A Clearer Sky

By: Krystal Bailey

Narrated by: Anne-Lise Kadri

Yorkshire, 1914. Mary Lennox thought her world didn’t need to extend past her aunt’s secret garden after finally finding a home with her cousin, Colin, and her uncle at Misselthwaite nearly six years ago. But when war breaks out in Europe, Mary realizes that she can’t control anything outside the garden walls when her childhood best friend, Dickon Sowerby, announces he’s leaving to fight, taking away both his steady companionship and Mary’s dream of something more. Things only spiral further with Colin’s sudden departure, and Mary is left to run an estate she never planned to manage.

As the Great War spreads—bringing wounded soldiers, news of death, and increasing uncertainty to Yorkshire—Mary is forced to reckon with decisions she isn’t ready to make. And she can only hope that the mysterious magic of the garden that brought them all together once before reaches far enough to preserve the home and family that she waited so long to find.

In this stunning continuation of The Secret Garden, author Krystal Bailey brings listeners back to the garden gate and beyond with a story full of heart, familiar faces, and new beginnings.

©2022 Krystal Bailey (P)2023 Krystal Bailey

My headline will not do this book justice

I am not a writer, this review shall reflect that.
This book is a gem. It's big enough that you can sink your teeth into it, but not so big that it feels like it drags. It made me laugh, tear up, and invest myself in WWI England aka Mary's world.

The demeanors, interactions, and exchanges between characters reinforced life lessons for me, they were like teaching moments without feeling like teaching moments. Authentic! That's the word, there was an element of authentic self-help in this book. It's Mr Craven with the big wisdom coming through (not that he's perfect!!)

I learned a bunch of stuff too, many facts I was like "really?" and then lo and behold I would google it and have it confirmed to be true.

The author nails the character development they feel like natural people with flaws and imperfections. The protagonist is 16 at the beginning of the book and I liked how she was wise for her years and a cool person, but she was still a seemingly realistic 16-year-old in her behavior. It was a tightrope she walked with these characters to make them feel real, real interesting, and not just period-piece caricatures.

My boy Dickon was great, but it was Colin who ended up growing on me.

I loved the narrator as well, to me they just fit. If you read the Kingsbridge series, it's John Lee for all the books, if there were a Clearer Sky literary universe I could see this narrator being that voice that is identified with this series/world.

I have more I could write here, but it will only impress upon you the difference between the quality of my drivel and the poignant, engrossing, and beautiful story that Ms. Bailey has created. I look forward to more books from this author!

Heartfelt story and characters

Krystal does an amazing job bringing the characters to life in this sequel to one of my childhood favorites. You will fall in love, cry, mourn, and cheer alongside them as they are forced to grow up through war time.

I can’t wait to see what else this author has in store for us in her future works.

I’m glad this was brought to audio, the narrator was brilliant.

Wonderful story

A wonderful story that makes you fall in love with Mary, Dickon, and Colin all over again. Their firsthand experience of WW I makes them grow in ways they never could imagine. You can tell the author took great care in telling each of their stories as accurately as if they really did live through “The Great War.” Be ready for all the emotions - elated joy, heartfelt pain, delicious amusement, and most of all, feeling the magic of the Secret Garden of Misselthwaite once more.

True to original work

Great story about characters I grew up loving. Dickens is my favorite. He is everything I imagined him to be as a man.

Beautiful story!

I have always wanted to know what happened to Mary, Dickon, and Collin from The Secret Garden as they grew up, and this book did not disappoint. What a beautiful world Krystal Bailey created! She did a wonderful job and I felt transported into their world as I watched their story of struggle, triumph, but most of all hope. I would recommend to all my friends, it was such a fantastic book!

The characters have grown and matured so much but they're still the same loveable crew we knew in the first book.

The story is a continuation of the beloved classic. The characters experience normal rights of passage that come with coming to adulthood but they have the difficult twist of dealing with WWI and the Spanish influence going on as they try to navigate an already fraught time of life. I loved this story! I laughed and cried and laughed some more. It's a heartwarming story that I will add to my go-to list for when I'm looking for something light and uplifting.

A lovely continuation of a classic

I loved this continuation of A Secret Garden. The characters truly came to life in this novel. I loved the different perspective of war from the home front. A must read!