Ponder: The Secret Book of Flora Lea

Is The Secret Book of Flora Lea ©2023 by Patti Callahan Henry a good book? Yes. Did I enjoy it? In retrospect, not so much. The basic plot of this book is that of a mystery. Fourteen-year-old Hazel and her five-year-old younger sister Flora Lea are separated from their mother and evacuated to the British countryside to escape the bombings of London in 1939. Flora Lea goes missing one day during their sheltered time in the countryside. The general belief, without any confirming evidence, is that Flora Lea drowned in the river. Any missing child is devastating for the family and community, not to mention depressing for the reader.

Twenty years later Hazel comes across a book about a mythical land called Whisperwood. The jarring fact is that Hazel had made up that place to calm her little sister in times of stress. It was their secret place to escape. Had Flora written that book? Was she still alive? This premise intrigued me. A quote from the Washington Post comments succinctly on The Secret Book of Flora Lea. 

Henry deftly examines the bonds of sisterhood while seamlessly melding the horrors of war with the comfort of fairy tales.

So, other than the missing child, why was my enjoyment somewhat diminished? I did do this book a disservice by my intermittent and rushed reading pattern. It was overdue at the library so I tried to snatch bits of time to get through it rather than taking the time to immerse myself in the story. I also dislike the genre of novels set in times of war, a very popular scenario it seems to me these days. Granted, the war element in this novel was not extremely graphic. After all, the girls had been sent away to the country to avoid the horrors. But the emotional drain throughout the novel I found unsettling.

The book keeps jumping between two timelines, twenty years apart. In this particular novel, the author does an effective job of keeping me unconfused. However, secretly, it bugs me that many authors today appear to feel that multiple timelines are a necessity; I think they are overused.Yes, I realize that per AI Google results...

Authors often use multiple timelines in a book to add depth and complexity to the story by allowing them to explore different points in time, reveal character backstories, show how past events impact the present, and create a richer narrative experience for the reader

I had previously been exposed to the stories of the children evacuated during that horrid time in London. I'd read up about their experiences when I made two Paddington Bear quilts for my daughter's twin nephews in the summer of 2021. Paddington Counts (left image) is described in my DianeLoves2Quilt blog as the 8/28/21 post and There Goes Paddington (right image) is discussed in the 9/7/21 post. Paddington Bear had been modeled after a teddy bear in a gift shop in a London train station from which children had been evacuated during WWII, suitcase in hand and name tag around the neck. Patti Callahan Henry did an excellent job of imagining how those children would have felt, waiting, nervous and afraid, during the selection process for which country home they were destined. The discomfort, wariness, and homesickness of the children in their new temporary home was well portrayed and tangible.

On the human relations side, the bond between the sisters was heartfelt and a joy to read. Hazel's determination to act as both comforting mother and loyal sister to the young Flora Leas was admirable. There was a romantic interest on Hazel's part in both timelines that held my curiosity, guessing the outcome, even outside that of the inherent mystery. The main and secondary characters both were well-developed. Patti Callahan Henry managed to stretch out the resolution of the mystery to the very last pages and the ending was satisfying. The addition of a short epilogue was appreciated, too.

Circling back to my initial statement of reduced enjoyment of this book, I myself am somewhat puzzled why: sisterly relationship was a plus, character development was a  plus, plot complexity was a plus, prolonging of mystery was a plus, mystery resolution was a plus, the dual timeline was well handled. I suspect I just could not get over the angst of a missing child. The book was unsettling, but it was well worth the read.

★★★★☆ Really good; maybe only one weak aspect or limited audience

January/February Weekend Fun

My son Dan had to travel for business to southern and middle California at the end of last week, so he tacked on a visit to Frank and me on the weekend. He arrived Friday night, January 31st and left Sunday February 2nd around noon. His younger brother Alex also spent Saturday night with us. We were busy.

Friday night, shortly after his arrival, Dan sheepishly asked if we could play Monopoly, a favorite of his and his dad. Dan located our deluxe version, a gift several Christmases ago from Dan and his sister Robin. After the set up, Dan texted his wife Carrie to let her know what he was up to. He typed in, "We're playing Monopoly!". She answered back quickly and briefly "My worst nightmare!". She is not a strong gamer plus one year, when we played at Dan's house for his birthday, the game went on until 2:00 am since neither Dan nor his Dad were willing to declare bankruptcy and be the loser. This time however, the first game went quickly, unlike those usual marathons. Dan and I made a deal before all the properties were sold, much to Frank's protests. I was able to win ... a very rare feat for me in Monopoly. Frank grumbled that it was because Dan and I traded before Frank had enough properties and therefore had no opportunity to get a full set and build. And what goes with Monopoly? Pizza Rolls of course! Dan had eaten supper on the road on his trip up and so this was his second (and preferred) dinner.

Since the Monopoly game was short enough, it was not too late to watch a movie. Dan suggested a weird movie with Will Ferrell titled Stranger than Fiction (2006). Will Ferrell stars as Harold Crick, an IRS auditor who suddenly starts hearing a voice. This unseen voice belongs to an author who is writing a book and whatever she writes is what happens to Harold Crick. All her books are tragedies and end in the death of the hero. Harold is trying to change this narrative and its associated ending which could affect his own life. Stranger than Fiction was curious and interesting. I liked the quirkiness. Per IMDB it was rated 7.6/10.

During the day on Saturday, we played another round of Monopoly. Dan helped out Frank and me with some tasks. Dan changed out the burnt out flood light illuminating our back yard by climbing out Alex's  window onto the walkway above the deck cover. He also ferried eleven boxes of patterns from the attic and one of the bedrooms to downstairs. I am donating these to my quilt guild's fabric sale. Child labor  — from a grown child — is great!

Saturday night Frank, Alex, and I had tickets to a 7:00 pm performance of Fraggle Rock Live at our local Bankhead Theatre. I initially felt bad that while Dan was here we would be out, but the situation worked out well. Dan met up with a classmate from Cal Poly and the two of them went out for a fancy steak dinner while Frank, Alex, and I went to Fraggle Rock Live. The plot was straightforward. The Fraggles' celebration stone had broken into four pieces and those sections had been scattered. It was up to the Fraggles to gather the pieces and assemble them so that celebrations could once again happen.

The show was fun as I listened to the peppy music, remembering some of the songs I'd heard, many, many, many times a day while Alex was growing up. Alex, too, smiled at those tunes that were familiar to him. A one minute YouTube video of the Fraggles' opening sequence may jog my readers' memories as well. Frank and I were amazed when earlier that afternoon, before the show, Dan sang the entire opening number for us. He had not forgotten, either.

The staging was amusing, also. Five life size characters for the main Fraggle characters — (left to right) Red, Mokey, Gobo, Boober, and Wembley — were front stage and behind them was a projection screen with images of the Fraggle caves and lots and lots of other Fraggles. In the between stage area, in front of the screen and behind the five main characters, were other three dimensional muppets, so the distinction between 3D and 2D was somewhat blurred. One scene featured a humongous three dimensional Marjory the Trash Heap. Marjory took up almost all of the stage area and required several stage hands to move her into position. Her arms were so widespread there must have been at least two puppeteers inside her, manipulating her arm motions. Another scene featured a projected giant-size image of Junior Gorg. Afterward, a huge three dimensional Gorg hand emerged from behind the curtains at the side of the stage.

Another nice perk of Dan's visit was that his suitcase was not overly full so he could bring back a couple items for his kids. Lillian is horse-crazy, same as Robin was as a child, and so we passed on Robin's horse jacket. Yes, Lillian has a bit of growing to do before it fits her, but she loved it. At least since she lives in Colorado now, rather than southern California, so the weather will be cold enough for her to get good use out of it — once it fits her. I hope she gets larger before her interest in horses gets smaller.

Dan also brought back a 1-2-3 Go! game that is age appropriate for four year old Irene. She liked it. I also sent a book called The Great Escape by Natalie Hayes. I think the snarkiness of the lead character cat will appeal to the three older kids. Technically it is not a young adult book but I liked it enough per my 1/17/2019 blog post about it.

 

This past weekend on the cusp of January and February 2025 was very busy and we greatly enjoyed it. Here are some parting photos of our two sons for posterity. We also captured one picture each for Frank and me with Dan and Alex.

After a last parting hug, I captured a final snapshot of my handsome son before he drove off.