Synopsis
After being stolen from her wealthy German parents and raised in the unforgiving wilderness of eastern Europe, a young woman finds herself alone in 1941 after her kidnapper dies. Her solitary existence is interrupted, however, when she happens upon a group of Jews fleeing the Nazi terror. Stunned to learn what’s happening in the outside world, she vows to teach the group all she can about surviving in the forest—and in turn, they teach her some surprising lessons about opening her heart after years of isolation. But when she is betrayed and escapes into a German-occupied village, her past and present come together in a shocking collision that could change everything.
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.
Thoughts
I was provided an advanced ecopy of this book from NetGalley and the opinions expressed here are my honest thoughts.
I’ve read my fare share of WWII books but never knew that there many Jews in Poland who fled into the woods near their communities in order to escape and hide from the Nazis. The heart of this story is about survival and family and discovering that family isn’t always about what you’re born into but rather about the people you surround yourself with.
It did take me until Chapter 3 to really get into the story but from that point forward the story moved along at a steady pace. It’s definitely an emotional read and I would strongly encourage anyone who reads the book to also read the author’s note at the end of the book.
I would think anyone who enjoys historial fiction (WWII in particular) would enjoy this book.
I gave this book 4 stars.
Becky's Reading Journey 