The Secret Life of Flora Lea is the story of two young sisters who, during WWII, are evacuated to a village in England for their safety. Fourteen-year-old Hazel makes up stories of a magical land called Whisperwood to distract her five-year-old sister Flora from the reality of war. Then one day, when Hazel is momentarily distracted, Flora disappears from where she was napping by the river.

As an adult, Hazel works at a rare and antique bookstore where she comes across a book about her Whisperwood. How can this be? Is Flora still alive? You'll want to snuggle in with this enchanting story!

I know you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but I definitely picked this one initially because the cover is just beautifully inviting. WWII history and historical fiction is my absolute favourite, but so overdone that it's tough to find a book that offers something new or original. The first section drew me in as the children are educated and Hazel constructs this beautiful safe world for her sister - the magical/fairy tale elements were so captivating that I forgot about the war at times, which I suppose was the point. The author does a wonderful job with world building - in addition to the early childhood sections, I loved the vivid descriptions of Hazel's cozy bookshop and Bloomsbury flat (i.e. every bookend's #goals). I won't spoil the rest, but I will say that the author succeeding in adding something new to the WWII historical fiction subgenera, so kudos! Overall a delightful bit of escapism and a lovely read.

My favorite Patti Callahan Henry book yet! This latest is an incredibly moving and heartbreaking dual timeline historical fiction mystery based around WWII's Operation Pied Piper, two sisters and a terrible event that changes both of their lives.

Alternating between 1939 and 1960 we get to know sisters Flora and Hazel who are sent to the country for safety at the start of WWII as part of the Pied Piper campaign that saw thousands of British children sent to the country and overseas for their protection during the war.

Tragedy strikes though when Flora disappears one night. She's eventually presumed dead until twenty years later when her sister Hazel stumbles across a picture book about a story she made up for her little sister and only told to her. What follows is a desperate search to find out if her sister is actually still alive.

Beautifully written and very compelling! I couldn't put this book down. It was great on audio with an author's note included at the end read by the author herself. Highly recommended for fans of other Pied Piper based WWII stories like Kristin Harmel's The Paris daughter or Hazel Gaynor's The last lifeboat.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!! This one is going straight onto my favorite WWII historical fiction books shelf!

This is a combination of historical fiction and suspense. I was hooked by the whole premise of a sibling gone missing in war-torn England during WWII. I loved reading about the sisters’ make believe land that they invented in order to survive and escape. I felt like the resolution and outcome did not really work and it was kind of a letdown. I guess I was expecting more.

From the publisher: 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.

This title is easily one of the best books of 2023. If you have ever loved a book by Patti Callahan Henry, be sure to pick up her newest title. If you are new to this author, you are in for a treat, one that will have you thinking about it long after you've turned the last page. A dual timeline story, we see Operation Pied Piper early in WWII and and the results 20 years later as Hazel struggles with the trauma of the war and losing her little sister, Flora Lee. Within these pages, we investigate how we recover from the trauma of war and loss? How do we move on and find joy? Can we? And what happens to our stories? Fall into the magic of Whisperwood in the Secret Book of Flora Lee and find out.

Flora is fourteen and her little sister Hazel is five when they are sent to the English countryside to escape the ravages of London during WWII. They stay with a lovely family and Flora befriends the boy Harry. The girls spend hours making up stories of a magical land that they keep secret from everyone else. When they are stressed, they find comfort in escaping to this fictional landscape. But their lives are thrown into turmoil when little Hazel suddenly disappears while playing by the river.

It’s twenty years later and Flora has gotten the chance for her dream job – working at Sotheby’s in London. One of her last tasks at her old job is to catalog some new books acquired by the antique shop owner. One of them catches her eye. It’s an illustrated book about a magical land that closely recreates the world that she and Hazel once imagined. But how can that be if Hazel died so many years ago?

The discovery sets Flora on a quest to find out how her secret storyland could be written and illustrated so perfectly? It makes Flora do things she would never ordinarily do and puts herself in jeopardy.

Henry writes about guilt, sisters, teenage infatuation, the world of imagination and the desperate search for answers. The story was inspired by the Pied Piper program that evacuated children out of London during the Blitz. The magical world of Whisperwood transports readers, along with the sisters, to a place of safety and serenity. This mythic world, like the fairy tales of old, was crucial to the girls who were living in dangerous times.

The characters are very engaging. Though the Pied Piper program was the inspiration, not a lot of time is spent dealing with the relocation itself. It’s more focused on the girls and the kind family they stay with. The boy Harry is simply delightful and his presence makes the transition go smoothly. Though not as powerful as Surviving Savannah, the sisters’ story is focused on love and guilt. Somehow the secrecy issue becomes muddled but the search for the origin of the imagined magical land is nonetheless captivating.

This historical fiction novel, set in dual time periods, takes us to England during World War II and 20 years later in London. In 1960, we meet Hazel, who works in a rare bookshop and opens a package to find a story–but it’s not just any story. It’s one about a fantastical land that she made up as a teen for her 5-year-old sister, Flora, 20 years ago. No one else ever knew about it.

In 1939, she and Flora were evacuated from London to the countryside, where they would escape to Hazel’s made-up land of Whisperwood. One day on the banks of the Thames, Flora disappeared, and Hazel has been wracked with guilt and longing ever since. Could the existence of this book mean Flora is still alive?

While I don’t read many WWII books anymore, this mystery was interesting. It did drag in the middle, though and I was impatient for the resolution–which then felt like it came too abruptly, so it was an odd mix of pacing. I didn’t always love the style of prose (overly flowery, in places), but I loved many of the characters and their relationships. On the whole, a very uneven read for me.

Overall, a mystery with a satisfying ending! I appreciated that the plot was not entirely predictable.

Readers will be absolutely transported by this incredible historical fiction book. The Secret Book of Flora Lea was one of those reads that completely took me out of my actual reading space and made me feel like I was in the woods with the characters. The characters, especially the two sisters, are so realistic and jump off the page. I was devastated for this family as they grieved their missing sister and daughter. I could not stop reading this book and was so tempted to skip ahead to solve the mystery.

Readers of heartfelt, historical mysteries will love this one!

What an immersive engaging read this book was!

As the war grows closer to home, Hazel and Flora Lea find themselves being sent into the country for their safety and away from their mother, the only family they have left. Luckily, they are placed with a loving mother and son who truly take them into their homes and hearts. But all of that changes the instant Flora Lea goes missing. Years later, Hazel still hasn't come to terms with Flora's disappearance so when she comes across a book that begins in just the way she used to start her fairy tale stories to Flora, she is sure this is the answer to finding her long lost sister.

I was so drawn into the fairy tale world that Hazel created along with the stories of Hazel and Flora Lea in war torn England, as well as the mystery of who had stolen Hazel's fairy tale world and would it lead them to the missing Flora Lea. This book just had it all. A strange disappearance, the strong bond of family, a beautiful love story and the mystery of Flora Lea.

A must read for any bibliophile or historical fiction reader. A really lovely book that had me from the very first turn of the page. I received this book courtesy of the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a wonderful book that brings back memories. I was one of the children who was a war refuge. It wasn't mandatory to send children from London to the countryside, but it became a sad necessity. I went from the outskirts of London to Dartmoor in Devonshire where I lived on a farm. It is mentioned in the book that this experience changed many lives. I was one of the lucky ones who really enjoyed the experience. I was there for at least 2 years. Our home survived as did my parents.

4.5 out of 5 This is a whimsical and fantastical lovely family saga. I love historical fiction books that dwell in the side participants of war, the women and the children that are left behind and how that affects their lives. This is one of them. This is my second Patti book and in both her love for the written word and fellow authors exudes from the page. This one is a lovely collection of how stories and tales help us go through even the hardest of times. How the power of the imagination can be stronger than the sorrow in our lives. A total tear jerker of a book but so beautifully intertwined with a magical ending.

I have mixed feelings about this book. Some parts I really liked but I also found it slow in others and I wasn’t as invested as I would have liked.
I think many will enjoy this and would recommend it to those who like a richly novel with alternating timelines.

Hazel is living a lovely life in 1960 London: about to start her dream job at Sotheby’s in the rare books department and a perfect boyfriend who is hoping for more, but Hazel is still haunted by the disappearance of her sister Flora almost 20 years ago. When they were 14 and 5 respectively, Hazel and Flora were sent to Oxford as part of Operation Pied Piper - getting children out of London as German bombs started falling in the city. Even though life there was idyllic, the girls missed their mother and Hazel would help Flora through this by telling her stories of Whisperwood, a secret land they would disappear to when they were sad or lonely. And then one day, Flora disappears into thin air.

Fast forward to 1960 and a book about Whisperwood makes its way into Hazel’s hands sending her on a quest to find out the truth of what happened to Flora all those years ago. With an alternate timeline of 1939-40 and 1960, we follow the girls in Oxford and Hazel on her mission of discovery.

Exquisitely written and engaging, this was a fascinating read. Part historical fiction, part mystery, I was completely enthralled by this from the first chapter.

I know people often say that we don’t need another WWII novel, but we do, and The Secret Book of Flora Lea is it. A haunting tale of love, sisterhood, and guilt is woven over a twenty year period. After falling asleep near a river’s edge, Flora Lea has disappeared. Most believe she drowned, but her sister Hazel refuses to end her search.

First off... as an educator, this isn't necessarily a book I would recommend to my students. There's nothing wrong with it, per se (except maybe some of the situations - kidnapping, death, parental death) I just don't think many of them would find it interesting.

However, it IS something I would recommend in the Teachers' Lounge as a perfect summer beach read. It's an easy read, intriguing enough story, and nothing too heavy or taxing.

I liked the story, albeit a bit predictable for the most part, and was able to put my critical eye aside enough to enjoy it. The characters were charming and I wanted - and got - the happy ending they all deserved.

As for the historical part, I have read a few stories recently that related to kindertransport and war-time children evacuees and they started to blend together a bit - there wasn't anything super original or outstanding here. But, again, that was fine. It was entertaining enough to keep my attention.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

In 1939, Hazel and her younger sister Flora are sent to the English countryside as a part of Operation Pied Piper, to protect them from impending Luftwaffe bombings. Inspired by their new environment, Hazel creates stories of a fantasy realm in an effort to shield Flora from the devastations of war and missing their mother. One day, Flora disappears without a trace and Hazel spends the next two decades wondering what happened to her. Years later, Hazel comes across a newly published story by an American author that is identical to the story she had created all those years ago, one she had never spoken of since Flora's disappearance. She dares to hope it is a sign Flora has survived somehow, perhaps written the story herself, and is set on a journey to uncover what really happened to her sister and reexamine the past she left behind.
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A lovely tale of the power of storytelling and the strength of familial bonds, as well as guilt and grief that defines our choices and the trajectory of our lives. It evokes CS Lewis, examining the way a child's imagination can be protection from harsh realities. I found myself wishing that I could read the entirety of Whisperwood and be absorbed by the story in question.
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Despite its rich themes, the story progresses slowly. It is a mystery with little thrill and several dead ends, though the focus is less on solving the mystery itself and more on how Hazel's discovery changes the way she has viewed her life and her choices.. The narration was lovely, but I was easily distracted and often uninterested.
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Thank you Net Galley, Atria Books, and Patti Callahan Henry for an ARC copy of this book (published in May) in exchange for an honest review.

I seem to be in the minority, but this book was just fine. Set in a dual-timeline of 1939 and 1960, Patti Callahan Henry writes of two sisters (inner-city London residents) who were sent to the countryside to be kept safe during World War II, referred to as the Pied Piper Operation. Young children were being sent off to live with strangers, sometimes for the duration. Nothing could go wrong or could it?

The author's writing was descriptive and well-researched but the story dragged for me. Too much was going on that had no impact on the bigger picture. The characters were well-written but required more depth. The ending was a bit far-fetched. I wanted to love this story of sisterly love, but I just expected more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced reader's copy; all opinions are my own.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of The Secret Book of Flora Lea. I wanted so badly to love this book with its beautiful cover and intriguing premise. However, I felt the book wasn't for me. The dual storyline past and present is one that perhaps I've read too much of lately. I felt like the writing was too immature for me, maybe it was the fairytale aspect of it. I wound up not being able to finish it. Very sorry as it was one I was looking forward to.

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Atria Books. I read this with multiple book clubs the last couple of months and that made it an even more enjoyable story.

In post WWII London, a rare copy of a book from an American author appears at the bookshop Hazel works at. The book contains illustrations of a story that only her and her sister knew about. When Hazel was a child she created a world called Whisperwood for her sister Flora. After Flora drowns in the river, she never tells the story again. But someone has written her story down.

The book follows Hazel’s journey to find out how her fictional world was put on paper and what really happened to Flora.

I loved this book. I never wanted to put it down when I was forced to. I wanted to know what happened to Flora just like Hazel did. I was engrossed in how the quest flipped Hazel’s life upside down, work, relationships, the past, everything changed.

It’s definitely a worthwhile read, and a great book club book.