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A review by annettebooksofhopeanddreams
The Garden of Lost Secrets by A.M. Howell
3.0
I remember when I saw this book for the first time and read the blurb. The cover is beautiful in itself, but the hint of something magical hanging in the air hidden in de synopsis really caught my attention. The secret garden is one of my favourite books of all time and for some reason I expected this book to be something like that.
In a way I ended up a little disappointed and it took me a while to really get into the story. I was easily distracted while reading and at work I haven't been thinking about the story even once. The ending made up for it a little bit and on the way home I was a little more into Clara's journey, but the story didn't really end up convincing me.
And it's hard to say why exactly. Maybe it's simply the lack of magic. I've been reading so much fantasy and magical realism, AND I was somehow expecting it, that for a very long time I kept on hoping that maybe the magic simply hadn't yet appeared. A castle, a locked door, a key, letters and secret meetings, it was all very interesting and yet I ended up finding it also a little plain.
That wasn't because Clara wasn't likeable. Clara was a typical young girl, far from home and living in scary times. Her father is ill and her brother is fighting in the first world war. The mystery from the stolen and appearing fruit is a nice distraction to her and when she makes a new friend it's not hard to understand why she does everything for him.
But, it felt like the truly interesting stories laid with the adults. We saw glimpses of them in the end and when all pieces of the puzzle clicked, I really liked how it all turned out. But I would have loved to see more of them, of their stories and their backgrounds and motivation.
I think younger kids might truly enjoy this story, but I've read quite a lot of middle grades that have more interesting elements for adults than this book had. But, I think my opinion is clouded because I expected magic and didn't get it. My fault. I should have done more research, I guess.
In a way I ended up a little disappointed and it took me a while to really get into the story. I was easily distracted while reading and at work I haven't been thinking about the story even once. The ending made up for it a little bit and on the way home I was a little more into Clara's journey, but the story didn't really end up convincing me.
And it's hard to say why exactly. Maybe it's simply the lack of magic. I've been reading so much fantasy and magical realism, AND I was somehow expecting it, that for a very long time I kept on hoping that maybe the magic simply hadn't yet appeared. A castle, a locked door, a key, letters and secret meetings, it was all very interesting and yet I ended up finding it also a little plain.
That wasn't because Clara wasn't likeable. Clara was a typical young girl, far from home and living in scary times. Her father is ill and her brother is fighting in the first world war. The mystery from the stolen and appearing fruit is a nice distraction to her and when she makes a new friend it's not hard to understand why she does everything for him.
But, it felt like the truly interesting stories laid with the adults. We saw glimpses of them in the end and when all pieces of the puzzle clicked, I really liked how it all turned out. But I would have loved to see more of them, of their stories and their backgrounds and motivation.
I think younger kids might truly enjoy this story, but I've read quite a lot of middle grades that have more interesting elements for adults than this book had. But, I think my opinion is clouded because I expected magic and didn't get it. My fault. I should have done more research, I guess.