December 7 2023
BY OFF THE SHELF STAFF
What have our readers been loving this year? Stories brimming with transformation, mystery, and the kind of deep, personal journeys that tug at the heartstrings. As we roll into the holiday season, consider this list of the most popular books your go-to guide for picking out those perfect, cozy books to gift or to read yourself this season.
The Secret Book of Flora Lea
by Patti Callahan Henry
It is early spring 1960, and Hazel Linden is finishing her last day of work at Hogan’s Rare Book Shoppe in Bloomsbury, London. With a touch of sadness, Hazel reflects on the wonderful days she spent here helping customers fall in love with books and the stories that live inside them. Before Hazel leaves the shop, there is one last box of books for her to open. Inside is a book wrapped in parchment, and as Hazel unwraps it, she sees a children’s book with a cover illustrated with two girls holding hands, thick woodlands behind them; a river; and a castle. Hazel is filled with shock as she sees the title of the book. This is a story she made up long ago, a story she told her sister and only her sister—a secret story they shared between them. But how can this book exist? How can this story be written on the pages when her sister, Flora Lea, is the only other person who knows it, but Flora Lea was lost twenty years ago, in 1939. This is a story of sisters, of loss, and of grief but also hope, always hope.
Read more of 8 Historical Fiction Books Ideal for Bookworms
