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bookishrealm's review against another edition
4.0
A beautiful and charming retelling of The Secret Garden!
kittysnuggler's review
emotional
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
arrr's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
medium-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
4.75
Super cute! Grief, friendship, food, gardening, and family. I love the community surrounding the main character, and how folks do their part to help her heal and find a new home. Inspired me to make curried tomatoes and eggs for breakfast this morning, which improved my entire day.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent
raechsreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
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
A magical, realistic retelling of The Secret Garden. A Pakistani and Bangladeshi girl is sent from family member to family member after the death of her parents. Finally, she finds herself in the US with a family who knew them, yet there seems to be secrets and rules. I enjoyed the author's interpretation of the classic.
rebeshelton's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
mbohan's review against another edition
2.0
The short verse chapters between sections were lovely and certainly Newbery-worthy. The rest of the book was just not exciting to me. The representation is surely valuable and it is always validating to see a female character who is not 100% happy, bubbly, and upbeat. But the book just dragged for me. Nothing really happened besides some social interactions and work on the garden, so I can't imagine many kids being engaged by the plot. I also don't think the allegory of the garden/Maria and the rest of the characters was very effective because we barely know anything about the rest of the characters in the novel to care about their supposed development by the end of the book.
I haven't read The Secret Garden, and maybe if I had, I would have a different opinion.
I haven't read The Secret Garden, and maybe if I had, I would have a different opinion.
smalltownbookmom's review against another edition
4.0
A tender and lyrical middle grade novel retelling of The secret garden featuring a young Muslim girl from Pakistan who has tragically lost her parents. Full of the healing power of plants, new friendships and South Asian culture, this was a great debut and a really well executed reimaging of a beloved classic. Great on audio narrated by Subhadra Newton. Highly recommended!
blogginboutbooks's review against another edition
4.0
It's been decades since I read THE SECRET GARDEN, so I don't know how closely this retelling sticks to the original. However, I can say that A BIT OF EARTH is a rich, moving, poetic tale about finding one's place in a complicated situation, family, and world.
Maria is a complex character with a strong voice. Even though she's more vulnerable than she seems, she's still confident in who she is. She's smart, capable, and a competent leader (if a reluctant one). With Pakistani/Bangladeshi roots, she's a proud Muslim Desi who loves her culture (noisy aunties and all), and wears a dupatta and prays regularly as a natural, normal part of her daily living. In spite of her best intentions to come off as otherwise, Maria is both sympathetic and likable. Her wry observations made me laugh. Her new friends are a likable bunch. It's fun to see them work together as a group, learning how to overcome various obstacles, natural and human, in order to make the garden into something beautiful. Speaking of, gardening isn't the most exciting subject (in my humble opinion, anyway), but there's enough other conflict going on between the Clayborns, Maria and Colin, Colin and his dad, etc. to keep the story moving along. Yes, the tale wraps up a little too tidily, but it also comes to a sweet, satisfying conclusion that felt right.
One thing I particularly liked about A BIT OF EARTH is its format. The story is totally narrated by Maria and is told mostly in prose, but there are alternating chapters written in free verse that add some nice variety. The tale also has just the barest touch of magical realism. Magical realism is hit-or-miss for me, so I really liked having only the teensiest hint of it to give the tale a whisper of magic.
A note on the audio: Subhadra Newton does a fantastic job reading A BIT OF EARTH. She makes the characters come alive in a way that feels authentic, not put-on. She varies them just enough to enhance the narration, but not so much that it is distracting or over-the-top. I'd definitely listen to more audiobooks narrated by her.
Maria is a complex character with a strong voice. Even though she's more vulnerable than she seems, she's still confident in who she is. She's smart, capable, and a competent leader (if a reluctant one). With Pakistani/Bangladeshi roots, she's a proud Muslim Desi who loves her culture (noisy aunties and all), and wears a dupatta and prays regularly as a natural, normal part of her daily living. In spite of her best intentions to come off as otherwise, Maria is both sympathetic and likable. Her wry observations made me laugh. Her new friends are a likable bunch. It's fun to see them work together as a group, learning how to overcome various obstacles, natural and human, in order to make the garden into something beautiful. Speaking of, gardening isn't the most exciting subject (in my humble opinion, anyway), but there's enough other conflict going on between the Clayborns, Maria and Colin, Colin and his dad, etc. to keep the story moving along. Yes, the tale wraps up a little too tidily, but it also comes to a sweet, satisfying conclusion that felt right.
One thing I particularly liked about A BIT OF EARTH is its format. The story is totally narrated by Maria and is told mostly in prose, but there are alternating chapters written in free verse that add some nice variety. The tale also has just the barest touch of magical realism. Magical realism is hit-or-miss for me, so I really liked having only the teensiest hint of it to give the tale a whisper of magic.
A note on the audio: Subhadra Newton does a fantastic job reading A BIT OF EARTH. She makes the characters come alive in a way that feels authentic, not put-on. She varies them just enough to enhance the narration, but not so much that it is distracting or over-the-top. I'd definitely listen to more audiobooks narrated by her.
kblejwas's review against another edition
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0