Yuffie's Book Reviews

The Secret Garden - by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Just a short review today. I started this book in like 3rd or 4th grade, never finished, found it again a couple years ago, started it, and only just now finished.

It was.... okay.

This rich white chick was living in India, and had tons of servants and was spoiled rotten. When disease wiped out her entire household and family, she was sent back to England (I think England. Remember, I started this like 2 years ago), to live in a giant mansion with some old uncle recluse dude. He had a secret garden that used to be his wife's but she died during childbirt so he turned bitter and locked up the garden so no one could get in. The main chick, Mary, was spoiled rotten and got a good figurative bitch-slap upon coming here and not having servants to cater to her every whim. She was crazy rude to everyone starting out, but then she found the key to the secret garden and started turning from a thin, spoiled brat into a healthy, happy child. She eventually finds her cousin hidden away in the house by his father. The kid was crippled and sick and just as spoiled as Mary was. They become friends and Mary takes him into the garden and they play around in secret and the magical garden air makes him all better so he can walk and run again. There's some animal whisperer kid who also hangs around with them too.

It's a very long book for a small-scale plot, and the descriptions of the garden were endless. The writing was meh, too, so pages and pages talking about birds and roses weren't the most enthralling experience of my life.

I liked the message of the book, about learning to love the earth and natural stuff, and exercise and being out in nature is healing and good for you. I loved Mary's growth from whiny brat to competent and compassionate kid.

So overall wasn't bad. Didn't blow me away, and it did take me 2 years to finish the damn thing, but it wasn't a bad book.

3/5 stars