Reviews with content warning for Ableism - The Secret Garden

Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

136 reviews

yggie's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing slow-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

Such a wholesome, lovely book. Great cast, great development. This book is one of the few I can reread every few years and it will always make me feel better.

That said, it's very much a product of its time, and the casual racism at the beginning is definitely not ok.

Content Warnings

amalielisabeth's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous inspiring lighthearted 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

Content Warnings

kw_may4's review against another edition

3.0

inspiring lighthearted reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

bookreadingelf's review against another edition

4.0

hopeful 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

Content Warnings

barefootsong's review against another edition

4.0

hopeful 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: Yes

Content Warnings

emilygv's review against another edition

5.0

emotional funny hopeful inspiring slow-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

Two things cannot be in one place.
Where you tend a rose, my lad,
A thistle cannot grow.

Hopeful, inspiring, and so throughly full of life that even thinking about the garden brings a smile to my face.
We're introduced to this world that Burnett has created through the eyes of children, and it's the feeling of child-like wonder that the book inspires that has earned it the 5 stars in my book. The occasional glimpses through the eyes of the adults around them serve to add context and contrast the perspectives of the children at just the right moments.

A word of caution to any potential readers:
This novel is a product of the early 1900s, and as such contains racist and ableist language brought up in passing repeatedly. I found myself uncomfortable in the early chapters.

I massively enjoyed the development of the characters, and it made sticking through reading via Mary's downright petulant and spoiled perspective in the early chapters all the more worth it.

That being said, I can understand why some wouldn't like this novel- particularly if going into it expecting fantasy or characters having wisdom beyond their years. There's no big action scenes. Or, as I've heard - why does Colin attribute everything to this 'Magic'? Well, he's a child. A 10 year old child. In 1911. And as I've said, this child-like point of view is exactly what I found to be most endearing. I wanted this novel to be a cute read about a garden, and I got was I was looking for. Add in the gorgeous descriptions that left me wanting to explore the manor for myself? An air of mystery? The nostalgia of childhood? Inspirational sentiments, a found family, and cute animals? That's a 5-star read for me.

I'm a sucker for old buildings and feel-good stories, and I don't think I've ever read a novel that ends on a happier note. The idea that we should take caution to not crowd out the goodness in our hearts and minds with sorrows and negativities remains a message important to the world even today.

Content Warnings

luananki's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous inspiring lighthearted 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: Yes

i understand why this one is a classic and it’s getting so much love. the story is very innocent and sweet. i loved the magical aspects of the book and it was refreshing that there was no romance in it.

still, it contains a lot of ableism and racism and i don’t feel like that’s something to read to a child when they’re just forming their world view

Content Warnings