“Where the Forest Meets the Stars”
Glendy Vanderah
(321 pages, Contemporary Fiction, 2019)
“In Where the Forest Meets the Stars”, Jo Teale is an ornithologist spending the summer in a cabin located in the Shawnee Forest of Southern Illinois, doing field research for her PhD. Gradually, we learn that Jo has survived a lot in her young life; her mother died of breast cancer a few years ago, and then Jo’s cancer was caught early enough for surgery to help send her into remission. Grieving for her mother and recovering from her own illness, Jo has her guard up when it comes to investing in relationships. She has begun to fully dedicate herself to her work when a strange, disheveled young girl shows up on her doorstep, calling herself Ursa and claiming to be a visitor from a distant galaxy. She tells Jo she is there to witness five miracles on Earth before she can return home.
Naturally, Jo is perplexed and alarmed, and scours the Internet for Ursa’s picture on missing child websites, while also calling the police. The police are unhelpful, and her web searches turn up nothing. Over the course of several weeks Jo and her neighbor, Gabe Nash, build a friendship as they take responsibility for Ursa’s well-being, all the while knowing that the idyllic bubble they’ve created won’t last forever. During this time, Ursa determinedly sticks to her story; she insists she’s an alien sent to Earth to witness five miracles—not in the Biblical sense, but five things she herself sees as miraculous. With her effervescent charm, unyielding curiosity, and open heart, Ursa is spell-binding to Jo, Gabe, and readers alike. Similarly, to Jo, Gabe has suffered great loss and trauma in his life, and struggles with often crippling depression and anxiety. Ursa gives them each hope and strength to reach for little signs of happiness, which in itself seems miraculous to both of them. From the time she shows up on Jo’s doorstep, strange and wonderful things seem to keep happening. So is Ursa really a magical alien from another world?
Along with the compelling plot and vibrantly drawn characters, Vanderah gives detailed attention to the natural world, developing it as almost another character in the story. She brings the forest surrounding Jo’s cabin to life, and the process of Jo’s research on birds is quite interesting. This setting provides the perfect backdrop to a story that is heartbreaking and inspiring in equal measure.
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Emily Kosowicz
Concord Public Library
