The year is 1939. Against the backdrop of a tumultuous, war-torn London, sisters Hazel and Flora Linden escape as often as they can into a magic world all their own--Whisperwood. In the whimsical world of Whisperwood, there are no bomb threats or impending calls for evacuation; no message from the battlefields that their father will not return home to them. Before long, Hazel and Flora are evacuated to a quaint, rural village to live with Bridie Aberdeen and her young son, Henry.
And there, away from the horrors of World War II, Flora disappears into thin air.
Set in a dual-timeline of 1939 and 1960 London, "The Secret Book of Flora Lea" is what devoted Patti Callahan Henry readers have come to love from her: a modern story with an undercurrent of mystery that leans on flashbacks from the past as the true story comes to light.
Despite its allure as part-historical fiction and part-modern fairytale, "The Secret Book of Flora Lea" was lacking in execution for me. Even with Henry's well-researched and descriptive writing, I felt she tried to do too much with the story and in doing so, left her ensemble of characters without much emotional depth. The story itself developed in a way that simultaneously felt slow and predictable, but then suddenly rushed and disjointed.
An overall refreshing, redemptive story of lost sisterhood, I'd recommend to readers wanting to breeze through a story that doesn't require much of them. I wanted so badly to love this, but found it overall fine.
Rating: 3 Stars
Publication Details: Out 5/2/2023, Atria Books
*Huge thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for providing my review copy!*
