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sunniva_jac's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
sandysan_11's review against another edition
2.0
After thinking on how I felt about this novel, I am ready to give my review (LOL only 3 yrs later).
The Secret Garden is not as great as I wanted it to be. It was slow for me. While I loved the aspect of a secret garden, I wanted more out of this & I didn't get it.
The Secret Garden is not as great as I wanted it to be. It was slow for me. While I loved the aspect of a secret garden, I wanted more out of this & I didn't get it.
kalynlarva's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-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
4.0
la_ravenreader's review against another edition
3.0
A story that first follows Mary, a10 year old, as she moves from India to England. It was just an average story for the most part , but had a satisfying ending.
kcp3321's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
justellie's review
hopeful
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
captlychee's review against another edition
3.0
This is a competently written, somewhat endearing book that has been totally ruined because I've had to study it from its position as an Edwardian commentary on the colonial experience. If you can get past that, or at least can agree with the modern pundits on its viewpoints, then it's an enjoyable read.
dyno8426's review against another edition
4.0
This book is definitely more mature and relatable as an adult than your average children's fiction. I picked up this book with the same promise that recommended it to me and I found it very aptly upheld after having read it. The backbone of the story is very universally common to many other popular stories like Alice in Wonderland and Narnia - a child/group of children discover something which is accessible only with the purity and dreaminess possessed by a child. And obviously, there's a morality to take home for children. Although, there's a stark symbolism which appeals to the disillusionment and alienation with the joys of life that is more characteristic of a realistic adult life.
Children stories usually have peculiar protagonists who don't fit well in their homely circumstances and escape to their magical worlds alone and one which they do not share with others. Such exclusive places represents a safe haven from the brutality of loneliness that unfortunately grips those children who find themselves being different from others due to their situation. These dreamlands also preserve their sense of wonder and hope in what the world has to offer. There is generally a sympathy towards the alienation and hardships that our protagonists have faced and delight at how they get rewarded for their purity. But in this story, the protagonist children are pretty different and unexpectedly dislikable. It breaks the convention of them being the force and centre of all positive change in the world around them. They hold nothing sacred, value nothing to look forward to, and are utterly dreamless unlike children. In this way, we see their disillusionment towards life of an adult-like degree.
The centre point for the plot and their own character development is the titular "secret garden" which changes their life. Clearly, it becomes a symbol of the bounties and delights that life has to offer, which when untended and uncared for, left them clueless of their existence. They never could imagine because their unfortunate surroundings walled them from it. This secret garden becomes all the more precious as a cultivable source of happiness and fertile nursery for liveliness. It is not furtively held with cynicism but shared to prosper life in and of others. Our once forlon and pathetically unloved characters transform their morbidity as they witness what the secret garden offers and how it evolves as they put attention and efforts to care for the tenderness it holds - the same tenderness that they recognise in themselves once it's rekindled. The developing garden then also becomes analogous to their own growth and transformation in an environment which they didn't know they could ever exist or have anything to inspire them. A simple philosophy to value the health and nature's bounties that we possess as a human being and a tribute to living life, with a perseverance against circumstances that might keep happiness dormant for so long that it might almost look unsalvageable, is what this book is all about.
Children stories usually have peculiar protagonists who don't fit well in their homely circumstances and escape to their magical worlds alone and one which they do not share with others. Such exclusive places represents a safe haven from the brutality of loneliness that unfortunately grips those children who find themselves being different from others due to their situation. These dreamlands also preserve their sense of wonder and hope in what the world has to offer. There is generally a sympathy towards the alienation and hardships that our protagonists have faced and delight at how they get rewarded for their purity. But in this story, the protagonist children are pretty different and unexpectedly dislikable. It breaks the convention of them being the force and centre of all positive change in the world around them. They hold nothing sacred, value nothing to look forward to, and are utterly dreamless unlike children. In this way, we see their disillusionment towards life of an adult-like degree.
The centre point for the plot and their own character development is the titular "secret garden" which changes their life. Clearly, it becomes a symbol of the bounties and delights that life has to offer, which when untended and uncared for, left them clueless of their existence. They never could imagine because their unfortunate surroundings walled them from it. This secret garden becomes all the more precious as a cultivable source of happiness and fertile nursery for liveliness. It is not furtively held with cynicism but shared to prosper life in and of others. Our once forlon and pathetically unloved characters transform their morbidity as they witness what the secret garden offers and how it evolves as they put attention and efforts to care for the tenderness it holds - the same tenderness that they recognise in themselves once it's rekindled. The developing garden then also becomes analogous to their own growth and transformation in an environment which they didn't know they could ever exist or have anything to inspire them. A simple philosophy to value the health and nature's bounties that we possess as a human being and a tribute to living life, with a perseverance against circumstances that might keep happiness dormant for so long that it might almost look unsalvageable, is what this book is all about.