Reviews of The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Henry

The Secret Book of Flora Lea

A Novel

by Patti Callahan Henry

The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry X
The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry
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  • First Published:
    May 2023, 368 pages

    Paperback:
    Apr 2023, 368 pages

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Book Reviewed by:
Jo-Anne Blanco
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About this Book

Book Summary

When a woman discovers a rare book that has connections to her past, long-held secrets about her missing sister and their childhood spent in the English countryside during World War II are revealed.

In the war-torn London of 1939, fourteen-year-old Hazel and five-year-old Flora are evacuated to a rural village to escape the horrors of the Second World War. Living with the kind Bridie Aberdeen and her teenage son, Harry, in a charming stone cottage along the River Thames, Hazel fills their days with walks and games to distract her young sister, including one that she creates for her sister and her sister alone—a fairy tale about a magical land, a secret place they can escape to that is all their own.

But the unthinkable happens when young Flora suddenly vanishes while playing near the banks of the river. Shattered, Hazel blames herself for her sister's disappearance, and she carries that guilt into adulthood as a private burden she feels she deserves.

Twenty years later, Hazel is in London, ready to move on from her job at a cozy rare bookstore to a career at Sotheby's. With a charming boyfriend and her elegantly timeworn Bloomsbury flat, Hazel's future seems determined. But her tidy life is turned upside down when she unwraps a package containing an illustrated book called Whisperwood and the River of Stars. Hazel never told a soul about the imaginary world she created just for Flora. Could this book hold the secrets to Flora's disappearance? Could it be a sign that her beloved sister is still alive after all these years?

As Hazel embarks on a feverish quest, revisiting long-dormant relationships and bravely opening wounds from her past, her career and future hang in the balance. An astonishing twist ultimately reveals the truth in this transporting and refreshingly original novel about the bond between sisters, the complications of conflicted love, and the enduring magic of storytelling.

Chapter 1

Not very long ago and not very far away, there once was and still is an invisible place right here with us. And if you are born knowing, you will find your way through the woodlands to the shimmering doors that lead to the land made just and exactly for you.
HAZEL MERSEY LINDEN, 1939


October 1940

Binsey, Oxfordshire

On a red blanket by the river, six-year-old Flora Lea Linden awakens alone, a dome of blue sky above her and birdsong wild about her. Someone called my name? She glances around the green expanse, at the churning water of the River Thames furrowed with winks and puckers as it nearly overflows its banks, taking to the sea anything or anyone who dares to enter its rush.

The river surges toward Oxford where students hurry to and from tutors under pinnacled towers standing guard over cobblestone streets. Then the waters bend and curve, gathering force, bouncing against the stone walls and locks of England until they reach London, where bombs are plummeting to city streets...

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
  1. Hazel and Flora Lea's childhood experience was inspired by Operation Pied Piper—a real life event in British WWII history in which over three million children were evacuated from their homes to live with volunteer families throughout the English countryside. Were you familiar with this piece of history prior to reading the novel?
  2. Hazel takes great care of the rare books while employed at Hogan's Bookshop, wearing white gloves and logging items meticulously. In passing, the owner, Edwin, has mentioned the enormous value original illustrations can add to a book. What is revealed about Hazel's character in the decision to take the copy of Whisperwood and the River of Stars along with the illustrations? What about when her initial ...
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Reviews

BookBrowse Review

BookBrowse

Ultimately, it is the importance of stories and the necessity of storytelling that underpin everything in this beautiful, heartrending novel. Stories can bring us together, create an unbreakable bond between people, reveal things we might not otherwise be able to see about ourselves, our lives, and the world we live in; stories, even though imagined, can carry the truth...continued

Full Review Members Only (675 words)

(Reviewed by Jo-Anne Blanco).

Media Reviews

Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
[M]agical...An enchanting tribute to the power of storytelling.

Publishers Weekly
[A]ffecting…Henry's offering shines most in its exploration of the ways relationships grow and adapt to time and trauma, making for a poignant meditation on the bonds of sisterhood. This captivates.

Author Blurb Chris Bohjalian, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lioness and The Flight Attendant
A world war and a fairy tale collide in the British countryside in 1940--and Patti Callahan Henry is the perfect novelist to explore how the living are forever changed. The Secret Book of Flora Lea is a treasure: moving, surprising, and deeply evocative of an England that everyday walked the tightrope between heartbreak and hope.

Author Blurb Christina Baker Kline, New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train and The Exiles
Two sisters, dual time periods, a magical secret place, an abiding mystery--The Secret Book of Flora Lea is an enchanting story of survival against all odds. With her trademark warmth and a feather-light touch, Patti Callahan Henry weaves together events both real and imagined. Transporting, heartfelt, and atmospheric.

Author Blurb Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife and When the Stars Go Dark
Deft, lyrical and supremely satisfying, The Secret Book of Flora Lea isn't so much a departure for Patti Callahan Henry as it is a culmination of her gifts as a novelist. This is a book about difficult history and unsinkable hope, ordinary magic in the form of love, and about how our stories can save and sustain us in the most trying moments of our lives. Callahan's plot will keep you guessing even as her characters steal your heart. I loved it.

Author Blurb Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Apothecary and The London Seance Society
A spellbinding tale of hope and perseverance, The Secret Book of Flora Lea is as enchanting and whimsical as the Whisperwood fairytale hidden within its pages. It reminds us that a happily-ever-after isn't out of reach—so long as we heed the tiny voice within, whispering that the real magic of the story may be closer than we think.

Reader Reviews

PhyllisE

I highly recommend this unforgetable novel
Thanks to Atria Books & NetGalley for a digital advance reader's copy. All comments and opinions are my own. This book was everything I expected from Patti Callahan Henry. It’s a beautifully written, engrossing and unique story, with likeable ...   Read More
Renee

Good choice for book clubs
The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry begins in WWII with the evacuation of London’s children to escape the Blitz. Hazel and Flora are among the evacuees, leaving their mother and traveling to the safety of a small village in the ...   Read More
prem singh yadav

The Secret Book of Flora Lea
Patti Callahan Henry is the author of the book "The Secret Book of Flora Lea". Hazel and Flora, two sisters who are relocated to a small English village during World War II, are the focus of the narrative. As a way of escaping the harsh reality of ...   Read More

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Beyond the Book

The Imaginary Worlds of Childhood

MapIn Patti Callahan Henry's The Secret Book of Flora Lea, Hazel Linden, 14, and her sister Flora, 5, are evacuated to Oxfordshire during Operation Pied Piper in World War II. To help Flora through the trauma of war and evacuation, Hazel creates a secret magical woodland world called Whisperwood and the River of Stars, to which she and Flora can escape through hidden doorways in the real world and have adventures. However, the creation of Whisperwood and the telling of stories becomes a terrible burden to Hazel, as she blames it for the tragedy that lies at the heart of the novel. In her grief and guilt, she stops telling stories and abandons her dream of being a writer. Only when she receives a book written by an American author about ...

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