Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsTugs at the Heartstrings
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on December 23, 2022
“Where the Forest Meets the Stars” falls in the intersection of two fiction genres. It is a cut above popular fiction but does not quite rise to the level of literary fiction which makes it good but not exceptional.
The plot is quite engaging. Joanna Teale has returned to her graduate research on nesting birds after the loss of her mother and her own battle with cancer. She is on a mission to reclaim her life. But the mysterious appearance Ursa, a precocious 8 year old girl who insists she is from another universe and sent to earth to witness five miracles, throw a wrench into her plans.
Joanna reluctantly takes Ursa in while trying to uncover her real story with the assistance of her reclusive neighbour Gabriel Nash. Ursa’s intelligence, charm and fierce spirit transform the lives of both Joanna and Gabriel.
“Where the Forest Meets the Stars” is an imaginative and curious novel that tugs at the reader’s heartstrings. The happily-ever-after ending is a bit too neat and tidy for my tastes. But that does not detract from the novel’s charm and originality.
