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Mary Lennox was horrid. Selfish and spoilt, she was sent to stay with her hunchback uncle in Yorkshire. She hated it.
But when she finds the way into a secret garden and begins to tend to it, a change comes over her and her life. She meets and befriends a local boy, the talented Dickon, and comes across her sickly cousin Colin who had been kept hidden from her. Between them, the three children work astonishing magic in themselves and those around them.

I’m so glad I finally picked up this book as recommended to me by Alex, as it is her favourite book! Thank you Alex for all of your encouragement when it came to finally getting me to pick this one up, I really enjoyed it.

As you’ve probably picked up by now, I didn’t read many children’s classics when I was an actual child, and I’m only getting around to reading them now. I find this to be hit and miss, but The Secret Garden has been one of my favourites so far in this little experiment. I really enjoyed so much about this book! All I knew is that there was a garden (I wonder how I figured that out?) and that this book followed a little girl. Who knew how much more this book had to offer?

It made her think that it was curious how much nicer a person looked when he smiled.

Firstly, I loved the character of Mary. She moves to Yorkshire from India at the start of this story to live in her Uncle’s house. She is rude to everyone, very spoilt and arrogant to all those she meets. However, she learns so much about people and herself throughout this story, which I loved. She has a genuine redemption arc which was a joy to read about, and she’s not the only character who does. Many of the characters throughout this story grew and learned about how to treat other people. It was beautiful, and I loved their friendships with each other and the adults around them.

The garden itself was also a delight, and I could visualise the beautiful plants and flowers. I loved the symbolisation of the growth of the garden reflected in the characters, and watching the garden grow with them was so lovely. I read this book over a few days, and I read 300 pages of it in a day as part of a readathon. I actually found my enjoyment of the book grew the longer I was reading it, as it just felt like the perfect amount of time to immerse myself in the story. It was so easy to carry on reading as there was so many hints and mysteries dropped throughout the book, and I just wanted to find out what was going to be revealed next.

She had not thought of it before.

Although this book wasn’t perfect, and I sadly felt a little disconnected in the last few pages, there is so much to love about this book. It had the most beautiful, immersive surroundings and lovable characters. I think I would have really loved it as a child!

★★★★
4 out of 5 stars

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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