Where the Forest Meets the Stars

The way the relationships between Jo, Ursa, and Gabe develop shows how love heals people. The novel’s main characters all bear the wounds of their traumas and illnesses at the beginning of the story. Jo is dealing with the aftermath of her cancer and the grief of losing her mother, Gabe with his mental health condition and resentment toward his family, and Ursa with the horror of the night she became an alien in a human body. Whether Ursa is an alien, both the alien Ursa and human Ursa experienced the image of her mother’s severe head injury and the other horrific events of that traumatic night.

The way love heals Ursa is evident early in the novel, when Jo and Gabe begin to work as a team to ensure her well-being. After four days of stability, a place to sleep, and consistent meals, “Ursa didn’t look like a changeling anymore. The dark circles under her eyes disappeared, her skin turned a wholesome pink, and she’d gained a few pounds” (74). The love and care that Jo and Gabe show Ursa by housing her, clothing her, feeding her, and enriching her life have a swift effect on her health and happiness, and their ongoing love and support help Ursa heal from her deeper issues, like her mother’s murder.