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Her mother’s breast cancer and death and then her own breast cancer and treatment had made it necessary for Joanna to take a break from her graduate studies, but now she’s recovered — at least physically — and she’s spending the summer in a rental house in the woods a few hours’ drive away from her university. Jo is working long days keeping tabs on nests of birds she’s studying, and not doing much else.
One night a girl shows up in the yard, saying she’s an alien who has come to Earth for a period of time to observe humans and witness “five miracles.” Jo tries to get the girl, who seems to be about 9, to tell the truth about where she’s run away from so she can return her to where she belongs, but the girl simply won’t budge from her story.
Jo meets her neighbor, Gabriel, who quietly goes about his business taking care of his older mother and their land and sells eggs at the side of the road, and asks for his help solving the mystery of this unusually bright and curious child who seems to have no home or family and whom no one has reported missing. As the summer wears on, the girl, who tells them they can call her Ursa, stays with Jo, and the three become close. Good things are happening because Ursa is around, but inevitably, something will have to give.
Where the Forest Meets the Stars is a sweet story about love and healing, and I cared about what happened to each of these characters. This is Glendy Vanderah’s first novel (she worked as an endangered bird specialist in Illinois much like the main character), and I could tell at times: it sometimes felt like there was a bit too much exposition or some of the writing felt a little simplistic. However, they were minor issues; the book spoke to me and was generally well-written.
Rated: High, for not quite 10 instances of strong profanity, and occasional uses of mild and moderate language. There are two scenes involving violence but nothing too gory or disturbing. There are brief references to some drug use and prostitution. Sexual content is mild, with few details. The main character has had a double mastectomy and has scars where her breasts had been surgically removed because of her cancer, and she removes her shirt a couple of times.
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