A review by bringmybooks
The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett

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!
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