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A review by deep_in_the_reads
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
3.0
The Secret Garden's first half promises a really fun, fleshed-out coming of age story. Mary Lennox, the 10-year old protagonist, subverts a lot of tropes of the down-on-their luck child from books of the period. Rather than being a starry-eyed saintly kid a-la Oliver Twist, she's pig-headed, entitled and prone to tantrums. Frances Burnett does a great job of making her believable, especially given her colonialist upbringing. It makes it all the more heartwarming when she begins to be drawn out of her shell. Her early interactions with Colin and Martha are highlights. Coupled with Burnett's ability to bring the magic out of even mundane things (for example, the scenes leading up to the discovery of the garden and her first meeting with Colin), The Secret Garden has a lot of charm and heart. Sure, it's a bit cheesy, but considering it's a children's book written only ten years after the end of the Victoria era, I mostly give it a pass.
My issues with the book mostly come from the latter third, after all the characters and settings have been established. Unfortunately, Mary Lennox, the child born into neglect, is pushed out of the story totally. She does very little in the final chapters of the book, and in the last scene she's literally absent. I've never seen an author sideline their own main character so totally before, and I can't help but feel let down, as she is one of the few characters with any depth. It's not satisfying that her role is played out long before the book ends. Colin's speeches about "The Magic" kind of come across as a little embarrassing to read as well.
Overall The Secret Garden is probably worth a read if you're interested in landmark children's novels. It isn't as strong as, say, Charlotte's Web, but it's still pretty good.
My issues with the book mostly come from the latter third, after all the characters and settings have been established. Unfortunately, Mary Lennox, the child born into neglect, is pushed out of the story totally. She does very little in the final chapters of the book, and in the last scene she's literally absent. I've never seen an author sideline their own main character so totally before, and I can't help but feel let down, as she is one of the few characters with any depth. It's not satisfying that her role is played out long before the book ends. Colin's speeches about "The Magic" kind of come across as a little embarrassing to read as well.
Overall The Secret Garden is probably worth a read if you're interested in landmark children's novels. It isn't as strong as, say, Charlotte's Web, but it's still pretty good.