Please Note: I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This did not influence the opinions in my review in any way.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

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. 

Review:

One of the reasons I love reading historical fiction books set during WWII is that no matter how many I read, I will always learn more than I knew before. I think because that war was so all encompassing and affected, literally, everyone in the world, we can hear endless stories about that time and still not fully grasp how devastating it was.  

The Forest of Vanishing Stars, by Kristin Harmel, tells the story of how some Jewish people hid from the Nazi's in the forests of Poland.  This was no easy feat.  Most of these people had no clue as to how to survive in the wilderness, particularly during harsh winters. But survive they did.  The novel mixes in some elements of Magical Realism, but that does nothing to take away from the very realistic situations, and resilient characters.  This book was highly engaging, and I couldn't stop reading it.

What I Liked:

Characters:

Yona, the main character, was abducted as a child and has lived  most of her life in the wilderness.  Her kidnapper, Jerusza, teaches her all about how to survive in the outdoors, including how to kill a man with her bare hands.  Since Yona was taken at such a young age, she never questions Jerusza, who is more terrifying at all times than maternal.  The one thing that Yona feels that Jerusza can't control is her loneliness.  For all her wilderness training, Yona is quite vulnerable when she meets other people after Jerusza dies.

I loved Yona for her bravery, and willingness to help others.  When she sees people in the forest who clearly won't make it through the winter, she doesn't hesitate to help.  What makes this brave is that all of her life, Jerusza has warned Yona to never have contact with people.  But with crushing loneliness, Yona simplu must connect with others.  

Jerusza is a strange character, but also a fascinating one.  Although her earlier life is unclear, Jerusza has strong premonitions that seem to come true.  She takes Yona away from a German couple who she knows will be involved in the coming evil (although she can't yet know about the upcoming war), and raises her to know how to hide and survive in the wilderness.  She never tries to be motherly towards Yona, but still has a deep obligation to prepare Yona for when she will be on her own.  

I think Jerusza has been severely treated by others in the world for her unusual gifts.  This makes it impossible for Jerusza to empathize with Yona's natural need to seek out others.  In her own harsh way, she is preparing Yona for staying hidden from the Nazis.  Jerusza teaches Yona much about Jewish traditions, and beliefs, but also about all religions, including Christianity and Islam.  It's no wonder that Yona feels such kinship with the Jewish people she finds fleeing in the forest.

Magical Realism:

I've never read a WWII book with a Magical Realism element, but it fit in just fine.  It was not a vital part of the story, but did help to explain Jerusza's motivation in taking Yona away from her parents.  One could argue that she could see that terrible things were going to happen in Europe, and acted accordingly.  Jews were already being persecuted by Christians.  One could probably guess that when times became challenging, Jews would be the scapegoats.

Romance:

Yona, having zero interaction with men, is unguarded when she finds a connection with Aa young man she meets in the forest.  Jerusza has taught her about sex, and birth control, but what she couldn't teach Yona about was how relationships work. I felt so badly for Yona as she learns the hard way about male egos, and betrayal.  

Story:  

After Jerusza dies, Yona is on her own. While she is surviving just fine, she is terribly lonely.  When she finds people struggling to survive in the forest, she can't help but want to reach out and teach them how to survive.  The story follows Yona as she shows the group how to finds food, and how to avoid leaving a trace so others can't find them.

Yona also learns about the atrocities that have befallen the Jewish people.  Just as I cannot fathom how incredibly evil the Nazis were, so does Yona.  She has never seen such cruelty, but is encouraged by the Jewish escapees need to survive, if just to make certain their children will live to continue on.  This was very inspiring to read, and made this a hopeful novel about an incredibly dark chapter in world history.

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Release Date:  July 6th, 2021

Author:  Kristin Harmel

Publisher:  Gallery Books

Genre:  Historical Fiction

Page Length:  384 Pages

Source:  NetGalley

Format:  E-Book

Recommendation:  A suspenseful tale of Jewish survival during WWII, I was on the edge of my seat, and learned so much.