The Secret Book of Flora Lea

Author: Patti Callahan Henry
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Atria Books, 2023
Pages: 368
Rating: Highly Recommend 

Synopsis: In the war-torn London of 1939, fourteen-year-old Hazel and five-year-old Flora are evacuated to a rural village to escape the horrors of Second World War. Living with the kind Bridie Aberdeen and her teenage son, Harry, in a charming stone cottage along the River Thames, Hazel fills their days with walks and games to distract her younger sister, including one that she creates for her sister and her sister alone - a fairy tale about a magical land, a secret place they escape to that is all their own.

But the unthinkable happens when Flora suddenly vanishes while playing near the banks of the river. Shattered, Hazel blames herself for her sister's disappearance, and she carries that guilt into adulthood as a private burden she feels she deserves.

Twenty years later, Hazel is in London, ready to move on from h
er job at a cozy rare bookstore to a career at Sotheby's. With a charming boyfriend and her elegantly timeworn Bloomsbury flat, Hazel's future seems determined. But her tidy life is turned updside down when she unwraps a package containing an illustrated book called Whisperwood and the River of Stars. Hazel never told a soul about the imaginary world she created just for Flora. Could this book hold the secrets to Flora's disappearance? Could it be a sign that her beloved sister is still alive after all these years?

As Hazel embarks on a feverish quest, revisiting long-dormant relationships and bravely opening wounds from her past, her career and future hang in the balance. An astonishing twist ultimately reveals the truth in this transporting and refreshingly original novel about the bond between sisters, the complications of conflicted love, and the enduring magic of storytelling.

Review: I have struggled so much with reading this month, but The Secret Book of Flora Lea grabbed me within the first few pages. I'm not one to grativatate toward mystical type novels, but there's plenty going on in the grounded world of these characters. The love triangle is well written, and I just had the sense the Hazel couldn't lose. 

I read Surviving Savannah by this author as a new release in 2021, and now I want to seek out everything she's written.