Flora, realizing she has forgotten a book she must return to school, takes the elevator her mother told her never to use. The elevator takes her to the hidden recesses of her home, Crackpot, and to a library she’s never seen before. There she meets the butler her mother banished long ago: Valefor. Val previously kept the house in order, but now it’s Flora’s job alone and that’s not an easy chore. Her older sister is away at a fort and her mother, the Warlord’s Commanding General, is often away for weeks on end. Their dogs can be far too rambunctious, and her father, Poppy, occasionally appears from his "Eyrie" only to have fits and mess up the house. So when Val promises to help Flora clean the house in exchange for saving him before he fades away completely, she quickly agrees and breathes some of her "Anima", or free will, into Val.

After Flora tells her best friend, Udo, about the butler, they work together to return Valefor to his former self. Their plan sparks the beginning of an exciting journey that entails a magical book of spells, an attempt to save a pirate, sneaking into a dreaded place to steal a powerful, magical word and, finally, a struggle Flora must undertake alone against a powerful sorcerer to save her own life.

Flora Segunda is a delightful tale of magic and mayhem, of innocence and courage. I loved the author’s sensitive understanding of teenage dreams and desires, and the surprising story twists kept me enrapt until the last, satisfying page. I look forward to more tales from this new and highly talented author.

If your children like Harry Potter, they are sure to love Flora Segunda.