She was named Inge by her German parents, but her name was changed to Yona by the woman who kidnapped her when she was two years old in 1922. They lived in a forest in Poland for the next twenty years. Her upbringing was anything but conventional. She was taught to survive and she was educated. She could read and spoke several languages, but what she didn't learn was how to live amongst others. Her captor knew her destiny, but kept this to herself. In 1941 Yona discovered a group of Jews who had escaped from a ghetto. Knowing they would not survive on their own, she made it her mission to teach them how to survive and in doing so, she finally had a family. This came with a high price.
I found the book to be a masterpiece and I found the Author's Note to be filled with imprtant information. Skillfully told, the author brings to life a dark part of history. The narrative is profound and thought provoking. Yona is a fascinating character who faced many challenges and conflicts. She was a deep thinker whose sheltered life did not prevent her from knowing right from wrong. Her accomplishments were many.
THE FORSET OF VANISHING STARS is an engrossing and memorable story of courage and strength. Highly recommended.
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).