Kristin Harmel's "The Forest of Vanishing Stars": An Unforgettable Novel of Love, Loss, and Redemption

DT: What a powerful book. Love and loss, goodness and evil all tangled together. Love all of her books but this one might be my favorite.

United States on Oct 03, 2023

Anna T Rushing: A great historical fiction that provides a different, yet equally sad and horrifying, account of what life was like during ww2. One of the best reads this year for me!

United States on Sep 21, 2023

sandy: I loved everything about this book. All of the characters come to life as you share their journey.

The book is very poignant. Evoking so many feelings for the reader.

I would recommend this book for those who love historical fiction and book clubs.

Australia on Sep 20, 2023

Melissa Bruno: Love this product it smells great and taste better. A little bit of 🍂

United States on Sep 07, 2023

lindsey: I ordered this for my dad, he thought it was a great read

Canada on Aug 20, 2023

CSchell: "The Forest of Vanishing Stars," dealt with the horrors the Nazis inflicted on the Jews of Poland and how a young woman Yona, who was born "for such a time as these," helps run away Jews to survive in the forest. Yona, kidnapped from her crib was the daughter of a high ranking official in the Nazi party but her mother however hid her Jewish identity. The kidnapper, a mystical old woman with the gift of sight, raised Yona to be a child of the forest and taught her how to survive and that included being able to kill. It was like reading a very dark fairytale, only the evil of the Nazi party and the good of those who fought back and won, truly existed.

United States on Jul 21, 2023

Beth Brovold: A well written book! Takes us back in history for a fictional “personalized” look at the terrible treatment of fellow human beings during World War II…very hard to put down!!

Canada on Jul 12, 2023

toby: This novel awakes your emotions in a "different" way than most other WW2 novels. A real page turner. I gave 4 stars because I'd like the ending to be more expansive; it has important events that need to be explained in greater detail.

Canada on Jan 25, 2023

Lis Wilcox: The start was a bit of a struggle but I persisted. It was full of twists and turns as the reality of life for the Jews in Poland unfolded. I found it to be quite emotional but thoroughly enjoyed the story. Reading the writers piece at the end was enlightening.

United Kingdom on Oct 31, 2022

Stephanie McCall: I considered reading The Forest of Vanishing Stars for several months, but vacillated because one, it was in hardback and those things are expensive. Two, the market is absolutely saturated in World War II fiction at the moment. But when I finally found it in paperback, and at the local price club no less, I could resist no longer.

I'm glad I stopped resisting. The Forest of Vanishing Stars is not only a great story, but truly unique in the plethora of World War II fiction available today. That is yes, the Nazis are the enemy. Yes, the protagonists are Jews in hiding, and yes, those Jews are part of the resistance. But this is not your typical World War II story. This is not The Paris Library or The Book of Lost Names or The School for German Brides or any other current book. It's not Night or Schindler's List.

There's truly nothing like Forest of Vanishing Stars out there right now. Here, the protagonists are resisting not through writing pamphlets or running an Underground Railroad-type operation or blowing up bridges. They're resisting purely through surviving, continuing to breathe, continuing to live. Here, the main hero or heroine is not a librarian, university...

United States on Jun 07, 2022