I read this book as a very young girl, and I remember only snippets of it. I also think it's likely that the edition I read then was abridged. So, while I knew the premise of this novel going in, I was not prepared for the incredible and emotional journey this book would bring me on. Perhaps it's because I'm currently at a major crossroads in my own life, this novel was exactly what I needed. It focuses on the magic of nature, and the importance of friendship, fresh air, and good exercise in life. This book is the definition of light-hearted, and if you're looking for pure escapism, this is the novel for you. Set on a picturesque manor, surrounded by moors and meadows and the most curated gardens imaginable, it draws you into a world that is beyond beautiful. Burnett's writing amazingly does the setting justice, and his long descriptions of nature and beauty truly recharged my soul. The three main characters who occupy the length of this novel are mere children, and while they certainly do much growing-up, they are likeable all the way through. This novel will be one I return to for years to come, and just like The Wind in the Willows, I will most certainly be reading it to my future children should I be lucky enough to have them. I highly recommend this one to you guys - five stars.

Check out my 'reading middle grade for a magical week off' reading vlog where I talk about The Secret Garden: https://youtu.be/qDV2nQ5me58

I think it's very important to address and talk about the racism and ableism in 'The Secret Garden', mainly because I went into reading this totally unaware of the problematic nature of this book. I also feel like parents might also be unaware as I have been left comments on my reading vlog of this saying they had no idea, and will talk about those elements of the book with their children so they know how wrong the racism and ableism is in the book.

I'm also not here to be a gatekeeper. You can still read the book and enjoy it, I will not judge you for it. I just think that giving this book to an impressionable child could be harmful if the subject matter is not discussed with the child, because the author made no attempt to right the wrongs of the racism by the end of the book. I know it's because this book is 'a product of its time' and 'that behaviour was acceptable back then'. Well, guess what. The behaviour is not acceptable now.

Mary begins the book as a neglected child who treats her servants in India appallingly. She even goes so far as to slap and abuse her servants. Nobody in the book bats an eye when Brown people are called "not people", and it's not even just Mary who has these racist views. You may argue that Mary undergoes a transformation by the end of the book and becomes a better person, and that she does. She learns compassion and kindness and is inspired to change. But does the racism ever get addressed? Does the author tell the reader that being racist is wrong? No. Mary becomes a better person without addressing how truly awful she was at the beginning of the book.

Colin is also bed-bound and uses a wheelchair, and then suddenly, he can walk. He throws his disability away. I've seen people argue that he was never disabled, but I've also heard a lot of people with disabilities identified with Colin throughout the book until he was "cured" of his disability. If it had been made clear from the beginning that Colin could walk, then I don't think there'd be much of a problem. However, to bait readers with a disabled character who is miraculously cured is just another blow. Not all disabled people can be cured, and to give this idea that you can only be happy if you don't have a disability, well, that's extremely harmful to young people reading this book who are disabled.

While themes of the book regarding change and growth is done beautifully through the tending of the garden, and how it ties in with nature, I still couldn't fully enjoy this book. I just had no idea about the racism and ableism, and I feel like a lot of people who go into this book might not know about it too. Again, I think it's okay to read it if you want, but please bare in mind that when you give this book to a child, it has these elements and open up a discussion with them about it.

Let's not act like racism and ableism is okay in this book just because it's 'a product of its time'. You know, there are hundreds of children's books published today that are better. Much, much better.

I love children’s books that don’t underestimate children. I confess that I didn’t read many children’s books when I was a child myself, because a lot of the stuff I could get my hands on seemed asinine and too easy. There is an entire collection of lovely books published by the Courte Échelle publishing house that my mother bought me: they all took me a couple of hours to read at the most and then I never touched them again. I went and stole books for her shelves instead, which may or may not have been a good thing…

I only started getting interested in children’s books in my late twenties. Weird, huh? I had seen the Merchant-Ivory movie adaptation of “The Secret Garden” when I was a teen, and while I would have never admitted it then, I was fascinated by it. Not to get into details, but the themes of abandonment and parents who are emotionally unavailable that we see time and times again in British children literature hit awfully close to home. Watching “The Secret Garden” was the movie equivalent of cutting: it hurt, but I needed it to hurt. I eventually worked up the courage to get a copy of the book.

Of course it is predictable. Of course the characters of Mary and Colin are spoiled little brats – aristocratic British kids, for god’s sake! Of course the resolution is healing. Of course the morals of the story (love is important, nature should be cared for, working on one’s self will make us better people) are big no-brainers. But the writing is so beautiful and evocative. I felt for the children, I could taste their anger and their loneliness. I knew why they were mean and bossy. They were cold because they had never known warmth. And enters the metaphor of the garden.

When Mary first steps into the garden, she is afraid it is dead because there are no leaves or blooms. She soon realizes that with a little care and the change of season, it can be just as glorious and lush as it was in her aunt’s days. It is very, very obvious that the garden is Mary’s heart: not really dead, but in serious need of caring. And if someone who knows how to pull the weeds to make room for the flowers can make the garden beautiful again, a heart can be mended and a person can be made whole and happy again. Once the garden is alive again, she brings Colin in and he eventually gets better too.

“The Secret Garden” made me smile and cry, and it inspired me to work on myself, to make peace with a lot of bad things and to use these bad things as a base from which I could grow to be a stronger and happier person. It helped me get out of my shell, and let my colors shine brighter than they ever had before. I am not sure that Frances Hodgson Burnett meant for her novel to be a lifeline to a lonely girl in Canada, over a hundred years after she wrote it, but I am very grateful for this gorgeous book. I recommend it to everyone.