Book Group
Second Tuesday of the month @ 10:00am, LaVielle Room (in-person & via Zoom)
THE BOOK GROUP HAS BEEN REIMAGINED
TO MAKE IT MORE FUN !!
Renamed the Tuesday Book Group – both men and women are welcome to vote for books and join the discussion session of a book that interests them. You don’t need to attend every month.
Book Group Library Kits are obtained for one-month to allow our group time for reading and discussion. We want YOU to vote soon on a list of 2025 books available free from the county library.
CHANGE: We will no longer meet every Tuesday to discuss each book piecemeal. Starting Jan 14, we will meet only on the second Tuesday of each month (so hopefully we won’t coincide with any holidays) to discuss the entirety of the current book. At that meeting, the next month’s library book will be available for pick-up, and the current book must be returned after the discussion. Books will also be available from Michele or Ruth on Sundays. NOTE: any book not returned must be paid for by the holder.
Meetings will be held on second Tuesdays 10am to noon with snacks & beverages.
Questions? Text/call Michele 314-504-6634 or email─ [email protected]om
BOOK GROUP read for FEBRUARY 11
The Secret Book of Flora Lea
A novel by Patti Callahan Henry
HB 368pp Discussion date Tuesday Feb 11, 2025
When 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.
In the war-torn London of 1939, fourteen-year-old Hazel and five-year-old Flora are evacuated to a rural village to escape the horrors of the Second World War. Living with the kind Bridie Aberdeen and her teenage son, Harry, in a charming stone cottage along the River Thames, Hazel fills their days with walks and games to distract her young sister, including one that she creates for her sister and her sister alone—a fairy tale about a magical land, a secret place they can escape to that is all their own.
But the unthinkable happens when young Flora suddenly vanishes while playing near the banks of the river. Shattered, Hazel blames herself for her sister’s disappearance, and she carries that guilt into adulthood as a private burden she feels she deserves.
Twenty years later, Hazel is in London, ready to move on from her job at a cozy rare bookstore to a career at Sotheby’s. With a charming boyfriend and her elegantly timeworn Bloomsbury flat, Hazel’s future seems determined. But her tidy life is turned upside down when she unwraps a package containing an illustrated book called Whisperwood and the River of Stars. Hazel never told a soul about the imaginary world she created just for Flora. Could this book hold the secrets to Flora’s disappearance? Could it be a sign that her beloved sister is still alive after all these years?
As Hazel embarks on a feverish quest, revisiting long-dormant relationships and bravely opening wounds from her past, her career and future hang in the balance. An astonishing twist ultimately reveals the truth in this transporting and refreshingly original novel about the bond between sisters, the complications of conflicted love, and the enduring magic of storytelling.