Simcoe Author Talk Online: Patti Callahan Henry

Join your host Barrie Public Library for an engaging evening of online conversation as we learn more about Patti Callahan Henry and her latest book: The Secret Book of Flora Lea.

About Patti Callahan Henry:

Patti Callahan Henry is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of several novels, including Surviving Savannah and Becoming Mrs. Lewis. She is the recipient of the Christy Award, the Harper Lee Award for Alabama’s Distinguished Writer of the Year Award, and the Alabama Library Association Book of the Year. She is the cohost and co-creator of the popular weekly online live web show and podcast Friends and Fiction. A full-time author and mother of three, she lives in Alabama and South Carolina with her family. Find out more at PattiCallahanHenry.com.

About The Secret Book of Flora Lea:

1939: Fourteen-year-old Hazel and five-year-old Flora evacuate their London home for a rural village to escape the horrors of the Second World War. Living with the Aberdeen family in a charming stone cottage, Hazel distracts her younger sister with a fairy tale about a magical land, a secret place they can escape to that is all their own: Whisperwood.

But the unthinkable happens when Flora suddenly vanishes after playing near the banks of the River Thames. Shattered, Hazel blames herself for her sister’s disappearance, carrying the guilt into adulthood.

Twenty years later, Hazel is back in London, ready to move on from her job at a cozy rare bookstore for a career at Sotheby’s. With a cherished boyfriend and an upcoming Paris getaway, her future seems set. But her tidy life is turned upside down when she unwraps a package containing a picture book called Whisperwood and the River of Stars. Hazel never told a soul about the storybook world she created just for Flora. Could this book hold the secrets to her beloved sister’s disappearance? Could it be a sign that Flora is still alive after all these years? Or is something sinister at play?

Inspired by the history of the Pied Piper Children, this novel is a poignant reminder of the magical power of stories to draw us together—and ultimately bring us home.

Simcoe Author Talk Series:

Local libraries Wasaga Beach, New Tecumseth, Ramara, Clearview, Innisfil, Barrie and Midland have joined literary forces with some other libraries in Simcoe County to offer a 2024 virtual author talk series.