In The Secret Book of Flora Lea, we meet sisters Hazel and Flora Lea, young girls sent to the English countryside during the London Blitz. The story is told in alternating timelines, during the war when Hazel is 14 and Flora Lea is 6, and in the mid 60s when Hazel is in her 30s.

From the beginning of the book, we know that Flora tragically disappeared from the small town near the Thames River, presumed to have drowned. The book slowly reveals exactly what happened, while also showing how Hazel tries to discover the truth about her disappearance in the 1960s timeline.

Hazel is the main narrator of this book, and I loved her voice, and how much she clearly loves books, and stories, and using stories to try and help Flora and herself during their time relocated during the Blitz. I enjoyed how she developed and changed over the course of the novel. The one criticism I have is the narration/storyline of Peggy, the American author of the Whisperwood book that resurfaces all of Hazel's buried trauma. She didn't really seem to add anything to the story as a narrator, and the book would have been just as enjoyable with her as a minor character from Hazel's POV.

All that said, I enjoyed this book, and the characters and story presented, and was extremely satisfied with the ending.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the electronic ARC for review.

I loved this book. In The Secret Book of Flora Lea, 14-year-old Hazel was an amazing storyteller who created a secret land called Whisperwood where she and her 6-year-old younger sister Flora Lea would go to escape the ugliness of WWII that surrounded them. It was a magical land with a river of stars where they could be whatever animals they chose, and they would be safe and it was only for them. As the bombs began to drop in London, children were ordered to be sent to the countryside where they were billeted to be kept safe. Hazel and Flora were selected to live with Bridie and her son Harry, whom Hazel developed a young crush on. Whisperwood continued to be Hazel and Flora’s balm against the evils of war and their safe haven. However, we learn further how this affected all the children and that some were lost in the process. Flora was one of those children, thought to have drowned in a river one day yet her sister Hazel always held on to hope in finding that she was alive. As an adult, working in a rare book shop, both Whisperwood and Flora were thought to be forever lost to Hazel as she struggled to move on. Until one day, when a first edition of a children’s book from America arrived, titled “Whisperwood and the River of Stars”. Hazel ponders how anyone would know the special story that she created only for her sister and her. Did Flora write this? Is Flora still alive? Hazel must decide what is important as her whole life changes as she walks away from the safety of where she has been. As the reader, you travel with Hazel, an amazing storyteller, and experience her hopes and dreams and her confusion in her search for Flora and for true love. Can you get back what you've lost? And at what cost? The writing is beautiful, like an adult fairytale. This will have you reading to find if there is a happily-ever-after or not.

Many thanks to #netgalley #thesecretbookoffloralea #patticallaghanhenry #atriabooks for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book.
Loved the book. The power of words, the power of story is magical. Beautifully drawn characters in complex relationships further the magical tale. A book to be savored.

The Secret Book of Flora Lea is a beautifully written, passionate family drama spanning multiple decades and continents. Patti Callahan Henry has crafted an enchanting, magical, devastating and gratifying novel….all wrapped in this amazing tale about the grace of stories.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria for the opportunity to read this ARC.

The Secret Book of Flora Lea
by Patti Callahan Henry
Pub Date: May 2, 2023
Thanks to the author, publisher and Net Galley for the digital file of this book.
I am a fan of Patti Callahan Henry and have found all of her books to be treasures.
This is a must read. A book between sisters and the fairy tale that drew them back together.
5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced copy of “ The Secret Book of Flora Lea” by Patti Callahan Henry.This is a mesmerizing and engaging book full of drama that draws you in right from the first sentence.It is the story of Hazel and Flora Lea Linden, 2 young London evacuees, sent during World War 2 to live with Birdie and her son Harry in Oxford.Hazel is 15 and Flora 6 when Hazel disappears while Hazel and Harry share a lover’s kiss in the woods.and Flora is sleeping.Hazel has helped Flora cope with the upheaval and move by telling her of a land called Whisperwood , where magic and enchantment serve as a balm for Flora Fast forward, 20 years later, Hazel has never been able to stop grieving her sister’s loss and move on and find love of her own..One day , on the last day of her job at Hogan’s , a rare bookseller, a book with beautiful illustrations arrives.It tells the story of Whisperwood ,a story that was only known by Hazel and her lost sister, Flora.Can the author be Flora? Read this wonderful, magical book told in alternating time frames and find out.

I am a huge fan of Patti Callahan Henry and loved this book about sisters and a fairy tale that connected them.

Oh my goodness what an absolutely delightful book! I just finished it and I’m sitting her smiling to myself. The author has created a story from the beginning of WW2 where families sent their children to the English countryside to keep them safe to the brightness of 1960 as families are coming out of the era of the war. Hazel and Flora as children sent to the country to escape the Blitz. Hazel created a magical world called Whisperwood for them as they experienced this strange new world in the countryside without their mother. Then when Hazel is an adult in 1960 working in a rare book store, she comes across a story just like the one she told Flora all those years ago. That is where the story begins to have so many plot twists as Hazel has to find out how someone else knew of her secret land. The characters created felt real and made you cheer and gasp as they moved through their lives in the story. I could not put this book down and finished it in under 4 days. I would recommend this magical tale to all of those that enjoy wonderful storytelling.

Thank you Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Operation Pied Piper, a humanitarian effort from the British government to save the children of London and other parts of England by removing them from the war-torn area to the English countryside, other parts of the commonwealth and America. Families were separated and their lives were irrevocably changed.

Patti Callahan Henry can weave a fantastic story. It was so easy to fall into Whisperwood and the River of Stars. The reader will become as enchanted with the imaginary world and the idyllic lives Flora and Hazel have until that day. The day that changed everything. I loved everything about the story and did not want to put it down. The only issue I had, hence the 4* rating and not a 5* is the dialogue between Hazel and her mother towards the end of the book. It's flowery and off, after a book full of natural sounding dialogue.

The book had an ending I was happy with.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read and review this book. All opinions expressed are mine and freely given. I look forward to more of Ms. Henry's books.

This was a beautiful fairy tale of a time in history I knew nothing about! Operation Pied Piper evacuated over 3 million children from London in 4 days. Children were shipped to different parts of the English countryside to stay with families who chose to 'billet' them in exchange for payment and their duty to the crown. Some children went to great families and had very easy transitions, others did not.

This is the story of Hazel and Flora, who were evacuated and stayed with the lovely family of Bridie and her son Harry. Hazel tries to calm her younger six year old sister by telling her fairy tales of a magical place called Whisperwood. When Flora disappears and is suspected drowned, Hazel is broken. She grows up, goes to college, and ends up working in a rare book store. One day a mysterious parcel comes across her desk that is the story of a magical land called Whisperwood! Thus begins the amazing journey that Hazel embarks upon to find the origin of the story and if her sister is by chance still alive.

It's clear the author realizes the power of stories and fairy tales and how often we mistake them for reality, as Hazel often does, believing the story has the power to protect her and Flora as they journey through their lives.
When we find out what actually happens to Flora, it's a bit implausible, but a joyous occasion for all. Hazel is forced to make many decisions along the way for love, family, and career and learns to follow her heart to find all that is true.

A fairy tale for adults young and old that is a mix of the Secret Garden and Chronicles of Narnia. You'll fall in love with Hazel and hope that she makes the right decision when all along you know what that will be. It's still interesting to see the path she takes to make her way there.

Loved this. Set in the world of bookstores, fairytales, London, Oxford, Cornwall, Massachusetts, and World War II, this book was a treat. Both parts of the duel timeline were intriguing and I was interested in the outcome of all the characters. I prided myself on figuring out the whole mystery at around 20%, but I was very wrong and all the happier for it. My only complaint, if it could be considered one, is that the writing seemed a bit awkward in the parts where I assume the author was aiming for something poetic, specifically Hazel’s descriptions of Whisperwood and her adult interactions with Harry. Bottom line however, is that this was a great story that manages to be original despite all the WWII historical fiction that’s out there. This one stands out among the many.

This is such a poignant and heart-rending story, and especially about the power of stories. I could not put this story down. The reality of children being sent to the countryside to keep them safe during WWII is combined with a fairy-tale to bring comfort and the result is magical. Highly recommended.

A book about books, a book about family, a story of loss and war, the families created by war as young children were relocated in an effort to keep them safe. A story about stories, and the power they have to bond us, to share another time, another place, and expand our understanding of the world. An ode to stories, and those who share theirs.

Set in alternative times, as this story begins, it is 1939 when fourteen-year-old Hazel and her five-year-old sister Flora must leave their home in London, along with countless other children who are being evacuated during Operation Pied Piper. It hasn’t been that long since their father was killed in the war, and now they must leave their mother, their only parent. They are taken, along with a host of other children, to a village far enough away from London to, hopefully, be kept safe from this war. Once they arrive, they go to live with a mother and her son, and eventually settle in happily, with Hazel sharing her story of a magical, secret place, one that belongs only to them. Whisperwood.

One day, when Hazel takes her eye off her sister for a few moments, Flora goes missing in this spot near the River Thames. It is a moment that will continue to haunt her as the years pass.

In the spring of March 1960, Hazel is at Hogan’s Rare Book Shoppe’, her last day working at this shop with these books that are both rare and collectible. It is a job she loves, but she is also looking forward to the job that awaits her at Sotheby’s, and the life and future she imagines with her boyfriend, as well. She is happily unwrapping a book for the book shop when she sees the title - ’Whisperwood and the River of Stars’. She is pulled back into the past, remembering this story she had shared with her sister, and sees it as a sign of hope that her sister might still be alive, and if that is even a remote possibility, she needs to find the answer, despite what it may cost her.


Pub Date: 02 May 2023

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Atria Books

I just finished an ARC of PCH's soon-to-be released book "The Secret Book of Flora Lea".
This book is a heart warming, heart breaking ,heart healing book. There is historical fiction along with coming of age . There is harsh reality and there is magical imagination.
Henry just has a special way of engaging the reader with her fleshed out characters and researched storyline.
It will be available May 1st;if you love PCH like I do make sure to add this one to your TBR list. 😉

Ebook received for free through NetGalley

I absolutely loved this story although it didn’t make me cry like her last. It’s awesome, amazing, and brings you along for an epic story.

For the entirety of the book, you are asking “how is this possible?” and aching to know if Flora was still alive and who she was. The slow-burn was captivating. The multiple perspectives each played a vital aspect to the plot, no matter how small the part may be. As the truth crept closer, I couldn’t make myself read fast enough. I pleaded with characters who couldn’t hear me to make actions that could positively alter their future. By the time the climax hit, it was a like a storm came rushing in, leaving no stone unturned. While I had suspicions throughout the book, the rushed ending jolted me back to reality and took me by surprise based on how thorough and slow the rest of the book had been. There could not have been more build up, but the peak of the mountain dulled in comparison to the hike up it. I am not normally a fan of an epilogue, but I do think it was necessary to seamlessly tie up loose ends and allow for me to end the book happy.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC of this book and an honest review. .

This is one of the best books I’ve ever read! It describes a girl’s experiences when she was sent to live with a family in a safer area during WWII.

In 1939, fourteen-year-old Hazel Linden and her five-year-old sister Flora left London for the safety of the English countryside. Though they were fortunate to find a loving home with Bridie Aberdeen and her fifteen-year-old son, Harry, Of course, the girls missed their mom and their London home, so Hazel comforted Flora by telling her stories about a magical, make-believe world called Whisperwood. No one other than the Linden sisters knows about Whisperwood -- it's their secret.

A year after their arrival in the countryside, Flora disappears on the banks of the river. The police conclude that she drowned even though they never find a body. Feeling responsible for her sister's disappearance because she left her sister alone briefly, Hazel refuses to believe Flora is dead.

In 1960, Hazel works at a rare book shop and comes across a new book by an American author, Peggy Andrews, about Whisperwood. Certain that this book is proof her sister is alive, Hazel risks everything (her job, her relationship with her boyfriend) to search for the truth.

The author skillfully alternates between two narrative timelines to build suspense. The characters are vibrant and realistic. Henry's depiction of Hazel allows the reader to see how her sister's disappearance has shaped her life. The mystery of Flora's disappearance will keep readers guessing until the very end. This title would be a great choice for book clubs. Highly recommended.

"Despair leads us to stories, of course. We invent them so we can live in a world with meaning."

And so Hazel invented a story for her younger sister Flora Lea when they were sent from London to the countryside during the Blitz in WWII, away from their mother and everything they'd ever known. She created an entire world to which she and Flora Lea would escape: Whisperwood. Then Flora disappears by the riverbank and Hazel blames herself and their story.

Years later, Hazel still believes Flora is alive but despite years of searching, was never able to find a trace of her. When a fairy tale book shows up at the bookstore where she works, containing the secret stories of Whisperwood that Hazel told to Flora under the name of an American author, she knows Flora must have survived, and she renews the search.

This book has everything story-lovers are looking for: mystery, drama, romance, tons of books, magic, history, and more. The message of the book is the power of stories to sustain and carry us, and it's absolutely moving at times. Hazel's love for Flora, which overcomes even Flora's supposed death in the river, is overwhelming and courageous. But most of all, I loved hearing about their love for Whisperwood and the way their created world provided an escape during the harshest and most terrifying time in their life.

The characters of this story were beautiful too: Hazel, the embittered, strong survivor. Flora, the innocent child lost for years. Bridie, the hippie. Harry, the dreamer and artist. Peggy, who is finally set free. All of them are so relatable and so tied in to the power of stories. Even some of the not so lovely characters are well-rounded and interested.

If I have anything negative to say about this book, it would be that the pacing sometimes felt slow in the middle. I was waiting for it to pick up speed a little more.

I am a recent but avid Patti Callahan fan. I loved Becoming Mrs. Lewis and Once Upon a Wardrobe, and this book is very much in her style. Her writing is absolutely beautiful--she writes like a poet and paints a picture with her words so that I sometimes have to slow down to read it. I can't wait for her next book.

"What a fairy tale is meant to do," she said, "if it's meant to do anything at all, Tolkien says, is give us new perspective in our world, the consolation of a happy ending. A recovery of sorts. Like we leave that world to see ours anew."

This was an utter delight—perhaps Henry's best work yet! I'm saving my full review for our Modern Mrs Darcy 2023 Summer Reading Guide, but I devoured this novel. A book about books, set in the world of books and reading, featuring modern (that is, 1960s modern) determined to live life on their own terms while staying true to their first love of family? Perfection. I can't wait to recommend this to every historical fiction fan I know.