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3.94 AVERAGE


Such a sweet book <3
adventurous mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
adventurous hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

My mother-in-law recommended this book to me and lent it to me from her collection. This is a lovely novel, written for children, but which can be enjoyed by readers of all ages. I enjoyed the story, a gentle adventure, and was amazed to find it contained an element of time travel. It was written in 1958, but I think it would still resonate today, especially with people who are interested in history.
adventurous inspiring lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: N/A
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A
adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I never knew about this book as a kid, but wish I had! This is a lovely book, I felt as though it had been written much more recently, and had no idea it was from the 50s when I initially began reading it. 

I really loved the descriptions of the garden and the magic of being transported there. The grief of losing such tranquil places to urban development is of course so relevant to today too.  

It was a compelling read, sometimes a little clumsy perhaps but I enjoyed it regardless, and found the ending satisfying even though the time travel mechanisms were only partially explained, but who cares?! It was fun disappearing into this world with Tom and rooting for him to be able to return to the garden each night. 

I enjoyed Tom’s enjoyment of the garden, and didn’t find it slow or boring at all like other reviews have mentioned. I think I just love the idea of having a secret haven to disappear into, away from the drudgery of everyday life. It’s simple in a lot of ways but a nice quick read as an adult. 
adventurous mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Id like a modernised version that would make toms personal timeline life more relatable to todays readers. With it being set 75 years ago its a struggle to meet this as well as then hattys even earlier time period
lizzie_purplephoenix's profile picture

lizzie_purplephoenix's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH

Read to Chapter 5. I was getting a bit bored, there is a lot of description of the garden, and I can see Chapter 6 appears to be doing the same. I need more action and dialogue to remain engaged, and while I know that there is more of that to come in this book, I'm just a bit bored. I do enjoy Philippa Pearce's writing in general though.
emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced
adventurous emotional medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No