In 1922, Jerusza, an elderly mystic, kidnaps two-year-old Inge Juttner from her wealthy parents in Berlin because she feels the child’s parents are “bad people”. Jerusza changes Inge’s name to Yona, which means dove, because she has a dove-shaped birthmark on her wrist. She raises Yona in the forests of Eastern Europe as her own child. She only has two rules Yona must follow—she must always obey Jerusza, and she must stay hidden in the forest, away from men who might hurt her. Not only does Jerusza teach Yona how to survive in the forest, but she also teaches her practical things—more than five different languages and about the world’s religions.
In 1942, Jerusza passes away, and Yona is left on her own. One day, she comes upon two men, one of whom is unsuccessfully trying to catch fish with his bare hands. She discovers the men are part of a larger group of Jews who fled into the forest when Jews in their Polish town were being killed by the Nazis. Yona joins their group and teaches them how to live in the forest and survive during the harsh winters. After a romantic interest betrays her, Yona decides to leave.
Yona enters a German-occupied town and becomes friendly with a group of nuns, who have been quietly helping Jews escape from the country. However, after she reconnects with a relative from her past, which leads to another betrayal, she goes back into the forest. She realizes that everything that Jerusza had been teaching her was so she could help the Jews survive until World War II was over.
Kristin Harmel, who also wrote The Book of Lost Names, has written another mesmerizing World War II tale of courage and survival. She has based her novel on true stories—that of the nuns, the Blessed Martyrs of Nowogrodek, and of the thousands of Jews who actually lived in forests during World War II. She has peppered her novel with information about survival techniques, medicinal herbs, and shelter construction, all of which she researched extensively. She even interviewed Aron Bielski, a 93-year-old World War II survivor, who survived the war by living in the forests.
The characters are well fleshed-out and developed. Both Yona and Jerusza are strong, capable women, although rather untrusting of others. Yona, having not grown up with her parents, feels she has missed out on family and deeply yearns to have one of her own. Even though Jerusza lived to be very old, she was one tough cookie! Both she and Yona have the ability to sense things, especially danger.
The Forest of Vanishing Stars is an extraordinary story, a tale of survival and hope. It can be enjoyed by both adults and teens. Give it to readers who read historical fiction and those who like reading about World War II. I highly recommend it for high school and public libraries and give it five out of five fleur de lis!
Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for allowing me to read and review this book.
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