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A review by lorees_reading_nook
Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Joanna Teale is recovering from breast cancer and the death of her mother and is determined to prove that these two events have not broken her by conducting research on nesting birds in rural Illinois. It is an isolated location and her nearest neighbour is a reclusive young man named Gabriel Nash who has problems of his own. Both their solitary routines are disrupted by a mysterious girl, barefoot and covered in bruises, who claims to have been sent from the stars.
I have to admit that I feel rather ambivalent about this book. Initially I was totally invested in the story about an alien being who is sent to Earth to witness five miracles. But although the narrative initially progressed at a relatively fast pace, I thought that it got bogged down in the middle with too much repetition and the ending was rather too abrupt and a bit of an anti-climax. I was expecting magic or at least something out of the ordinary but it's not what I got.
Jo is a likable character and Gabriel grows on you but the dynamics between the two felt rather predictable and strained. There is minimal character development and some things really jarred. A lot of the dialogue felt flat and, in the end, all the loose ends were tied up together so nicely and there were so many happy coincidences and changes of heart, that the whole story felt rather contrived.
I have to admit that I do have rather high expectations of books these days. I want them to move me, challenge me or blow me away. This book didn't do any of these things. However it's a great book to read if you're in the mood for something light and I think that it will be appreciated much more by young adult readers or mature teenagers.
I have to admit that I feel rather ambivalent about this book. Initially I was totally invested in the story about an alien being who is sent to Earth to witness five miracles. But although the narrative initially progressed at a relatively fast pace, I thought that it got bogged down in the middle with too much repetition and the ending was rather too abrupt and a bit of an anti-climax. I was expecting magic or at least something out of the ordinary but it's not what I got.
Jo is a likable character and Gabriel grows on you but the dynamics between the two felt rather predictable and strained. There is minimal character development and some things really jarred. A lot of the dialogue felt flat and, in the end, all the loose ends were tied up together so nicely and there were so many happy coincidences and changes of heart, that the whole story felt rather contrived.
I have to admit that I do have rather high expectations of books these days. I want them to move me, challenge me or blow me away. This book didn't do any of these things. However it's a great book to read if you're in the mood for something light and I think that it will be appreciated much more by young adult readers or mature teenagers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Mental illness
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Medical trauma
Minor: Animal death and Child abuse