Reviews

The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel

books_inthewild's review against another edition

5.0

Absolutely loved every second of this one!
I love historical fiction- especially set in Europe during WW1 and WW2- and this one brought such fresh characters, and a unique perspective, and a depth to the tragedy that I haven’t seen.
Yona’s character is so special- naive in the ways of the ‘world’ yet so strong and clever in the forest, wild and fierce, loyal and compassionate, smart, strong willed, emotional, and loving. Loved loved loved her!
And the forest setting brought such a new fear and intensity to the struggles of war, and I really enjoyed the survival against nature AND survival against man aspect.

ashfv's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

jenni_r's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

lori_vols's review against another edition

5.0

I love how Harmel chose an unexpected, unique topic to discover, the survival of Jewish groups in the forests. Amazingly, The Forest of Vanishing Stars is heavily research based and, though fictional, is based on research from actual locations and events that occurred. I found the book to be addictive; each page compelled me to read the next. This is definitely a book to read, and is a book whose character will continue to remain a part of me, as through her, the story of so many Jewish lives were witnessed and their histories, once unknown, are now told.

parkerdavis's review against another edition

5.0

“that in moments like this, it doesn’t matter what you were born to be. It matters what you choose to become.”FANTASTIC read!!!! Just before this book, I read The Book of Lost Names by Harmel. I found this book to be much more interesting. Also, I enjoyed to theme better. A few years back, I watched the movie, Defiance, a movie that shares events that occur in the book. The movie is a must watch after reading this book. This book is on the same level as The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.

amurray2023's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

dawnurse's review against another edition

5.0

WWII historical fiction revolving around a forest girl and the Polish/Belorussian Jews that survived by living the forest. Yet another aspect of the war that I did not know about. There was also a little bit of magic and a lot about surviving in a dense forest. Excellent writing and research.

stephanieyarbrough's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

5.0

micheleweeks972's review against another edition

emotional inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

mackenzie72's review against another edition

5.0

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