivating.. immersive.. I couldn’t put it down. Such an interesting angle on the victims of war.

I wish there was more of an epilogue, but I also kind of understand why there wasn’t. I finished it in tears and re-evaluating life as usual with her books.

One of the easiest 5⭐️ I’ve ever given!

I will read everything this author writes.

Ok bye, going to go watch Defiance now. (Read the authors note.)

RELEASE DATE: July 6, 2021

Thank you for ARC @netgalley @kristinharmel @gallerybooks

Wow! The Forest of Vanishing Stars is one of my favorite historical fiction books of all time. It is a beautifully written, unique WWII novel about a young woman who uses her knowledge of the wilderness to help Jewish refugees escape the Nazis. This remarkable book will pull you in right from the start, with its vivid tale of survival and endurance. This book is heart-wrenching, suspenseful, and so well researched. Kristin Harmel is an amazing storyteller and continues to impress me with each of her books I read!

It’s the cracks in us that make us who we are

Heartbreaking history of the deaths and the survival of the Jews during WWII. Telling of the ghettos they were forced to live in and of the groups of Jews who escaped and survived in the forest. This is a fascinating , meticulously researched and utterly unique story retold from true accounts, brought to life with vivid images of forest life and struggle to survive.

Inspiring author, Kristin Harmel, brings to life the amazing story of Yona
who uses her knowledge of the wilderness to help Jewish refugees hid in the forest and escape the Nazis.

I fell in love with Kristin Harmel's writing in 2020 with "The Book of Lost Names," and she's written another favorite with "The Forest of Vanishing Stars." It's not often that a book stays with me long after I've closed the book (or tapped out of the app, as the case may be), but Harmel's storytelling so deeply immersed me into the denser forests of eastern Europe during WWII, that I'll be thinking about this one for a long time.

"The Forest of Vanishing Stars" follows Yona, born to German parents as Inge and stolen at age 2, as she grows up in the forest, learning the secrets of the land. When her kidnapper dies, she's forced to live on her own and make decisions about who she is-- is it the blood that runs through her veins that decides, or can she forge a new destiny?

When she runs into a group of Jewish refugees, she has the chance to find out. This is a book about survival, love, and ultimately-- home.

I actually read this book in about 5 hours (and was up till 2 since I couldn’t go to sleep without finishing it and seeing how it ended)
I don’t know many people who say they can’t wait to read about WWII but I find when I read a book by Kristin Harmel I walk away learning something new that I was not taught in school. Case in point- this book brings to life the story of the Jews hiding from the Germans in a forest. For years. Children, seniors, businessmen, mothers- they were all being hunted and they escaped from their homes and villages with barely anything to live in a forest and join groups of others. But there is magic within the story as we learn about the characters, their relationship to each other, to God, to the woods around them. She writes about how choosing to do the right thing is always hard but you must try.
I wept reading the pain and the fear and the loss, and I smiled as there were times of joy even in those dark years. This would be a terrific book club selection to discuss with a group of people (on zoom or maybe by the time it is released, in person!) There were so many choices that the characters were faced with and they had to react immediately- and maybe not the way you would expect. Even in the darkness of the forest, there is light from the stars, and that can give anyone hope.

We know right away: this is not just another WWII book. It's written by the talented Kristin Harmel and there's only one place for it: somewhere above the five-star rating. This is one powerful book: 384 pages of multiple stories within one.

It's a spiritual journey of a young girl, Yona, who is a free spirit with hopes of always doing good things for mankind. She learns: truths lie within you and "be sure your heart is open to hear the answers."

It's a book on survival. Her kidnapper takes Yona at two-years-old and becomes her teacher to show her the ways of the forest. Yona learns tips on how to kill, how to heal. She learns languages, science and religious beliefs. She knows how to find food for those that are starving.

It's about the need for social interaction with other which brings emotions to the surface. How easy it is to fill like a misfit when you're just trying to help.

It's a historical account of Jewish groups that escaped the ghettos during WWII exposing once again the horror of the brutal acts committed by the Nazis. Yona teaches them with her knowledge how to survive.

And finally, it's a book of love.

Kristin Harmel has the gift to tell stories with strong messages on a number of levels. My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

I enjoyed this story. It was both a unique viewpoint and a story I have not seen told before. The writing style kept me engaged and I could not put the book down until I finished it. I recommend this bok.

Once again, Kristin Harmel has written an incredible book about WW 2. This book is about a young. German girl that was kidnapped as a toddler by a woman that takes her into the forest in Poland and raises her in total isolation in the forest. She teaches her how to live and survive off the land in the forest. This woman dies a few months before Jews escaping from Nazi ghettos come into the forest. This young woman comes upon 2 men trying to catch fish with their hands and realizes how they have no idea how to survive in the forest. She agrees to train their group in survival skills and helps this group survive. She becomes attached to people for the first time in her life. This incredible woman saves a number of Jews and helps them survive the war. It is an amazing story that I could not put down once I started reading it.

I truly loved this book- 5 stars!! This is not your typical WW2 historical novel. This is a story about survival, communing with nature, believing the best of people and the goodness of humanity, even (and especially) in the darkest times. The author brought these characters to life, and made you care for them, and share in their heartbreaks and triumphs. It has hints of Where the Crawdads Sing, with a woman alone in nature, but this is a wholly original book. The story is based on painstaking research of real people who hid out in the forests evading Nazis for years. This book is beautifully written, inspiring, and just a joy to read. I think it will be a terrific book for book clubs to discuss in 2021.

I have read all of Kristin's books and this was a bit different... As the daughter of a German Jew who got out right after Kristalnacht, these stories always strike a nerve. The sadness, the struggles, the survival is written about clearly and often heartbroken with a new story that gnaws at your gut. I liked the book but preferred some of her earlier ones.