theliterarylemen's review
4.0
I received this as an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This retelling of The Secret Garden was lovingly updated & I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it.
Maria is having to grow up while being shipped from place to place after being recently orphaned. Her "sour" demeanor is completely understandable from that perspective and I truly appreciated the care the author put into her grief.
In addition to South Asian rep there's neruodivergent rep.
This is a beautiful retelling, and I definitely recommend.
This retelling of The Secret Garden was lovingly updated & I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it.
Maria is having to grow up while being shipped from place to place after being recently orphaned. Her "sour" demeanor is completely understandable from that perspective and I truly appreciated the care the author put into her grief.
In addition to South Asian rep there's neruodivergent rep.
This is a beautiful retelling, and I definitely recommend.
mezzythedragon's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
klutzyhands's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
just_hebah's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
lkstrohecker's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
naomiysl's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
A Secret Garden, but make it American Desi. On the whole, this is a good thing to have on the shelves to hand people looking for the Secret Garden. It's not racist, it's not ablest, it's an inoffensive reworking of the story. And now the downsides: There are seemingly randomly interspersed bits of free verse that really break up the narrative in an unhelpful way, and don't seem to really serve a purpose. And though it's a completely serviceable reworking, it also adds very little of note. It also lacks the mysterious baby goth atmosphere of the original. So on the whole, it's fine. Not brilliant, but serves a purpose.
laufox's review against another edition
Wasn't grabbing me 3 chapters in and was due at my library so I returned it. May pick it up another time.
dannyphantomsg1's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
evamadera1's review against another edition
4.0
I adored this book which hooked me from the beginning with its self-described prickly main character. I also love the fact that through the novel she learns and grows but she does not lose her "prickliness," that part of her character uniquely hers as many other authors may have forced her to lose. I also really appreciated all the parallels to the Secret Garden once I learned (about 60% of the way through the book) that this was a retelling. While I think that the book wrapped up just a tad too neatly, I still appreciated everything Riazi did with the narrative.