The secret book of Flora Lea a novel

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. In the war-torn London of 1939, fourteen-year-old Hazel and five-year-old Flora are evacuated to a ru...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Henry, Patti Callahan (Author)
Format: Books Print Book
Language:English
Published: New York : Atria Books, 2023.
Edition:First Atria Books hardcover edition.
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Summary: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. 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 the 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 young sister, including one that she creates for her sister and her sister alone-a fairy tale about a magical land, a secret place they can escape to that is all their own. But the unthinkable happens when young 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 her 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 upside 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.
Physical Description:353 pages ; 24 cm
Bibliography:Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN:9781668011836
1668011832
Author Notes:Patti Callahan Henry is the New York Times bestselling author of over twenty novels. She is also a podcast host of original content and the cohost and cocreator of the popular weekly online Friends and Fiction live web show and podcast. Published in over twenty languages, her work has also been in numerous anthologies, articles, an audible original, and short story collections. Once a pediatric clinical nurse specialist she now writes full time in Mountain Brook, Alabama. She is married to Pat Henry, the mother of three, and a grandmother of three.