Sisters Hazel and Flora are sent to live far away in the rural areas of Binsey, England, during the air raids of WWII in London. They leave behind their mother and friends, but they find themselves in an imaginative, magical land of Hazel's creation - Whisperwood. Tragedy strikes their fairy tale residence as 5-year-old Flora disappears one day from the riverside. Was she taken? Did she drown? Fast forward 20 years. Hazel is a rare book seller in Bloomsbury. As she is opening a shipment one day, the first edition manuscript of "Whisperwood and the River of Stars" is unveiled, the very story she created years ago. Could it be that Flora is still alive? Hazel embarks on a mission to find answers about her past, even if that takes her to America. This is a beautiful story of love, courage, and imagination. Patti Callahan Henry has done it again!

Patti Callahan Henry is an author I can trust to always write an intriguing well-written story. This one however didn't quite draw me in like her other books. I didn't love it and didn't connect with the main character. I still look forward to whatever Henry publishes, but this one wasn't for me. A huge thank you to Atria books and Netgalley for this ARC.

Thank you Atria and Netgalley for an ARC of The Secret Book of Flora Lea in exchange for my honest opinion.

Patti Callahan Henry has a magical way with words. A true talent to draw the reader into the story. Her attention to detail makes it so easy to imagine the setting(s). A way of making you stay up until 3:00 in the morning because it’s so hard to stop reading. I know when I start reading her books, I need to make sure I don’t have anything else to do.

Hazel and Flora are sent to live with a complete stranger to keep them safe from the German invasion. They cope by telling magical stories and fairy tales. Flora is only 6 years old when she goes missing. For years, she has been gone but never forgotten. Until one day, Hazel sees a book. A book with the title of the land only known in Hazel’s and Flora’s stories.

I have always enjoyed Patti's books. Upon reading the intro/teaser, it made me say, "I have to read this book"

Go back to October 1940 in Oxfordshire to an event in history I was not aware of.
Then you will fast forward to March 1960 to the ripples of past events are still being felt.

As young girls 2 sisters had to create a safe place for them to share so they could tolerate and rest in their new home.
Now, the story has come back around in book form - how did this happen?

Sisterly bond, friendships, young love, sad history, with a lil magic thrown in = a must read for all!

I do enjoy a good story about stories, especially when it involves WWII and a mystery to boot. But this one fell a bit flat for me which is disappointing because the premise is interesting and Patti Callahan Henry is a talented author (I greatly enjoyed “Becoming Mrs. Lewis” and “Once Upon a Wardrobe”). While I appreciate that the characters actually talk about their feelings and get to the truth (lots of trauma and secrets to wade through!), I absolutely, unequivocally cannot stand love triangles where the young woman is with one guy (in all aspects) but is still hung up on another guy from her past; it’s just frustrating to me as a reader, and utterly unfair to the one guy. This isn’t a bad story (and the ending was satisfactory) but I just didn’t love it like I hoped I would.

A pleasant little mystery about the smallness of the world, storytelling, and family. When Flora goes missing, she's assumed dead, but when her sister finds a book about the secret world only the two of them shared, she's got to find out how the story reached others. I'm not quite able to believe people who get on international flights at the drop of a hat, the hire-fire-hire storyline, and a few other bits that didn't seem fully thought-out, but overall this was a fine read.

I highly recommend The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry. This book will draw out all of your emotions. Patti Callahan Henry did a wonderful job of weaving together dual timelines and developing the characters. I wanted to know what would happen next, I was often surprised chapter after chapter. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

The latest from one of my favorite authors did not disappoint. Her storytelling is, as always, heartfelt and engaging. Sisters, mystery, dual timelines, love...all the things a good novel should include. I will be recommending this book to fellow readers.

The Secret Book of Flora Lea was a great read! It follows Hazel’s journey, both in 1940 in England, and then 20 years later when she is trying to solve the mystery of her sister’s wartime disappearance.

The story covers how this disappearance impacted Hazel’s choices in her life, and leaves the reader to think about how the choices we make shape our futures.

An amazing story centered around the WWII evacuation of children from London. A young child named Flora disappears without a trace and the ripples of grief and guilt spread over decades of the lives of all involved. There are many twists and turns throughout that will keep you guessing until the end.

What a delight! I loved how this story blended historical fiction, magical storytelling, and mystery. It was a nice blend of plot and character development.

In these types of books, I tend to not care much about the romance, but I actually really enjoyed that aspect of the story!

A really sweet story about family, sacrifice, loss, and reconciliation. I enjoyed the writing but wish it had been a tiny bit more atmospheric.

4.25/5

The Secret Life of Flora Lee by Patti Callahan Henry is a beautiful story of two sisters, Hazel and Flora Lea. Forced to leave their home to escape the horrors of the war, they end up living with the Aberdeen family who keeps them safe and loved. Hazel tries to keep her sister happy and distracted from the uncertainty of their situation by telling her magical stories about Whisperwood, their own secret fairy tale land.

When Flora Lea disappears suddenly one day, Hazel blames herself and spends the next twenty years searching for her beloved Flora Lea. In a chance encounter while working at a rare bookstore in London, Hazel discovers the stories she told Flora Lea and no one else have resurfaced through a picture book. Desperate for answers to find Flora Lea, Hazel sets out on a journey that will change the trajectory of her life. Could this book hold the answers she's been looking for most of her adult life?

I was captivated with this book from the first chapter! A story of fate, family, love and perseverance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me a voluntary ARC of this amazing story!

What a lovely book. Heart breaking and loving at the same time. Patti Callahan Henry knows how to tell a story. All her books are different and interesting. What an imagination she has b

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced digital copy of The Secret Book of Flora Lee by Patti Callahan Henry in return for my honest review.

I recently discovered Callahan Henry through her Friends and Fiction Facebook Live show, and I am enjoying reading her extensive works. The author is a gifted storyteller, and she delivers unique and interesting storylines and characters with every book that she writes.The Secret Book of Flora Lea is no exception. It is a dual timeline novel, one from the 1940(s) and one in the 1960(s). Older sister Hazel (14 years old) and her sister, Flora (6 years old) are evacuees from their London home to a rural community for their protection from the brutality of WWII. Hazel creates the magical world of Whisperwood as a means of distraction and a secret place of safety for just Hazel and Flora, but Hazel is a little girl herself and is powerless to prevent her sister’s ultimate disappearance near the River Thames. Twenty years later, on her last day of work at a beloved rare bookstore, Hazel unwraps a parcel containing a picture book entitled Whisperwood and the River of Stars, a telling of the secret world that Hazel created as a child, told only to her missing sister. Could it be that Flora is alive? I enjoyed every word. Highly recommended. 4.5 stars.

I have been a longtime fan of Patti Callahan Henry's work, and this new novel does not disappoint!

There's something here for everyone--historical fiction with a dash of mystery, a sprinkling of romance, and a fairy tale twist.

The author handles the time jumps (between 1939 and 1960) very well and you can tell this was carefully plotted.

There's an old-fashioned feel to the story. At times, it can be a little over the top. I think you need to be in the right mood for this one, which includes a little breathlessness and sense of puffed-up self-importance that doesn't feel quite relatable or modern. I imagine this style was intentional on the author's part. Fans of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, etc. are in for a treat. Those looking for a more streamlined/straightforward writing style may need to take some breaks, but will likely still enjoy the narrative.

The premise is outstanding and, even if the pace drags somewhat, this is truly an enjoyable book with so much thrown in that I'm sure a wide variety of readers will enjoy it immensely.

4.5 / 5.0 Stars

What a creative, captivating and insightful read author Patti Callahan Henry has given us - part history, mystery and quest - physically and emotionally. The story line toggles between 1939/1940 and 1960 and is set mostly in England.

The Linden sisters - 14 year old Hazel and 5 year old Flora Lea - are part of the ill-named, "Operation Pied Piper" and for their safety, have been sent away from their London home to Binsey, just outside Oxford. It's their first time away from their home and family and they're bivouacked in the cozy cottage of kind strangers. It's a rather scary proposition for Flora. So Hazel creates an imaginary land, known only to the two of them, where they can go and be whatever they like and enjoy a perfect world away from their own. They grow to love the Aberdeens - mum and her son Harry - as they spend joyful hours together in the bucolic countryside as bombs relentlessly fall upon London. All was well until that one day when Flora disappears without a trace. It is presumed that she drowned in the Thames. Hazel is wracked with guilt and can never forgive herself for having walked away from a sleeping Flora for a brief moment. After all, Flora disappeared on Hazel's watch. How could Hazel ever forgive herself?

Move forward to 1960, Hazel is working in an antiquarian and rare books shop in Bloomsbury and is affronted by a book which carries the name of Flora's and her secret world - "Whisperwood". How can this be? Who else knew about our special place? Hazel knew that she had not told anyone and if Flora didn't, could this mean that she is still alive somewhere in the world. Hazel is beside herself. Hope resurrects itself. If Flora is still alive, then perhaps redemption may be in the offing too. Thus begins Hazel's quest to look for her sister and in doing so, she may yet find herself.

The writing of this story is sweet and tender. A myriad of emotions are explored. The characters are well developed and the settings well described such that one can easily visualize the grassy meadows, muddy riverbanks and even the demolished residences of London. Hazel's quest, with its air of mystery, carries the reader right along throughout the story. With so many wonderful WWII historical fiction books out on the shelves, it is refreshing to have added to them a story about the bravery of the young who also endured the war and were challenged in the mental processing of it all. What better way to cope is there than to have a fairy-tale world to which one can escape until it's safe to step into the world yet again?

I am grateful to Patti Callahan Henry and her publisher, Atria Books for having provided a complimentary uncorrected reader's proof of this book through NetGalley. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.


Publication Date: May 2, 2023
Pages: 368
Publisher: Atria Books
ISBN: 978-1668011836

This book has something for everyone! There is historical fiction, mystery, romance, family drama, and a dash of fairy tale.

The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry is a combination of historical fiction and creative fairy tale. The time frames jump between 1939 and 1960 and tell of Operation Pied Piper in England. An effort to evacuate children from London to the countryside was meant to keep them from harm during the bombings in WW II.

When you think about the Pied Piper tale it's not a merry or happy story. You'd think the government would have come up with a better name for the evacuees than a story where children are led to death.

Anyway, Hazel and Flora are sisters (16 and 6 years of age) and are sent off to the English countryside, leaving their distraught mother behind in London. Hazel comes up with wonderful stories to keep Flora occupied and relieve the stress of living away from home. Hazel makes up the imaginary land called River of Stars and she and Flora lose themselves in better world. One day Flora disappears and it's thought she was caught in the fast moving Thames river, looking at her river of stars.

In the 1960 time frame we meet Hazel, now an adult and working in a bookstore which sells rare manuscripts. Unpacking a new manuscript she sees a fairy tale penned by an American author. It features the river of stars, the descriptions of the house where she and Flora stayed...too much to be a coincidence and Hazel begins to hope Flora may still be alive.

Not a fast paced book, nothing objectionable. 3 1/2 Stars.

This book was a complimentary copy given to me by Netgalley. Publication date is May 2, 2023 by Atria Books. Genre: Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Women's Fiction.

What a lovely, well written historical fiction. Patti Callahan Henry does a wonderful job of transporting you back in time to WWII, as well as to 1960. The history is woven in so seamlessly, where I felt I was getting a gentle education without getting overwhelmed with all the details. The story is sad, with many deeply upsetting moments but throughout there is a feeling of lightness and of hope. We get gently placed in either the past or the current, making the book fly along. When I was in the "current" time, I found myself anxious to get back to the past - and vice versa! Hazel has lived through tragedy and is still holding out hope her sister Flora is still alive after going missing 20 years ago. I loved all the descriptions of the scenery and the general locations. It really made everything feel as though it was coming to life. I loved many of the side characters, in particular Kelty. The fairy tale aspect was beautiful and such a wonderful anchor to the story. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

Another fantastic read from Patti Callahan Henry! I was beyond thrilled when NetGalley sent me this ARC because I absolutely fell in love with "Once Upon a Wardrobe" last year.

The story begins with a young Flora blinking awake on a red blanket by the river. She knows her older sister Hazel has told her not to go too close to their "river of stars," but the child decides she must visit her magical land of Whisperwood. So she gets up and starts walking toward what calls to her. 20 years pass by after that day, and Flora remains missing. Unknown whether Flora is dead or alive, Hazel has tried to move on, but her heart has always been searching for her lost sibling, even if her mind didn't know it. When Hazel is finishing up some last tasks at the bookshop where she works, she opens a first edition copy with a book containing the title of a place she thought she would never think of again... "Whisperwood and the River of Stars." Now Hazel, with a renewed fire within her, sets out all over again to find what has been lost: Flora.

The author has clearly done a lot of research on this time period of WWII. The details of the war and the lives of our characters as they aged and faced their trials were executed perfectly. In regard to the writing, I find that stories that flip-flop between people and time periods help the story unfold faster and faster. Each shift away from the "present" leaves the reader hungry for what is next, but then is forced to revisit the past, or hear from another character. In this way, you keep on reading, because you must. Every brief divergence from the core of the story answers questions you didn't even know you had, and solves a bit of the mystery for Hazel and ourselves.

"The Secret Book of Flora Lea" holds a bit of history that you can find in a textbook, but it is brought to life through a tale of love, tragedy, and trauma that, if we're all honest, we can all find traces of in our own stories. We all want a world like Whisperwood to escape to when it hurts the most, and I think that is what makes this book so appealing to me. That truth.