The Forest of Vanishing Stars

In the years between 1922 and 1931, Jerusza teaches the child to survive in the forest, how to heal, and how to kill to defend herself. She gives the girl the Hebrew name Yona, “dove,” because of her dove-shaped birthmark, which has grown more visible with time.

In 1931, Jerusza takes Yona with her into a village to steal some things they need.

Through a farmhouse window, Yona sees a family celebrating Hanukkah and asks Jerusza about it. Although Jerusza makes a wooden menorah every year, she dismisses Yona’s interest. However, to help the girl learn all she can about the world, Jerusza introduces her to books of all kinds including the Bible, Torah, and Quran, and teaches her all the languages she knows. Because of Yona’s many questions, Jerusza begins to question the voice in her head that told her to steal Yona away, but she fears the consequences if she fails to heed it.

Two years later, Yona has her first encounter with someone from the outside world: a boy named Marcin, who lives on the edge of the forest. Yona tells him she is from Berlin, which echoes her memories of early life with her parents. Jerusza is angry that Yona spoke to him and tried to conceal their meeting from her, telling the girl that it’s dangerous. Yona sees him again a few days later, and he tells her about events in the outside world. Warning Yona about the dangers of speaking to Marcin, Jerusza moves them deeper into the forest.

When Yona is 20, bombs fall over Poland, and they can hear explosions and gunshots beyond the forest. To avoid Russian deserters, they retreat into the swamp, walking neck-deep in water to an island of safety. Yona questions Jerusza about her past and her identity, but the older woman refuses to answer.

The year is 1942. Jerusza is 102 years old, and on a day she foresaw many years before, she dies. On her deathbed, she tells Yona the truth about her birth and kidnapping, saying Yona’s parents were bad people, and she must not return to them. Yona asks if Jerusza loves her, and the old woman says scornfully that love is for fools. After Jerusza’s death, Yona performs the Jewish rituals for the dead, sitting shiva for seven days before moving on. Unsure of what to do now that she is alone, Jerusza wanders the forest for two months, seeing no one and trying to make sense of what Jerusza said.

One day, she encounters a little girl in a forest clearing. The girl collapses, burning with fever, so Yona carries her to safety. As she tends to the girl’s injuries, Yona finds a yellow star stitched to the child’s threadbare dress. When the child starts to recover, she tells Yona that her name is Chana and that she and her family are fleeing the Germans, who want to kill all Jews.

As Chana recovers, the girl tells Yona about events in the villages beyond the forest and the Nazi persecution of Jewish people. Yona helps Chana find her parents, who are hiding in a lean-to in the forest. Chana’s father, Isaac, is wounded, and her mother, Esta, asks Yona to help him. As Yona tends to his wounds, Isaac tells her more details about the Germans’ arrival and his family’s escape from certain death.

Yona stays with the family for two weeks, but one morning, she wakes up with a sense of foreboding and tells them they need to move. Isaac agrees, saying Yona knows the forest and how to keep them safe. However, Esta refuses to trust Yona since she isn’t one of them. Yona warns her that without help, it can be hard to survive in the forest, but Esta insists on leaving. A few days later, Yona hears three gunshots and finds the family’s bodies in a clearing. Two German soldiers walk away with Isaac’s shoes, laughing.