Tom and Zoe move to Casablanca for a job opportunity and hopefully to repair what is wrong in their marriage. Zoe sets up the attic room in their new home for her baby girl, Grace, and hidden in the floor she finds a wooden treasure box and a diary. It belongs to Josie, a 12-year-old, who with her family is escaping the Nazis and are waiting for passage to America. Zoe sits in the room and reads her journal and the wisdom displayed by such a young girl while she works on a quilt called the Tree of Life. I found the story in the diary fascinating but it didn't fell like it was written by a 12-year-old. The story is told from Zoe's point of view in 2010 and Josie's.

I was more interested in Josie's story of life in Casablanca during the war and she really depicted the sights, sounds and smells of Casablanca and the food made by their housekeeper. Her parents' struggle to get the proper paperwork so they could leave as just so frustrating to read.

I didn't really care much for Zoe. It's revealed pretty early that there is trouble in her marriage and her husband drinks a lot but I got a bit tired of the descriptions of her washing her hands and how much they hurt. There were hints that something bad happened but by the end of the story I really didn't care all that much. She is one of those characters that sees something and assumes the worst and when she confronts one of the parties involved refuses to listen to an explanation.

Zoe decides she wants to make a quilt using the Tree of Life pattern and being a beginning quilter she befriends another ex-pat who helps her. Kate's stories of quilts telling a story was quite interesting but while I understood the need for the refugee center I didn't fell a real connection there either.

Things wrapped up quickly at the end and it was handled well.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Amazon UK Publishing for providing me with a copy of this book.

The dual timeline is used successfully in this work of historical fiction. Zoe’s story starts in 2010, where she is in Casablanca as an expat with her husband. Their relationship has been challenged, the reason not told until later in the book, although it is not difficult to guess. When Zoe finds a journal under a floorboard, we are introduced to Josie’s story, taking place in Casablanca in the early 1940’s. The historical story was most interesting, learning more about the rush to Casablanca for a family escaping the Nazis in France. A thread concerting the plight of refugees during WWII and currently those fleeing violence in Africa, deepens the meaning of the stories. Thanks to NetGalley for this well written book.

A great dual timeline story with a WW2 Jewish girl and one in present time. The switches worked well and I loved the character of Josie and it made a great change for a WW2 story to be set in Casablanca, I preferred the historical part of the story but I always do and I also preferred the character of Josie to Zoe. Really good storyline that kept my interest

I was captivated by this book from the very start and enjoyed it all the way through. I have never been to Casablanca and know very little about the area. The author was very adept at describing the area in the timeline of the 1940’s and the present day timeline.

The timeline from the 1940’s focuses on a young girl, Josie Duval, who is fleeing France with her family in order to migrate to the United States. Josie embraces her time in Casablanca, making friends, learning about the area and starting a diary. When the time comes for her family to leave for America, she is hopeful for her future, but sad to leave Casablanca.

In the present day timeline, Zoe, a young wife and mother is an ex-pat from England hoping that her time in Casablanca will help her marriage and give her a fresh start in life. It’s obvious she is struggling with some deep hurt, which is not immediately known to readers.

Zoe inadvertently discovers some items hidden under a floorboard in the house. One is a diary, the other a box of trinkets and mementos. Zoe begins to read the diary, which was written by Josie and as she reads she begins to become more hopeful about her own life.

The ending just captured my heart. I loved how the story came together and how these women across all ages and cultures cared for each other. I highly recommend this to readers who love historical fiction and stories about strong women.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am happy to give my honest review.

This was a delightful book - I got a copy from netgalley (thanks netgalley) and then I was busy enough that I got the audio and downloaded it, so ended up listening to most of the book instead of reading with my eyes. The narrator was very good - she didn't distract from the story, but did nice subtle accents and (obviously) I liked it.

The story takes place in two timelines. The first (in 2010) is Zoe, who came to Casablanca with her husband and baby to get a fresh start (we're not sure from what). As she learns about the city, and the expat community, she is drawn to the history and people, but struggling with something, and it is manifesting in some OCD behaviors. She finds a 1941 diary of a young girl, Josie, who has come to Casablanca with her family (the mother is Jewish), and they are trying to navigate the politics and make it to America (as well as survive the Germans).

Both stories are compelling - I especially liked Josie who is sweet, smart, and loves to read.

I enjoyed this a lot, and I'm so glad I found and got it on Netgalley - I'd recommend it!

A fascinating book, moving from 1941 Casablanca to modern day, 2 different women see the city and its challenges from their own points of view. Both troubled and finding themselves in this teeming city, so different from their homes...but as Zoe reads the diary of young Jewish girl Josie, leaving war torn Europe for America, she finds herself identifying with the young girl's plight.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I enjoyed this one a lot. Books set during war times usually are not my jam, but the setting of Casablanca intrigued me. The author did a good job with the setting in both timelines. That said, I far preferred Josie's sections of the book. I just didn't feel like Zoe was a very likable character. The other little niggle I had was the twist at the end. It felt thrown in for a shock moment, and I honestly just didn't see the point. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Overall, it was a solid read so I am giving it two thumbs up.

**ARC Via NetGalley**

I really enjoyed this book, not too long but long enough to tell a great story. And that story is the story of a young Jewish girl fleeing her country with her family to a new and exciting place. This is her story told through a small wooden box found seventy years later.

The storytelling is dynamic, beautiful and empowering. The characters are strong and well thought out, the author is magical with her words and keeps you reading from start to finish and doesn't disappoint with and ending I would not have expected.

I love this book and highly recommend it.

Someone else commented that this felt more like a YA book than an adult book and I agree. Overall an entertaining read , although I did get a bit exasperated with Zoe in the beginning. Interesting to have a different view point and scenario on the traditional-German to America Jewish storyline. Quite a slow going book
A good ending too

Young Josie has fled with her family to Casablanca to avoid capture by the Nazis. It is meant to be a short stay as they applied for visas and obtained travel to America. As time goes on she begins to see that it is not working as well as her father had hoped. She makes friends with local kids and finds connection there.

Present day Zoe has moved with her husband and baby to Casablanca. She struggles with anxiety and depression and her marriage is on the rocks. As she befriends a local businessman, she is introduced to the poor side of the Casablanca and finds a way to serve those people. When she discovers a box in the floorboard of her attic she has a mystery she is determined to unravel.

This was just okay for me. I had a hard time connecting to the characters. I know many others have loved it, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I loved this book. Simply loved it. Its a fantastically written story and the some of the characters are very engaging. I did prefer the historical story more than the current storyline in the book. A super read!

A heartwarming, gripping tale set in the landscape of Casablanca. With an unforgettable cast of characters, this extraordinary work from Fiona Valpy is a story you will never forget.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishing house ad the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

This gripping saga transported me to wartime Casablanca where yiou coudl see all of the beauty and feel the edginess of the refugees, most of them jewish on the run to America from the Nazis and to modern day Casablanca, not quite so splendid with the old world charm, but still an ancient city with its share of refugees and problems.

Zoe, her husband, Tom and their young daughter, Grace move to Casablanca for Tom's work. Zoe and Tom have said that the move would help to put their marriage back on track, but they quickly fall into old habits, Tom leaving early for work every morning and coming home late every night, Zoe keeping to herself and closing herself off from Tom. Zoe finds a beautiful sandalwood box under the uneven floorboard in Grace's room and in the box are; a gold Star of David necklace, a blue folded piece of paper, a small piece of wood that appears to be some sort of animal call, a faded feather and a piece of sea glass, along with them is a diary. Zoe finds herself very curious and starts to read the diary, the dairy is has been written by a young preteen, Josie, starting on New Year's Day 1941. We are quickly absorbed in the story of Josie and her family, who fled from Paris and are tryng to get to America to start a new life, as Josie's mother is jewish and her father, catholic.

Zoe feels an instant connection to Josie, even though it has been 70 years since the dairy was written. Zoe finds feels a bond with Josie and as she gets to know her new surroundings and works on her tree of life quilt, she explores Casablanca. As she nears the end of the diary, she also nears the end of making the quilt and knows that her life cannot go on the way it has but is she ready for the end of the diary, and is she ready for her next chapter of her life.

I loved the way the author told the past story of Josie and her family, the things that Josie had written in her diary really let me connect with her as Zoe did. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is highly recommended. It was a heartbreaking story of loss and loss through the years and that really made me think.

I loved this book for invoking memories of my own travels in Morocco and learning more about Casablanca during the Second World War. The tales of refugees past and present.

I did not love the main character Zoe. I recognise this is probably a very true portrayal of someone suffering from anxiety but something about her helplessness just irked me throughout the story and made me think I'd much rather just read a book that was just Josie's journal. I understand the parallel stories but it felt jarring to me.

**Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for giving me access to this book in return for an honest review.

Review ⭐️ - Thanks to netgalley for a pre released copy of this book! Set in Morocco, and alternates between back in 1941 - following Josie’s family who have had to flee France, and have stopped in Morocco awaiting safe passage to America and then, seventy years later when Zoe is struggling with her new life in Morocco, when she stumbles across the journal that belonged to Josie in 1941. The Storyteller of Casablanca follows Zoe’s journey to settling into Morocco while she unravels the story that Josie wrote all them years ago…

I love anything with a dual timeline and this was honestly the loviest, and sometimes heartbreaking historical fiction novel! Josie’s story was so captivating, and the ending was so heartwarming for both Zoe and Josie despite the heartache that they so obviously felt deeply throughout the book - This wasn’t my first Fiona Valpy novel, and it mostly certainly won’t be the last.

Quote 💌 - “You need to go to the ocean. Write the names of the things you’ve lost on stones you will find there and then cast them away into the waters. The ocean is big enough to take your grief and keep it safe for you, freeing up space in your heart for other things. The dream seller says this is an important lesson for you to learn now and you must remember it. It will help you later in life.”

“I’m an entire ocean in one tiny drop.” The Storyteller of Casablanca by Fiona Valpy

4 stars. This was an unexpected gem. I enjoyed how I got sucked into the setting and the story.

It’s sort of told in 2 timelines, present day with Zoe and in 1941 via the journal entries of Josie. Zoe found the journal in the house she’s staying at in Casablanca with her family. Adjusting to the new country, so very different from London, with some problems with her husband, Zoe found solace in the journal. And she followed the life of Josie to the end.

I really enjoyed this one. I got lost in modern day Casablanca with Zoe and explored old Morocco with Josie. I was a bit shocked at the small twist in Zoe’s life. And Josie’s too. I’m glad for the ending. This book made me want to visit the country.

Thank you Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for this arc. This was a good book to read.

It is a dual timeline book. One timeline focuses on Zoe in 2010. She with her husband moved to Casablanca on a posting, seeking a fresh start. With her marriage on rocks, Zoe was trying to break through her continuous cycle of grief. When she chances on an old journal in the attic of her home, she gets pulled into the life of Josie, a thirteen-year-old girl. Josie lived in the same house as Zoe during the second world war. She with her family had moved to Casablanca on their way to the United States. They undergo constant daily struggle to find passage to America.
Fiona Valpy has remarkably managed to do justice to both the timelines. Zoe and Josie are two characters belonging to completely different periods and stages of life. Yet the common thread that neatly ties them together is the alluring city of Casablanca. The author has brought Casablanca of the 1940s to life with her exquisite writing making it easy for me to envision the place. I could feel the spirit, the sights and the sounds of Casablanca. The unsaid grief of Zoe and her struggle with it was palpable. Even though the author has recounted Josie's story in epistolary style but at no point, it appears bland. Instead, Josie's story comes alive in front of you by the way she articulates her thoughts in her diary entries.

The Storyteller of Casablanca by Fiona Valpy is my first novel by this author. I love her style of writing! An exotic setting, a dual timeline and a story about WWII set in a location I haven't read about before. Give it a chance and I know you'll love it!

After Zoe and her husband move to Casablanca, Zoe feels a little lost as her husband buries himself in work. She funds a journal written by 12 year-old Josie in the 1940's under the floorboards. The story switches between present and past. I liked the story, the characters were good, but I wish the language used by Josie was written in a more simple way. The language as written seemed to mature for a 12/13 year old in the 1920's, making the story less believable.
3 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher and author for an ARC of this book.The opinions expressed are my own.

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

Absolutely loved this
Wonderfully descriptive - very vivid - loved the way the book was set

great storytellying