The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry

The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry  

4 Stars 

What a beautiful book of mothers, daughters and the magic of storytelling. I really enjoyed this one. Patti sure does know how to engage you in a book and keep you there needing to know what happens up until the end. I loved Flora Lea and this did not disappoint.

We follow Clara - a daughter still haunted by the loss of her mother, Bronwyn. Her mother was a child prodigy and literary sensation who vanished off the South Carolina Coast in 1927. Cut to 1950s when Clara is now a mother herself and gets a call from a man in London, Charlie, who says he found her mothers dictionary of invented language, stories and a letter for her that brings her from America to London on a journey through grief, motherhood and discovery....all set against the 1952 Great Smog of London.

Overall, this was a really layered story with lots explored - loved Clara's daughter Wynnie, she added so much to the story. Seeing the circumstances around the Great Smog of London was also interesting to get more details and added higher stakes to the plot. 

My only issues I had with this was I wasn't in love with the ending with the aftermath once things were revealed, I would have liked a bit more exploration there with the ending. It felt like it was wrapped up too soon after things were solved and that things went "back to normal" almost too quickly for the family. Also, I was not a fan of Charlie and Clara's relationship - there is a "fade to black" scene with them, while not explicit, there is mention of them sleeping together all the time and they had only known each other a couple of weeks, so it did not really add anything to the story for me personally. That was very brief mentions though and doesn't necessarily take away much enjoyment from the story for me, I still really liked it. I think if Charlie and Clara had more developing feelings for each other vs outright sleeping together all the time so quickly, that would have been better and made more sense for the story.

Really liked the last chapter from Wynnie's POV - that added a lot to the end and the author's note where she explained all the real life story tie ins was nice. 

Reading this with my friend Melissa was also a wonderful experience! Looking forward to reading more books by Patti! 

Content: few mild curse words like H*ll, D*mn, fade to black bedroom scene before marriage, parental abandonment feelings, asthmas attacks, grief explored

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7351842278

Amazon: https://amzn.to/44FAB4Z

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The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry

 The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry - 4 Stars 

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. 

We are in 1939 and 1960 for this story where we follow Hazel as a young girl and grown woman. Her sister Flora disappeared when she was young and no one was able to find her. Cut to 20 years later when Hazel is working in the bookstore and receives a package that has illustrated books representing the made up world "Whisperwood" that she and her sister created when they were young. Only Hazel and Flora should know of Whisperwood so what does this mean? Is Flora still alive out there somewhere? Did someone else know of their made up world and create the story themselves? Why did she receive this package? The plot thickens as we follow this journey to see what really happened so long ago....

I really enjoyed this story of these two sisters. The dual timeline gives us so much backstory in what happened but also while keeping the reader engaged to try and figure it out along the way. Patti really has such a great writing style that makes you think and feel like you are right there in the moment. This book really takes a look at what it was like during the war time when many parents sent their child or children off for safety purposes. We see what this family endured together during this time and how their lives were changed, but also we see the hope that remains even 20 years later.

I love how Whisperwood was almost like a Narnia type of world and how it was almost like its own character in the story and how it was the key to the mystery of Flora missing.

Did I see the plot twists!? Absolutely not! Very well done!

My only criticism is I wasn't crazy about the romance stuff going on with Hazel and there were times I thought maybe we should have more of the current 1960 timeline vs the previous but I understand why we had so much back and forth. I just got confused sometimes of where I was at since I was listening to the audiobook and had to make sure I paid very close attention to what was going on. 

Overall, recommend to anyone who loves a good historical fiction story about family, specifically sisters.

Content: missing child, some war details, a few curse words, small bedroom scene but nothing crazy or explicit in my opinion.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5911497669
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3WVgIUZ

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Once Upon A Wardrobe by Patti Callahan

 

Once Upon A Wardrobe by Patti Callahan 5 Stars 

What a beautiful story filled with the essence of Narnia and so much more. The storytelling was perfect, I need to read everything Patti writes now. This was filled with love and family. The ties to Narnia and CS Lewis are truly immersive. This story is all about college student Meg and her younger brother George. His last wish as terminally ill young boy with a weak heart is to uncover the truth of Narnia, as its his favorite story. What happens next is a beautiful story of love, sibling bonds and the life-changing magic of stories like Narnia. Set in 1950, we see Meg as a student at Oxford University. When George asks her to find out about Narnia, she tells him its just a children's book....but soon realizes it's so much more herself. She goes on a hunt to find the answers to George's questions and the rest is history as she meets CS Lewis himself (since he is a teacher at her university) and she asks him the questions. But what CS Lewis responds are stories of his own life for Meg to form her own conclusion that led to his inspiration. She takes these stories home to George and the adventure goes on from here....

The writing is magical. The story is magical. EVERYTHING WAS JUST MAGICAL AND BEAUTIFUL AND I CRIEDDDDD. The ending - those last few pages - everything - so many tears. 

You really fall right in with this family and connect with Meg and George and you feel the beauty of Narnia in the pages of this book. I can't really express how this story will sit in my heart forever. Highly recommend. 

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5900341999

Amazon: https://amzn.to/4cgn330

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