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 A berdeen and her teenage son\, Harry\, in a charming stone cottage along th e River Thames\, Hazel fills their days with walks and games to distract h er young sister\, including one that she creates for her sister and her si ster alone&mdash\;a fairy tale about a magical land\, a secret place they can escape to that is all their own. But the unthinkable happens when youn g Flora suddenly vanishes while playing near the banks of the river. Shatt ered\, Hazel blames herself for her sister&rsquo\;s disappearance\, and sh e carries that guilt into adulthood as a private burden she feels she dese rves.
\nTwenty years later\, Hazel is in London\, ready to move on f rom her job at a cozy rare bookstore to a career at Sotheby&rsquo\;s. With a charming boyfriend and her elegantly timeworn Bloomsbury flat\, Hazel&r squo\;s future seems determined. But her tidy life is turned upside down w hen she unwraps a package containing an illustrated book called \;Whis perwood and the River of Stars. Hazel never told a soul about the imaginar y world she created just for Flora. Could this book hold the secrets to Fl ora&rsquo\;s disappearance? Could it be a sign that her beloved sister is still alive after all these years? (From the publisher)
\nCopies of the book are available \;here. Ebook and eaudiobook copies are available through \;Digital Library of Illinois \;or the Libby app.
\nFor those who would like to purchase a copy of The Secret Book of Flora Lea\, please support our local independent bookstore\, \;< a href="https://www.thebookstall.com">The Book Stall \;at 811 Elm Street in Winnetka.
\nhttps://wilmette.libnet.info/event/11211006 URL;VALUE=URI:https://wilmette.libnet.info/event/11211006 ATTACH:https://static.libnet.info/images/events/wilmette/the-secret-book-o f-flora-lea.jpg END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR