The Forest of Vanishing Stars
By: Kristen Harmel
I have just finished reading this incredible book and what an unbelievable journey it was! This story was at times fantastical, bordering on biblical. Nonetheless it was completely captivating. I had a hard time putting it down. This book reminded me of a combination of "The Book Thief" and "Where the Crawdads Sing". The story is of a young girl, taken from her parents at a young age and raised in the woods somewhere near Poland and Belarus just prior to the outbreak of World War II. She is raised by an old woman who has seen many sad things and has premonitions of bad things to come. She prepares young Yona to learn to survive in the safety of the forest. This training comes in handy as Yona encounters Jews fleeing from the ghettos and her mission becomes to help them survive. This story is based on true events.
This is going to be a big summer hit and one that will be talked about for a long time. This book will be released on July 6. Run and preorder your copy now!
Thank you to Netgalley, Simon and Shuster Canada and Gallery books for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
5 Stars out of 5
Available July 6
Oh can't wait to read this one!!