Harmel, Kristin The Forest of Vanishing Stars (198215893X)
Parade 'Best Books of Summer' pick * Real Simple summer reading pick * SheReads 'Best WWII Fiction of Summer 2021' pick The New York Times bestselling author of the 'heart-stopping tale of survival and heroism' (People) The Book of Lost Names returns with an evocative coming-of-age World War II story about a young woman who uses her knowledge of the wilderness to help Jewish refugees escape the Nazis--until a secret from her past threatens everything. 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 from the #1 internationally bestselling author whose writing has been hailed as 'sweeping and magnificent' (Fiona Davis,
New York Times bestselling author), 'immersive and evocative' (
Publishers Weekly), and 'gripping' (
Tampa Bay Times).