The Forest of Vanishing Stars: A Novel

Parade “Best Books of Summer” pick * Real Simple pick * She Reads “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).

Kristin Harmel is the New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen novels including The Forest of Vanishing Stars, The Book of Lost Names, The Room on Rue Amélie, and The Sweetness of Forgetting. She is published in more than thirty languages and is the cofounder and cohost of the popular web series, Friends & Fiction. She lives in Orlando, Florida.

ISBN: 9781982158941
Format: Paperback
Pages: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books
Published: May 03, 2022

"Fascinating, meticulously researched, and utterly unique." "Kristin Harmel is a master at spectacularly immersive historical fiction. With stunning lines you will want to savor and share, The Forest of Vanishing Stars is a powerful and compelling masterpiece, a significant story for our present time.""Inspiring and gripping.""What a triumph! Not since Alice Hoffman's The Dovekeepers, have I read such a spellbinding and immersive tale of a people's will to survive.""Unforgettable characters, nail-biting drama and deep emotion that endures long after the final words are forgotten....The Forest of Vanishing Stars is a story that will touch, educate, transform and uplift."