Where the Forest Meets the Stars

An Amazon Charts, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post bestseller, and a Goodreads Choice Award finalist.

In this gorgeously stunning debut, a mysterious child teaches two strangers how to love and trust again.

After the loss of her mother and her own battle with breast cancer, Joanna Teale returns to her graduate research on nesting birds in rural Illinois, determined to prove that her recent hardships have not broken her. She throws herself into her work from dusk to dawn, until her solitary routine is disrupted by the appearance of a mysterious child who shows up at her cabin barefoot and covered in bruises.

The girl calls herself Ursa, and she claims to have been sent from the stars to witness five miracles. With concerns about the child’s home situation, Jo reluctantly agrees to let her stay―just until she learns more about Ursa’s past.

Jo enlists the help of her reclusive neighbor, Gabriel Nash, to solve the mystery of the charming child. But the more time they spend together, the more questions they have. How does a young girl not only read but understand Shakespeare? Why do good things keep happening in her presence? And why aren’t Jo and Gabe checking the missing children’s website anymore?

Though the three have formed an incredible bond, they know difficult choices must be made. As the summer nears an end and Ursa gets closer to her fifth miracle, her dangerous past closes in. When it finally catches up to them, all of their painful secrets will be forced into the open, and their fates will be left to the stars.

Glendy Vanderah worked as an endangered bird specialist in Illinois before she became a writer. Originally from Chicago, she now lives in rural Florida with as many birds, butterflies, and wildflowers as she can lure to her land. Where the Forest Meets the Stars is her debut novel. Visit Glendy online at http://glendyvanderah.com/

“Though the novel appears to start as a fantasy, it evolves into a domestic drama with murder-mystery elements, all adding up to a satisfying read.” —Booklist

“Enchanting, insightful, and extraordinary.” —Novelgossip

“Vanderah’s beautifully human story reminds us that sometimes we need to look beyond the treetops at the stars to let some light into our lives.” —New York Journal of Books

“Where the Forest Meets the Stars is a magical little gem of a book filled with lots of love and hope.” —HelloGiggles

“A captivating fantasy tale of mystery and intrigue…” —Fresh Fiction

“A skillfully written and thoroughly entertaining novel by an author with a genuine gift for originality and a distinctive narrative-driven storytelling style…” —Midwest Book Review

“Where the Forest Meets the Stars, by Glendy Vanderah, is an enchanting, heartwarming, not to be missed novel that is bursting with love and hope.” —The Patriot Ledger

“A heartwarming, magical story about love, loss, and finding family where you least expect it. This touching novel will remind readers of a modern-day The Snow Child.” —Christopher Meades, award-winning author of Hanna Who Fell from the Sky

“Where the Forest Meets the Stars is an enchanting novel full of hope and the power of love that will pull at your heartstrings. Perfect for fans of Sarah Addison Allen.” —Karen Katchur, author of The Sisters of Blue Mountain

“Where the Forest Meets the Stars will grab you from the very first page and surprise you the whole way through. This is an incredibly original, imaginative, and curious story. Glendy Vanderah has managed to create a world that is very real and, yet, entirely out of the ordinary.” —Taylor Jenkins Reid, acclaimed author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

“In Where the Forest Meets the Stars, Glendy Vanderah weaves a deft and poignant story with well-drawn characters, including clever Ursa. With an unexpected and heart-racing climax, readers will wait breathlessly to find out what happens. A beautiful story of love, resilience, and the power of second chances.” —Susie Orman Schnall, award-winning author of The Subway Girls

“Where the Forest Meets the Stars is a lovely, surprising, and insightful look at the way bonds are formed—both the ones that we choose and the ones that seem to choose us.” —Rebecca Kauffman, author of The Gunners

“Where the Forest Meets the Stars is an enchanting novel…Readers will be taken by Glendy Vanderah’s rich and relatable characters and the way in which she weaves their stories together. At its core, Where the Forest Meets the Stars is about having faith, nurturing hope, and trusting your heart above your head, because when you do, miracles are possible.” —Janis Thomas, bestselling author of What Remains True

Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah follows Joanna Teale, an ornithologist who has returned to her family’s cabin in rural southern Illinois after a year of intense cancer treatment. Joanna is determined to focus on her research on indigo buntings and to keep her life quiet and controlled while she recovers. Her plans are upended one night when a nine-year-old girl named Ursa appears at her door, claiming she has been sent from the stars to live among humans for a short time. Ursa says she must complete five miracles before she can return home, and she insists that Joanna is one of the people she is meant to help.

At first Joanna assumes the child is lost or running from something, so she reports the situation to the local sheriff. When no one comes to claim Ursa, Joanna reluctantly lets her stay. The girl’s vivid imagination and fearless curiosity slowly draw Joanna out of her self-imposed isolation. Ursa talks openly about death and rebirth in ways that echo Joanna’s recent brush with mortality, and the two begin a tentative bond built on shared vulnerability. At the same time, Joanna’s neighbor Gabe, a reclusive writer who is mourning the loss of his own young son, becomes involved in caring for Ursa. The three form an unlikely makeshift family that helps each of them confront the grief they have been carrying alone.

As the summer progresses, Ursa’s presence forces Joanna and Gabe to face painful truths about their pasts. Joanna must decide whether she can open her heart again after watching her mother die and then surviving cancer herself. Gabe struggles with guilt over his failed marriage and the accident that took his son. Ursa, meanwhile, remains steadfast in her story of coming from another world, and her insistence on completing her five miracles keeps the adults guessing whether she is simply a traumatized child or something more extraordinary. Their days are filled with bird-watching, storytelling, and small adventures that gradually turn the cabin into a place of healing rather than just a hiding spot.

The novel explores the ways people protect themselves after loss and how unexpected relationships can offer a path back to hope. Joanna learns to let go of the need for certainty, while Gabe begins to believe that love can survive even the worst tragedies. Ursa’s influence reminds both adults that wonder and connection are still possible, even when life has been cruel. The story moves at a gentle pace, letting the emotional bonds between the characters develop naturally through everyday moments rather than dramatic twists.

By the end, the question of Ursa’s true origins is resolved in a way that honors both the magical and the realistic elements of the tale. Joanna, Gabe, and Ursa each find a measure of peace, and the book closes on a note of quiet renewal. Vanderah’s debut novel blends elements of mystery, romance, and coming-of-age themes into a heartfelt story about the power of chosen family and the courage it takes to believe in second chances.