Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

22 reviews

a_bloom's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is a reread from my Childhood and it made me realize why I loved this book so much. While the beginning has some questionable language about class and race (as to be expected of an older book) it's message is beautiful. Reading at different ages and phases in life reveals extra messages and the beautiful complexity of these characters stuck in a partially unknown time of our modern day... Yet the events and lessons and feelings and conversations doesn't feel that outdated besides the language shift.
I adore the characters and the magic they bring to the story. I adore the descriptions of nature and growing friendship. I adore the hope in the impossible and the magical. I adore a feel good story in the midst of everyday tragedy. No wonder I would read this year after year growing up... It was beautiful and gave me hope. Very few books actually make me emotional to the point of crying, but if I'd taken the time to read it straight in one sitting I probably would have. 
If you don't know if you'd like classics or think they're too hard or boring then I BEG YOU TO READ THE SECRET GARDEN. Because at first it is a cruel indifference that quickly turns to kindness. God I love this book and hope that everyone gets the chance to read it. Devour it. And let it sit within your soul as you grow. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Ableism, Body shaming, Grief, Terminal illness, Abandonment, and Mental illness

Minor: Slavery, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

yrlaevelyn's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Ableism, Colonisation, and Racism

Moderate: Chronic illness, Abandonment, Body shaming, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Terminal illness

Minor: Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, Slavery, Body shaming, and Confinement

livelaughomo's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, and Ableism

Moderate: Death of parent and Racism

Minor: Death

chaexi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

sir_ren's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

a story of a family healing from past events - set in the colonial period, partly in India and the rest in Yorkshire, England - the main characters have tragic beginnings - also a story of children growing up
personally would have liked it better as a child as it is the target demographic

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, and Racism

hannahelizza556's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This was a lovely book. The author describes the secret garden in great detail. Th characters also become more likeable as the story progressed. The size of the writing in this book is quite hard to read and I struggled with some of the Yorkshire accent in this but otherwise it was a lovely book. I really liked the characters by the end, even Mary who is a self centred girl in the opening. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Body shaming, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Medical content, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

pelledorso's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Racial slurs, Ableism, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Death and Racism

Minor: Child death, Fatphobia, and Colonisation

lara_bk's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Racial slurs

Minor: Bullying and Child abuse

juli100101's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Death of parent and Death

Minor: Racism and Slavery

epellicci's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The Secret Garden is a joyful and passionate tale of childhood reliance, relationships, and healing. I felt consistently through the book as if Burnett related to the children he wrote about and due to this, he manages to carry an air of mystery and childish glee throughout the story without making the characters feel particularly 'young'. Their intelligence and personalities felt authentic. 
The ending was surprisingly abrupt which I found disappointing in comparison with the vast descriptiveness and detailed telling of the rest of the book, but there was something rather playful about it, which made it feel like a purposeful choice. 
There are moments of racism in the writing - mostly concentrated at the beginning of the book - which take you jarringly out of the story. I found the casual presence of such passages uncomfortable to read and acutely poignant against the setting of a warm children's story. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Grief and Death