Bestselling author, Kristin Harmel shares another message of hope within the darkness of WWII in her new novel, The Forest of Vanishing Stars (GalleryBooks).
"The forest knew no difference between race, religion or gender."
In 1922, two year-old Inge Juttner, daughter of a
…more Nazi Commander is stolen as she sleeps by an old woman called Jerusza. She renames Inge Yona. She lives in the forest for twenty years under Jerusza's control. She is educated in how to survive and live well in the forest in all seasons and from books, Jerusza steals from towns, but Yona never meets another person. She is raised not to trust people and to stay safe in the forest. Jerusza dies, but not before instilling in Yona's mind that dark days are ahead.
Yona meets a group of Jews escaping from the ghettos and realizes her destiny is to help them live and survive. The escapees don't have any of the skills to survive the winter and they become her family.
"Home is not a place, but the people you choose to love."
Soon the group is growing and Yona fears for all of their lives.
The Forest of Vanishing Stars is based on true events. Kristin has done a great deal of research and she shares her sources with readers at the end of the book in "Author's Notes." In 2020, Kristin interviewed Aron (Bell) Bielski who was one of the Jews who survived the Nazis by living in the forest. Aron's entire family was killed and to this day he suffers from survivor's guilt.
The Forest of Vanishing Stars has everything you could hope for in a novel. It's brilliantly written, suspenseful, has some romance, along emotions of fear, pain and love. It is also very hopeful. The light will always be stronger than darkness. (less)