Where the Forest Meets the Stars- Book Review
Where the Forest Meets the Stars is a fiction novel by author Glendy Vanderah. This delightful book is Glendy’s debut.
This is the story of a mysterious and charming girl called Ursa who brings two strangers, Joanna Teale and Gabriel Nash, together and helps them trust each other and fall in love.
Both Jo and Gabe are having a hurtful personal life, and Ursa performs these miracles to heal the pain and scars from their past, which changes their lives for the better.
When I ordered a copy of this book a few weeks ago, I didn’t knew what to expect from it. I bought it because I liked the title and the art of the book was pretty.
But truth to be told, the synopsis of the book was quite confusing and strange. If it was just because of it, I might not have bought it. However, I ended up buying it and reading it.
After reading it, I have to say that this is a magical, delightful book about love, life, and ordinary happiness and how it can change the world. Still, there were some things I didn’t like about this book and story.
I’ll share a few reasons why I have mixed feelings about this book and if it is worth the read.
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What I liked
The Unexpected and Mysterious Plot
I think that Vanderah is a genius storyteller and writer. The plot she created is so captivating and entertaining that it will make you want to read the book in one seat.
The first thing you need to know about it is that one of the main characters is a girl who claims to be an alien sent from the stars to witness five miracles.
This girl appears one night in the house backyard of the house Joanna was staying in.
Joanna is an ornithologist Who is spending the summer in rural Illinois, studying birds for her doctorate. She is still grieving her mother’s death and recuperating from her recent fight with breast cancer.
When Ursa shows up covered in bruises and claiming to be an alien from another planet, Joanna doesn’t know what to do.
Jo reluctantly agrees to let her stay—just until she learns more about Ursa’s past. Eventually, this leads to a series of extraordinary and strange events.
Ursa ends up connecting and bonding with Jo and Jo’s neighbor, Gabriel Nash.
The main characters depth
Jo, Ursa, and Gabe – are messy because they all carry the weight of some personal trauma and act out of it in ways that are both beneficial and detrimental, depending on the scenario.
Besides being completely different characters, they end up forming an incredible bond.
However, my favorite of the characters was Ursa. The uniqueness of Ursa’s personality makes her remarkable. She is smart, convincing, daring, and above all; mysterious.
Ursa claims that she is an alien that took the body of a dead girl after arriving on Earth. She claims she will be here to witness five miracles and that she will go back to her planet after doing so.
At first, I thought this was extremely weird and nonsensical. I didn’t want to read a book about an alien living in a body of a ten-year-old girl.
However, the more I read the book, the more intrigued I felt to know more about her and her identity.
Is she an alien? Or is she lying? It is hard to know. The more you read, the more confused you will get.
But don’t let this fool you into believing this is a book filled with aliens and magic. Well, maybe it has some, I won’t spoil it. What I mean is that this book takes place on Earth in a typical setting with regular humans.
The setting is in a Forest
The setting is beautiful and well described. As the title suggests, the story takes place in a beautiful Forest.
The Kinney Cottage is where Jo lives for the summer while undergoing her research project about bird nests. At this stunning place is where most of the action takes place.
The Cottage is well outside the small town of Vienna, Illinois. It is in the middle of a Forest, with just its nearest neighbor, being Gabe’s house.
Overall, the setting is splendid. The whole time, I was wishing I was in the quiet and relaxing Forest.
What I didn’t like
Jo’s and Gabe’s relationship
The character of Gabe suffered from agoraphobia and depression. I think that the author portrayed this in a very realistic way.
However, I really didn’t like how pushy Jo was towards him, and I think it is bad sending the message that all you have to do when you are depressed is fall in love.
Having loving and supporting friends and family truly helps, but that is not all that is needed.
Maybe the author was trying to say that getting out of your comfort zone, challenging yourself a bit, and connecting to the outside world on whatever level is comfortable for you can help with depression.
I didn’t hate the way Jo and Gabe meet and helped each other. They worked together to help Ursa, and they did that because they cared about her.
It was pretty obvious they would fall in love, and I thought they would make a good match. However, their relationship went from being sweet and a part of the plot to become a little toxic and the main topic.
Like I wrote before, Jo wanted to help Gabe, but she was too harsh with him. She acted as if she was all he needed.
I am a sucker for romance, but I didn’t love this romance.
The ending of the Book
Before someone comes to me, I did like how the book ended; it was heart-lifting. However, it was too rushed.
Some things were left unresolved, and the ending wasn’t that well explained.
I am happy with how the book ended. But the author wrote such a complex and compelling story to finish it in such a quick and straightforward way.
Conclusion
Where the Forest Meets the Stars was worth the read. I can see why it is one of Amazon’s best-selling books. I do recommend it!
It has an intense and creative plot, memorable characters, and is well written. It is not one of the best books I have read, but it was enjoyable.
If you have read it or if you want to read it, leave a comment down below. I will be glad to read what you think!
I give this book 4 stars.
