A review by laurenabeth
The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry

adventurous emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I enjoyed this one. It starts just a tiny bit slow, but picks up pretty quickly and is engaging throughout. The one thing that didn’t land for me was the side story about the Americans. I felt they were included just to emphasize how stories evolve and travel over time, but it seemed almost as though those characters were written as an afterthought. I wasn’t especially interested or concerned in the few chapters that focused on them, and in fact, I’d argue that those chapters were disruptive considering how small a part they played in the overall conclusion of the story. Still, I found this to be great historical fiction about a very particular but rarely discussed tragedy of the war - lost children. I’m fascinated by the idea of crime taking place during and being ultimately overshadowed by world events (think a kidnapping on the morning of 9/11), and Flora Lea captures the urgency and helplessness of those situations well. The characters are believable and endearing, and while I don’t love how frequently the chapters jumped back and forth between 1940 and 1960, the tales ultimately wrap together fittingly and make this a satisfying whodunit of sorts. This is truly a book about the power of fairytales, the love of sisters and mothers, and finding the many truths of yourself. 
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