During World War II, thousands of Jews in Eastern Europe escaped the horrors of the ghettos and concentration camps by hiding in the dense forests of their homelands. The Forest of Vanishing Stars sheds a light on that harrowing experience by focusing on a girl named Yona, who was raised in the forest by the old woman that kidnapped her as a toddler. After the old woman's death, Yona breaks away from the solitary life when she discovers small groups of escaped Jews struggling to survive. Over the course of the war, she helps them stay healthy and avoid Nazi patrols, foraging for food and stealing necessities from neighboring villages.
Told in a way that skirts the line between folktale and historical fiction, this is a compelling and beautifully told story of World War II, and one that is rarely highlighted. Well worth a read.
*This book will be published July 8, 2021.
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