An Amazon Charts, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post bestseller, and a Goodreads Choice Award finalist.
In this gorgeously stunning debut, a mysterious child teaches two strangers how to love and trust again.
After the loss of her mother and her own battle with breast cancer, Joanna Teale returns to her graduate research on nesting birds in rural Illinois, determined to prove that her … rural Illinois, determined to prove that her recent hardships have not broken her. She throws herself into her work from dusk to dawn, until her solitary routine is disrupted by the appearance of a mysterious child who shows up at her cabin barefoot and covered in bruises.
The girl calls herself Ursa, and she claims to have been sent from the stars to witness five miracles. With concerns about the child’s home situation, Jo reluctantly agrees to let her stay—just until she learns more about Ursa’s past.
Jo enlists the help of her reclusive neighbor, Gabriel Nash, to solve the mystery of the charming child. But the more time they spend together, the more questions they have. How does a young girl not only read but understand Shakespeare? Why do good things keep happening in her presence? And why aren’t Jo and Gabe checking the missing children’s website anymore?
Though the three have formed an incredible bond, they know difficult choices must be made. As the summer nears an end and Ursa gets closer to her fifth miracle, her dangerous past closes in. When it finally catches up to them, all of their painful secrets will be forced into the open, and their fates will be left to the stars.
more
A powerful story of the way in which hearts are mended by love, compassion, and everyday miracles. Cleverly plotted and building to an intense crescendo in the final chapters, Where the Forest Meets the Stars is a beautiful and unforgettable debut.
Where the Forest Meets the Stars will grab you from the very first page and surprise you the whole way through. This is an incredibly original, imaginative, and curious story. Glendy Vanderah has managed to create a world that is very real and, yet, entirely out of the ordinary.
I devoured this book in a single afternoon, absorbed entirely by the spell cast by a lost girl, her stray dog, a woman in need of healing, and an entire world filled with birds and nature and the power of each of us to reach out to others. One of my favorite books in recent months.
This book was SO much more than I expected and refreshing in its originality. It’s rare in an abundance of books to read something that stands out and this one did. I don’t want to give anything away, but I’ll just say this – pick this one up now. I’m sorry I kept it on my TBR list as long as I did.
This story really took me by surprise. Though it started out a little slow and plodding, once eight-year-old Ursa Major and her scruffy dog Ursa Minor showed up, I found myself drawn in, compelled to find out where it was headed. When the Egg Man entered the picture—bringing decades of his own baggage to the mix—the story took on surprising complexities.
I have to say I became completely absorbed in the painful, touching pasts all three characters in this engaging drama brought to the story. There’s such depth to each of them and so much to like and admire about them. And so much to worry about.
With every event that occurs over the summer, more is revealed and more intrigue is created. My hat’s off to the author for weaving so much backstory into the mix, little by little, as we learn shocking truths at the same moment the other characters do. This made me feel like I was right beside Jo, Ursa and Gabe, watching the complexities unfold right along with them.
This is a story of three survivors who are all a bit broken in some way. But when fate throws them together, a genuine love and affection for one another brings about a profound healing, allowing each of them the chance to make peace with all the pain they’ve endured, while forging deep bonds. “Where the Forest Meets the Stars” is an indelible story that will stay with me forever. I can’t wait for the next book by this talented author!
Glendy Vanderah’s, Where The Forest Meets The Stars, is a Contemporary Literary Fiction bordering mystery and suspense. At the beginning of the story, the reader gets a sense of magical realism when eight-year-old Ursa appears barefoot and covered in bruises at Jo’s cabin in rural Illinois, stating she’s an alien from another galaxy. A graduate student working in seclusion on her Ph.D. in Ornithology, Jo doesn’t know what to make of Ursa. Though she tries to do the right thing and report the young girl to the police, Ursa runs away but returns still insisting she’s from another planet. Is she?
Too intelligent for her age, Jo and Gabe, her reclusive neighbor and new love interest, wonder if Ursa is telling the truth. Ursa needs five miracles before she can return to her planet. One of her miracles is to bring Jo and Gabe together, two individuals with personal battles to overcome – Jo the loss of her mother and a battle with cancer and Gabe’s depression and reclusive nature.
Jo knows she’s wrong to become attached to Ursa. As time passes, Ursa becomes more entrenched in Jo’s daily life. Just like the bird’s nest Jo studies; she and Gabe form their own loving and fragile nest around Ursa―a nest threatened by Ursa’s secret.
Where The Forest Meets The Stars is a touching love story between a man, woman, and child. Ms. Vanderah’s writing is simple, concise, and dialogue driven. The author kept me guessing whether Ursa is truly an alien, or simply a child with a terrible secret? Jo and Gabe’s heartfelt histories sometimes override the story’s simplicity with life’s complexities. Two scarred souls who heal each other’s pains.
Who and what is Ursa? Will Gabe and Jo stay together? Will Ursa remain in their lives? These are questions that kept me reading. Vanderah throws twists and turns into the fold that held my interest. Although this was not my typical read, I loved the characters, Jo, Ursa, and Gabe and their touching story.
A girl lost from the stars. A woman claiming herself after illness. A man burdened by his mind and family. Each one discovers life and love in spite of their individual trauma. These three are as varied as the stars but their need to move forward with life connects them in memorable ways. Set in a rural forest town filled with nature, mystery, tears, romance, and even a bit of suspense, Where the Forest Meets the Stars will capture you body and soul. The writing is lovely and the story radiates starlight and miracles.
“How long was I asleep?” “About fifteen degrees of star movement.”
This is Glendy Vanderah’s debut novel and I found it to be such a nice surprise. I absolutely loved it. Seriously, check it out.
If you love books with a mystical bent and lots of character development, you will love this book!
Thoroughly enjoyed this story of Ursa, the ‘alien’, and Jo and Gabe, the two adults who look after her when she appears one night at Jo’s cabin in the woods. The mysterious child promises she will only stay until she’s witnessed five ‘miracles’, and good things seem to happen when she’s around. As Jo continues her research into bird habitats and Gabe learns how to ‘be’ with someone, the summer seems idyllic and they check missing children websites less and less often.
But when Ursa’s dark past threatens to overwhelm all of them, they find what real love and courage means.
My favourite story this year.
Highly recommended.
Truly enchanting. Grabs your interest and is hard to put down until you finish. All the characters are broken and lost in some way, and yet manage to heal with love and human connection. Even the hardest choices can create a better world. A magical read.
A very emotional story that will keep breaking your heart and will make it whole at the same time!
Where The Forest Meets The Stars, it’s a very moving story about Ursa a child that is lost and it has no one in her life until Two strangers become the regular caretakers of her, putting them in so many situations and circumstances that can jeopardize their freedom.
Where The Forest Meets The Stars its a story of hope and love, about teaching people what love really means.
I didn’t know what to expect about this story, I went in blind, it was very moving and very deep, we could feel the pain and the confusion Jo and Gabriel feel at times when they really didn’t know if Ursa was making everything up or she really was alone in the world.
overall it was a great read, a great journey, one that will keep you hooked until the end, one that will make you think nothing will be perfect but will surprise you at the very end.
I loved everything about this book, and it’s receiving all the praise it deserves. Here’s a heart-warming story of the family we choose for ourselves. Pure magic.
Where the Forest Meets the Stars is an excellent tale told very well and bodes well for the future – this is the debut offering of Glendy Vanderah. I can’t wait for number two.
This tale is tight, the protagonists well rounded and empathetic, and the plot heartbreaking at times and always compelling. Taking place in farm country not far from the small town of Vienna, Illinois, we follow our heroine Jo as she wanders the country roads and wild woods charting the nesting habits, failures, and successes of Indigo Buntings and assorted other birds throughout the summer. Mourning the recent cancer death of her mother, from whom she inherited the BRCA1 mutant gene, Jo is herself, at 25, a recent cancer survivor recovering from several surgeries and chemo after testing caught her own cancer in the early stages. She is grateful to be working on her own this summer after a two-year break in her studies, working out of a small primitive cabin owned by one of the professors at her college in Champaign. But she isn’t alone for long. The first invasion into her private summer of mourning her mother, her boobs, and the children she can never have is a small hungry pup. Followed closely by the young bruised alien from the pinwheel galaxy. Things only get more complicated from that point on. And then we add in the Egg Man.
This is a novel I am pleased to refer to friends and family. I literally couldn’t put it down. I received a free electronic copy of this exceptional novel from Netgalley, Glendy Vanderah, and Lake Union Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.
Wonderful book. I enjoyed the characters and the story. Did not feel hackneyed.
I absolutely loved this story!!! As a biologist myself I really connected with the setting! I loved the the plot and emotions of the characters! What a fantastic read!!! This will definitely be a novel that I read more than once and there are very few that I ever reread!
I started this book one day and finished it the next. It held me captive like no other. The author has a bestseller here no doubt. Congratultations to Glendy Vanderah on her first novel and it’s success. I have no doubt it will be loved.
Joanna Teale is a college student learning about nesting birds. She’s working on her PhD after the loss of her mother and her battle with cancer. She’s a very hard working young woman. When a child appears. She says her name is Ursa and she’s from the stars. Jo feels bad for the child and is afraid she is being abused so lets her stay against her better judgement.
Then there it Gabriel, the handsome neighbor who has problems of his own but helps Jo and Ursa along the way. Jo and Gabriel are attracted to each other though they know she will be leaving at the end of the summer.
This book was one that pulls you in and won’t let go. It’s a love story, magical, sad, a learning experience, a mystery and a thriller that will keep you on the edge. You will have lots of ideas as to why Ursa is there but when it comes out it’s not what you was expecting. She’s a very intellegent child with a high IQ. She surprises Jo and Gabe with so much of what she says and does. Try as they may though she won’t talk about her “real” life. She sticks to her alien story.
This was one of the best books I have read and I have read some very good books this year. It’s one that I didn’t want to put down. I wanted to know what was going to happen next.
Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union for the ARC of this wonderful book. The opinions are mine and have no reflection on either.
A huge 5 stars from me. I highly recommend this book to my reading friends and everyone who loves a great book. It’s definitely a great one. I can’t wait for more from this author.
In Where the Forest Meets the Stars, Glendy Vanderah weaves a deft and poignant story with well-drawn characters, including clever Ursa. With an unexpected and heart-racing climax, readers will wait breathlessly to find out what happens. A beautiful story of love, resilience, and the power of second chances.
I really enjoyed this thought provoking book, it is her first I believe but it was great. It’s about overcoming tragedies and finding a light at the end of the tunnel. Can’t wait for her next one.
Just finished #WhereTheForestMeetsTheStars by Glendy Vanderah and WOW! What a gorgeous story about acceptance, forgiveness and the indomitable magic of the human spirit.
LOVED it. Go read this book, peeps. You will not be sorry.
Well developed characters with just a hint fantasy.