Can’t Wait Wednesday #120: The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry @pcalhenry @AtriaBooks

Can’t Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the Jill at Breaking the Spine. So let me introduce you my Can’t Wait Wednesday #120 pick. Click on the book’s cover to add it to your Goodreads shelf (opens in a new window).

From The Publisher:

In 1927, eight-year-old Clara Harrington’s magical childhood shatters when her mother, renowned author, Bronwyn Newcastle Fordham, disappears off the coast of South Carolina. Bronwyn stunned the world with a book written in an invented language that became a national sensation when she was just twelve years old. Her departure leaves behind not only a devoted husband and heartbroken daughter, but also the hope of ever translating the sequel to her landmark work. As the headlines focus on the missing author, Clara yearns for something far deeper and more her beautiful mother.

By 1952, Clara is an illustrator raising her own daughter, Wynnie. When a stranger named Charlie Jameson contacts her from London claiming to have discovered a handwritten dictionary of her mother’s lost language. Clara is skeptical. Compelled by the tragedy of her mother’s vanishing, she crosses the Atlantic with Wynnie only to arrive during one of London’s most deadly natural disasters—the Great Smog. With asthmatic Wynnie in peril, they escape the city with Charlie and find refuge in the Jameson’s family retreat nestled in the Lake District. It is there that Clara must find the courage to uncover the truth about her mother and the story she left behind.

Told in Patti Callahan Henry’s lyrical, enchanting prose, The Story She Left Behind is a captivating novel of mystery and family legacy that captures the profound longing for a mother and the evergreen allure of secrets.

Why I Can’t Wait to Read The Story She Left Behind:

I have enjoyed several books by this author (Surviving Savannah , The Secret Book of Flora Lea) and her ability to write a compelling story in a historical setting. The synopsis for this book makes me want to find out the mystery behind Clara’s mother’s disappearance.

Other Recent Picks for Can’t Wait Wednesday:

Can’t Wait Wednesday #119: Beach Vibes by Susan Mallery

Can’t Wait Wednesday #118: First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison

Can’t Wait Wednesday #117: Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney

What is a book you Can’t Wait to read? Let me know in the comments!

I hope you have a wonderful day!