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brooketreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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? It's complicated
3.5
I thought this was pretty good. I will say, I’ve never read The Secret Garden though. 😅 I loved Mary and Olive developing a friendship. I may love found family (quite literally in this case). I thought the very end with them was so sweet.
I did find the story predictable. As I said, I haven’t read The Secret Garden so I have no clue how closely it follows that. I found the pacing a little off - this may be just me. I’m not really a fan of historical fiction, so this may have been some of my issue.
I did find the story predictable. As I said, I haven’t read The Secret Garden so I have no clue how closely it follows that. I found the pacing a little off - this may be just me. I’m not really a fan of historical fiction, so this may have been some of my issue.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Racial slurs, and Racism
Minor: Death of parent and Classism
spacerkip's review against another edition
medium-paced
2.5
It's been a good 16 years since I read the original, so I remember the plot well enough, but the finer details are a bit too fuzzy for me to really critique this as a Secret Garden remix. Even if this retelling didn't grip me the way I hoped it would, I still very much enjoyed it! The new cultural context (and the sapphic romance) breathed fresh life into a story I remember loving as a child.
Some of the reasons this didn't quite click are entirely personal - I found the third act conflict pretty triggering (child abuse involving isolation and subjecting someone to harmful medical treatments), so I skimmed through a lot of the last chapters. I also wish there was more time spent in the titular secret garden. I remember there being a lot of attention drawn to different plants and how to tend a garden in the original, and I would have enjoyed seeing this translated with Ontarian plants and wildlife.
All in all, an enjoyable read! Gonna keep going down the list of these remixes.
Some of the reasons this didn't quite click are entirely personal - I found the third act conflict pretty triggering (child abuse involving isolation and subjecting someone to harmful medical treatments), so I skimmed through a lot of the last chapters. I also wish there was more time spent in the titular secret garden. I remember there being a lot of attention drawn to different plants and how to tend a garden in the original, and I would have enjoyed seeing this translated with Ontarian plants and wildlife.
All in all, an enjoyable read! Gonna keep going down the list of these remixes.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Racism, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexism and Classism
queersubtext's review against another edition
dark
funny
hopeful
reflective
slow-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Racism, and Gaslighting
tlaynejones's review
dark
emotional
slow-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Racism, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Vomit
caidyn's review
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was quite a cute and lighthearted read. It has some difficult and tough topics, but overall it shines as a sweet read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Racial slurs, Racism, and Medical content
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent
citrus_seasalt's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
At some times endearing, at others on-the-nose. The cast of characters was charming, but I can see the story working better if Mary was just a year younger. If you're a fan of the author, I recommend you still check it out, but I can't say it'll be the strongest work in her catalog. I also have not read the original Secret Garden story, some of the negative reviews came from aging Mary up but I cannot comment on (most of) it for that reason.
I did, however, really like the pacing of the queer romance. I was appropriately happy when Mary realized her feelings for Sophie, the two's dynamic was genuinely cute, and I liked that unlike a few YA novels, this wasn't a first love scenario. Mary's sapphic identity was revealed earlier on in the story, she originally spent the time thinking about a former crush-slash-almost-friend(which doesn't go anywhere, lol, it's just nice to see childhood crushes represented like that), but later on she develops an actual love for Sophie.
Easily, the Indigenous characters were the most fleshed-out besides Mary. (Which isn't surprising, considering the author.) Flora was a fun addition of much-needed snark when Rebecca was introduced.
Some of the story notes felt repetitive, though, like the titular "bright open" motif. I get that it was used only when needed, but my annoyance came from the tell-not-show writing. Some of the themes of community, loneliness, and different kinds of love could've been gathered from analysis and not spelling them out imo.
Works very well as a children's/middle-grade book, though, if you remove the occasional cursing.
I did, however, really like the pacing of the queer romance. I was appropriately happy when Mary realized her feelings for Sophie, the two's dynamic was genuinely cute, and I liked that unlike a few YA novels, this wasn't a first love scenario. Mary's sapphic identity was revealed earlier on in the story, she originally spent the time thinking about a former crush-slash-almost-friend(which doesn't go anywhere, lol, it's just nice to see childhood crushes represented like that), but later on she develops an actual love for Sophie.
Easily, the Indigenous characters were the most fleshed-out besides Mary. (Which isn't surprising, considering the author.) Flora was a fun addition of much-needed snark when Rebecca was introduced.
Some of the story notes felt repetitive, though, like the titular "bright open" motif. I get that it was used only when needed, but my annoyance came from the tell-not-show writing. Some of the themes of community, loneliness, and different kinds of love could've been gathered from analysis and not spelling them out imo.
Works very well as a children's/middle-grade book, though, if you remove the occasional cursing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, and Racism
Minor: Grief, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia
kayceeisbookish's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
slow-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
Content Warnings
Minor: Confinement, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
fanboyriot's review against another edition
emotional
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? No
4.0
Read For:
Retellings
Hurt/Comfort
Historical Fiction
Angst with a Happy Ending
The Secret Garden but Make it Sapphic
Normally, I’m not a big classic reader and only a handful I’ve managed to like but this was such a lovely rewrite of the classic: The Secret Garden with a queer theme woven into it.
"But there was one person who could speak up, that would make them listen, and it was her." (Page 157, Chapter 18)
There was an overall magical vibe to the settings in general and while there are some depressing and darker moments in this book it really had such a nice charm to it. The writing style was really nice to read, the characters (other than a few) were all quite lovely, and the ending was really satisfying to read. Thank you to NetGalley and the author/publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
(Third Person POV)
Spice: None
Rep: Lesbian MC, BIPOC LI/SCs
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Classism