Hazel and Flora Lea were evacuated to northern England during the war and taken in by a lovely woman and her son. This was the story of many children during World War II in Britain because of Hitler's bombing raids on the major cities. If there was any hope of the children surviving, they would have to be moved to a safer place.
Hazel would make up fairy tales to tell Flora to help comfort her in the dark days of the war. When Flora goes missing, Hazel shut herself off from those stories and the places she created in her mind. Years later, she comes across a book that is a retelling of many of her stories leading her to believe that her sister is still alive. She starts a compulsive search for Flora including contacting the author and the publisher of the book, She goes back to the place where she'd been evacuated to, enlists the help of the people she lived with, and even goes to the detective in charge of the investigation from when Flora disappeared. This incessant search ruins her job, her relationship with her boyfriend, and almost her sanity.
Patti Callahan Henry has juxtaposed Hazel's and Flora's story during the war with Hazel's search some fifteen years later. When Flora is finally found, it is rather surprising to Hazel as to who she is. The circumstances and situations that brought Hazel and Flora back together were completely unexpected. I dearly love when I cannot predict where the author is going with a story. There were a couple of characters I absolutely did not like, but that's to be expected in any book. Most readers of The Secret Book of Flora Lea won't like them either. They were not written to be likable, but they were necessary to fill out the tapestry of the story to bring more color and more contrast to the plot.
This is a five star book, with two thumbs up, and one significantly identifiable birth mark.
Atria Books provided the copy I read for this review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.
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