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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
hopeful
inspiring
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 really loved this. I thought I read it as a kid, but I didn’t remember any of it so it felt brand new. The atmosphere was gorgeous and so immersive - I could see the moor, feel the rain, smell the garden. I loved how the garden slowly coming back to life mirrored Mary and Colin growing and being nurtured for the first time. There’s a big focus on positive thinking, and while I don’t believe that alone can fix everything (especially as someone with chronic health issues), I do think mindset shapes how we meet life’s challenges—and that really matters.
It made me feel weirdly nostalgic for a time I’ve never lived in—when kids just had nature, imagination, and each other. It left me wondering what the world would be like if that was still possible.
Some parts haven’t aged well—especially the racism and all the weird, constant commentary about the kids being “ugly”—but the heart of the story still shines. And now I’m seriously craving fresh bread and jam 🍞✨️
It made me feel weirdly nostalgic for a time I’ve never lived in—when kids just had nature, imagination, and each other. It left me wondering what the world would be like if that was still possible.
Some parts haven’t aged well—especially the racism and all the weird, constant commentary about the kids being “ugly”—but the heart of the story still shines. And now I’m seriously craving fresh bread and jam 🍞✨️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Racism, Colonisation
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death of parent
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
I really loved the descriptions of the garden and nature—it felt like the perfect book to read in spring. The kids were such great characters, and it was so refreshing to read about them playing together and really appreciating the natural world. Some parts were a bit slow and dry, but overall, it was such a sweet and wholesome story.
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
- It was hard reading the Yorkshire accent, so I listened to the audiobook.
- I think this book shows the power of the mind and will, which can be helpful and inspiring to children and others
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
I had some patchy memories of watching this movie as a kid and this filled in the gaps.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
All the stars. I loved this so much.
Like Anne of Green Gables, The Secret Garden is another book that I was not allowed to read as a child because I was a boy. (It is important to note that the person who would not allow me to read these books was myself... I can distinctly recall being drawn by the title of this book, "SECRET? Garden. So... is there an alien, or magic, or a dragon, or some infernal machine in the garden? Looking at the cover... probably not. Nope! Not going to risk it.")
The most interesting thing about this book is that it has none of the things we think books need to have to be successful. There's almost no conflict. After the opening incidents, almost nothing goes wrong. The book is supposedly a series of adventures of some children overcoming hardship... but there isn't any hardship. Every chapter is just a list of things *going right*, and almost nothing going wrong, and that should mean a very dull and pointless book. Even the starving moor children are depicted as quaint and happy, ignoring their likely miserable state. Despite the opening chapter of disease and death, life is inherently wonderful for everyone in this book, which renders the children' accomplishments as nil, and should make the plot hollow and pointless.
So why did I cry so much while reading it? Why did I care? Why did I enjoy it so much?
It has a lot of spelled-out philosophy, which I am a sucker for. Even done imperfectly, I love it when a book takes that risk. The book also has joy and happiness, which is hard to find in a modern novel. It has redemption. It acknowledges both that the father has neglected his duties but also explains his point of view and what he has suffered, without beating it over our head. The book believes in life and in magic. There is never any doubt that everything is going to work out and be wonderful, that kindness is going to win. And despite how boring that ought to be, it mostly works. How often do we get to read something like that?
Finally, it is possible that this book contains a message that I, Douglas, need to hear. Something particular about trust--or about the inevitability of growth, that nature pushes us along, that green shoots *always* pop up from the dark soil. Because they do--it's true. And humanity is not in conflict with that spirit... we actually embody it, mostly. This book says that things are going to be okay, and it teaches us some of what we can do to help things be okay. Trump might be president, my children might hit each other, but things are going to be okay. And I can help. In our culture, it is a tremendous bit of bravery to consider that point of view, even for a moment.
I've seen clips of television or movie versions of this story, and I've sat through the musical, and I have to record here that I hated all of it. Watching them was like eating food that someone else had already chewed on for a while. I feel the same way, though not quite as strongly, about Anne of Green Gables. These are really interesting, good books, and they've been made *less* accessible to the world by adaptations.
The book isn't perfect. Besides the aforementioned bizarre lack of conflict, and the sweetness that is almost cloying, there are some passages that were poorly written or poorly imagined. It is almost as if the author were learning to write, and so she tried a series of different styles and techniques as she created a book. Some of the things she tried worked brilliantly, like the first paragraph of chapter 21 (XXI), or indeed many of the exploratory tone changes that the author uses when starting a new chapter. But some passages demonstrably fail, like Mr. and Mrs. Crawford's conversation in chapter 2, which almost made me drop the book. I can't make up my mind about the robin's point of view passage, and the section from Archibald Craven's point of view towards the end... does it work? Yes? Maybe? But I am impressed and inspired by the commitment and creativity used in crafting all of it.
Will re-read.
The most interesting thing about this book is that it has none of the things we think books need to have to be successful. There's almost no conflict. After the opening incidents, almost nothing goes wrong. The book is supposedly a series of adventures of some children overcoming hardship... but there isn't any hardship. Every chapter is just a list of things *going right*, and almost nothing going wrong, and that should mean a very dull and pointless book. Even the starving moor children are depicted as quaint and happy, ignoring their likely miserable state. Despite the opening chapter of disease and death, life is inherently wonderful for everyone in this book, which renders the children' accomplishments as nil, and should make the plot hollow and pointless.
So why did I cry so much while reading it? Why did I care? Why did I enjoy it so much?
It has a lot of spelled-out philosophy, which I am a sucker for. Even done imperfectly, I love it when a book takes that risk. The book also has joy and happiness, which is hard to find in a modern novel. It has redemption. It acknowledges both that the father has neglected his duties but also explains his point of view and what he has suffered, without beating it over our head. The book believes in life and in magic. There is never any doubt that everything is going to work out and be wonderful, that kindness is going to win. And despite how boring that ought to be, it mostly works. How often do we get to read something like that?
Finally, it is possible that this book contains a message that I, Douglas, need to hear. Something particular about trust--or about the inevitability of growth, that nature pushes us along, that green shoots *always* pop up from the dark soil. Because they do--it's true. And humanity is not in conflict with that spirit... we actually embody it, mostly. This book says that things are going to be okay, and it teaches us some of what we can do to help things be okay. Trump might be president, my children might hit each other, but things are going to be okay. And I can help. In our culture, it is a tremendous bit of bravery to consider that point of view, even for a moment.
I've seen clips of television or movie versions of this story, and I've sat through the musical, and I have to record here that I hated all of it. Watching them was like eating food that someone else had already chewed on for a while. I feel the same way, though not quite as strongly, about Anne of Green Gables. These are really interesting, good books, and they've been made *less* accessible to the world by adaptations.
The book isn't perfect. Besides the aforementioned bizarre lack of conflict, and the sweetness that is almost cloying, there are some passages that were poorly written or poorly imagined. It is almost as if the author were learning to write, and so she tried a series of different styles and techniques as she created a book. Some of the things she tried worked brilliantly, like the first paragraph of chapter 21 (XXI), or indeed many of the exploratory tone changes that the author uses when starting a new chapter. But some passages demonstrably fail, like Mr. and Mrs. Crawford's conversation in chapter 2, which almost made me drop the book. I can't make up my mind about the robin's point of view passage, and the section from Archibald Craven's point of view towards the end... does it work? Yes? Maybe? But I am impressed and inspired by the commitment and creativity used in crafting all of it.
Will re-read.