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melodyramirez's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
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
4.25
The book starts with awful characters but then it is beautifully hopeful. Theres a religious motif that I didn’t hate because it felt like more of hopeful than religious
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia, Racism, Death, Classism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Child death
bringmybooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
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
5.0
If I've said it once, I've said it a million times (&if I've never said it before, I'll say it now): listening to audiobooks of classic children's literature is SUCH a good way to revisit these stories as adults!
✨ 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 ✨ B̷O̷R̷R̷O̷W̷ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷
[First things first - this book was written in 1910 and there are some parts of it that really did not age well (specifically around the language used to describe both India and Indian people). It's not throughout the entire book, more so in the beginning as Mary Lennox is learning not to parrot insensitive & incorrect information that she's been told, but it's still not great.]
I know that I have read The Secret Garden as a kid, but I also know that it's been at least 25 years since then and it was WILD how much I had forgotten about so much of this book. I think the 90s adaptation did a really good job keeping the spirit of the story and characters (other than Ms. Medlock, who is way more severe in the adaptation). There was a lot more character arc and growth in the book, and more exploration of other characters aside from Mary & Colin, which I really appreciated.
This was one of the last Audible credits I used before switching to libro.fm, and the narrator [Carrie Hope Fletcher] did an AMAZING job with the story! I can't speak to any other audio narrators, but if you use Audible this was well worth the credit 🥰 Overall this was one I was glad I got a chance to go back and revisit!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Grief, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Racism
mazzie's review against another edition
I understand that the story takes place in a time of colonization and that in 1911 many of these views were held for the white audience intended; however, the constant degradation of the South Asian community, especially in a book for children, is extremely tough to be constantly reading. As a person of color, no classic is worth subjecting yourself to ridiculous, persistent hate.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia
maeverose's review against another edition
1⭐️
I’m logging this as a dnf because I heavily skimmed the last seven chapters and don’t feel like I can fairly count it as read.
I want parents who plan on reading this to their kids to read this review please. You’re absolutely allowed to read this to your kids if you want, but if you do, you need to have a conversation with them about how some of the themes in this book are wrong and offensive. Especially if you’re white or able bodied. (This review is by a white disabled person).
I loved the 1993 movie growing up and wanted to read the book for that reason, but wow this book was painful to read. Not only is it incredibly slow and repetitive but it’s full of racism and ableism. With classics I always go in prepared for problematic things so I wasn’t surprised that those things were in there, especially since the movie is very ableist as well. But it was so bad in the book.
The racism
I found it problematic that it opens up with a cholera outbreak in India, followed by some other comments about Mary always getting sick from having grown up in India. To me this implies the author thinks India is a dirty place full of sickness. Mary physically abused the enslaved Indians who cared for her when she was mad and treated them as if their sole purpose in life was to serve British settlers. Mary says at least once that Indians aren’t human, they’re servants. This is never corrected in the book at any point, by other characters or the narrative. Even after she learns to be nice she never seems to change that belief, unless I missed it. It’s kind of just dropped. There are also several racial slurs used casually throughout the book.
The ableism
I have scoliosis so it was both hilarious and annoying anytime Colin freaked out about feeling a lump in his back and cried over becoming a ‘hunchback’. He acted like it was the worst possible fate anyone could have. Which I’m sure was intentional because he’s a very dramatic kid, but it was still clearly coming from an ableist place. At one point they straight up say kids are better of dead than bedridden from illness or disability. And the icing on the cake is the scene where Ben Weatherstaff sees Colin outside and refers to him as crippled, then Colin and Mary are all offended that he dare say such a thing, and Colin proceeds to stand up for the first time to prove he’s ‘not a cripple’, and it was supposed to be this heartfelt, groundbreaking moment… Imagine how that feels for wheelchair users to read? It shows that able bodied people see disabled people as miserable and undesirable. (I re-watched the movie after reading and this scene is in the movie too). There was also a whole message about ‘willing yourself to get better’ and essentially saying that if you’re disabled all you gave to do is go outside and stop being disabled actually. Just try harder. There was absolutely no point to Colin’s whole storyline of being ‘fake sick’ and getting better. The overall message of the book is to be a nice person and you’ll make friends that way. He could’ve just been either able bodied, or better yet, actually disabled and never magically ‘cured’, while still learning to be nice and getting his happy ending.
I understand if you have sentimental attachment to the story, I still have an attachment to the movie even if it’s also very ableist. But it’s important to acknowledge these things, especially if you’re reading or watching it with kids. Personally it shocks me when I see people reviewing this book without pointing that stuff out. Lots of white able bodied people seem to be desensitized to these things, which is very concerning to me.
I’m logging this as a dnf because I heavily skimmed the last seven chapters and don’t feel like I can fairly count it as read.
I want parents who plan on reading this to their kids to read this review please. You’re absolutely allowed to read this to your kids if you want, but if you do, you need to have a conversation with them about how some of the themes in this book are wrong and offensive. Especially if you’re white or able bodied. (This review is by a white disabled person).
I loved the 1993 movie growing up and wanted to read the book for that reason, but wow this book was painful to read. Not only is it incredibly slow and repetitive but it’s full of racism and ableism. With classics I always go in prepared for problematic things so I wasn’t surprised that those things were in there, especially since the movie is very ableist as well. But it was so bad in the book.
The racism
I found it problematic that it opens up with a cholera outbreak in India, followed by some other comments about Mary always getting sick from having grown up in India. To me this implies the author thinks India is a dirty place full of sickness. Mary physically abused the enslaved Indians who cared for her when she was mad and treated them as if their sole purpose in life was to serve British settlers. Mary says at least once that Indians aren’t human, they’re servants. This is never corrected in the book at any point, by other characters or the narrative. Even after she learns to be nice she never seems to change that belief, unless I missed it. It’s kind of just dropped. There are also several racial slurs used casually throughout the book.
The ableism
I have scoliosis so it was both hilarious and annoying anytime Colin freaked out about feeling a lump in his back and cried over becoming a ‘hunchback’. He acted like it was the worst possible fate anyone could have. Which I’m sure was intentional because he’s a very dramatic kid, but it was still clearly coming from an ableist place. At one point they straight up say kids are better of dead than bedridden from illness or disability. And the icing on the cake is the scene where Ben Weatherstaff sees Colin outside and refers to him as crippled, then Colin and Mary are all offended that he dare say such a thing, and Colin proceeds to stand up for the first time to prove he’s ‘not a cripple’, and it was supposed to be this heartfelt, groundbreaking moment… Imagine how that feels for wheelchair users to read? It shows that able bodied people see disabled people as miserable and undesirable. (I re-watched the movie after reading and this scene is in the movie too). There was also a whole message about ‘willing yourself to get better’ and essentially saying that if you’re disabled all you gave to do is go outside and stop being disabled actually. Just try harder. There was absolutely no point to Colin’s whole storyline of being ‘fake sick’ and getting better. The overall message of the book is to be a nice person and you’ll make friends that way. He could’ve just been either able bodied, or better yet, actually disabled and never magically ‘cured’, while still learning to be nice and getting his happy ending.
I understand if you have sentimental attachment to the story, I still have an attachment to the movie even if it’s also very ableist. But it’s important to acknowledge these things, especially if you’re reading or watching it with kids. Personally it shocks me when I see people reviewing this book without pointing that stuff out. Lots of white able bodied people seem to be desensitized to these things, which is very concerning to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Ableism, Body shaming, Colonisation, and Racial slurs
orchidlilly's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Xenophobia, Chronic illness, Medical content, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Death of parent, Grief, Ableism, and Body shaming
Moderate: Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Terminal illness, and Confinement
Minor: Colonisation
alitad's review against another edition
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Ableism, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Death of parent
neni's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
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
4.25
What a lovely story. The prose was beautiful, in that extremely relaxing/wholesome way that makes you sigh with contentment, especially the nature descriptions. I ADORED the nature descriptions . Also, this specific edition of the book made the reading experience 1000 times more magical and special, it was a joy to read while enjoying all the lovely illustrations and the heavy paper. Such a great read for the beggining of Autumun, it was just what I needed
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent, Child death, Chronic illness, Xenophobia, Terminal illness, Confinement, and Body horror
trinnde's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
medium-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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia and Racism
books_r_cool's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
I was not expecting to like this book as much as I did. The characters, the descriptions, the wholesomeness, the idea of magic being created in your thoughts ugh everything was so perfect. It made me smile and almost cry and I loved the story and the characters so much at the end <3
My only problem is the sporadic racist and misogynistic comments that were so unnecessary (however, explained by the time period).
My only problem is the sporadic racist and misogynistic comments that were so unnecessary (however, explained by the time period).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Chronic illness, Abandonment, and Racism
_fallinglight_'s review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
I didn't quite finish this book bc I kept falling asleep every time I picked it up so I just skimmed to the end after chapter 22 bc Mary virtually disappeared and FHB seemed as done writing this story as I was reading it. But I'll count it as read bc I read near 80%. Anyways the first four chapters are jarringly racist and the story throughout has that racist undertone of how Mary became a civilized person once she went out to the fresh, white air moor bc India is hot and terrible and weird. Honestly this book is past its expiration date. FHB's writing is easy and sticks with you though but if you have to read a FHB book, read A Little Princess it's still got its problematic stuff (I suppose bc I read it years ago and don't remember much) but it's not as jarringly racist as this one. And Sara Crewe stomps on Mary.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Racism, Xenophobia, and Racial slurs