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rutabaga's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-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? Yes
4.0
rosemina2016's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Racism
sylvatica's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
bright_night's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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? Yes
3.75
prominent_v's review
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
brooketreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-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
3.5
I thought this was pretty good. I will say, I’ve never read The Secret Garden though. 😅 I loved Mary and Olive developing a friendship. I may love found family (quite literally in this case). I thought the very end with them was so sweet.
I did find the story predictable. As I said, I haven’t read The Secret Garden so I have no clue how closely it follows that. I found the pacing a little off - this may be just me. I’m not really a fan of historical fiction, so this may have been some of my issue.
I did find the story predictable. As I said, I haven’t read The Secret Garden so I have no clue how closely it follows that. I found the pacing a little off - this may be just me. I’m not really a fan of historical fiction, so this may have been some of my issue.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Child abuse, Racism, and Racial slurs
Minor: Death of parent and Classism
platypusinplaid's review
2.0
AUDREY'S ONE-SENTENCE BOOK REVIEWS
this version of the story was really dumbed-down despite being based on a children's book... like, was the author afraid we wouldn't find Mary sympathetic if she had a genuinely bad temper? was the obstacle of loneliness & grief so abstract that we needed to add an evil stepmother?
this version of the story was really dumbed-down despite being based on a children's book... like, was the author afraid we wouldn't find Mary sympathetic if she had a genuinely bad temper? was the obstacle of loneliness & grief so abstract that we needed to add an evil stepmother?
nursegenni's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.75
spacerkip's review against another edition
medium-paced
2.5
It's been a good 16 years since I read the original, so I remember the plot well enough, but the finer details are a bit too fuzzy for me to really critique this as a Secret Garden remix. Even if this retelling didn't grip me the way I hoped it would, I still very much enjoyed it! The new cultural context (and the sapphic romance) breathed fresh life into a story I remember loving as a child.
Some of the reasons this didn't quite click are entirely personal - I found the third act conflict pretty triggering (child abuse involving isolation and subjecting someone to harmful medical treatments), so I skimmed through a lot of the last chapters. I also wish there was more time spent in the titular secret garden. I remember there being a lot of attention drawn to different plants and how to tend a garden in the original, and I would have enjoyed seeing this translated with Ontarian plants and wildlife.
All in all, an enjoyable read! Gonna keep going down the list of these remixes.
Some of the reasons this didn't quite click are entirely personal - I found the third act conflict pretty triggering (child abuse involving isolation and subjecting someone to harmful medical treatments), so I skimmed through a lot of the last chapters. I also wish there was more time spent in the titular secret garden. I remember there being a lot of attention drawn to different plants and how to tend a garden in the original, and I would have enjoyed seeing this translated with Ontarian plants and wildlife.
All in all, an enjoyable read! Gonna keep going down the list of these remixes.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Racism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Classism and Sexism
ecolvig's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0