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Mar 10, 2011

Abigail rated it:

Read the year I was eleven, shortly after Burnett's A Little Princess, The Secret Garden has been one of my "comfort novels" ever since, usually making an annual reappearance sometime in the dark and dreary winter, when the idea of a garden holds particular charm. The story of two cousins - spoiled orphan Mary Lennox, sent to stay at her uncle's estate in Yorkshire, and her invalid cousin Colin - both of whom find healing and love through the "magic" of the Secret Garden, thi More...

52 comments like (22 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Todd rated it:

I know this book seems out of place among the fare I usually read, but hey, all I can say is that I like what I like. There is some intangible quality to this book that really strikes a chord in me. The whole idea of that sickly child being healed with love, attention, and (forgive me an LDS joke) wholesome recreational activities, just somehow speaks Truth to me. I think this book has strong application to today's problems with the rising generation. I really believe that kids these days ar More...

1 comment like (19 people liked it)

Jun 29, 2008

Alison rated it:

I seem to be the only woman I know who didn't read and cherish this book as a child. So I decided to see what all the fuss was about...

It took me a while to get in step with the tone of this book. The beginning was Jane Eyre-lite...Mary is orphaned and sent from India to England to live with her uncle, a stranger to her. The story progresses...and then....Mary's talking to a robin, and he's showing her where buried keys are. At that point, the mood shifted, and I sat back to enjo More...

3 comments like (13 people liked it)

Sep 05, 2011

Cheryl in CC NV rated it:

This read was, of course, a re-read. I wore out the copy I had as a child, with its lovely illustrations by Tasha Tudor. What's interesting is what a different, but still marvelous, experience it is, reading it again almost 4 decades later. I didn't remember the beginning bit taking place in India. I could've sworn Mary visited, and brought gifts to, Martha's family's cottage. I didn't remember the ending being so abrupt.

Oddly enough, my 'favorite' bit was learning about how to More...

3 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 18, 2009

e.c.h.a rated it:

Apa yang tersembunyi dalam "Taman Rahasia" sehingga bisa membuat Mary dan Collin berubah secara drastis? Benarkah magic? Mungkin itu yang dipikirkan oleh anak-anak seusia Collin dan Mary, anak-anak yang punya dunianya sendiri. Dengan dibantu oleh Dickon, seorang anak berusia 12 tahun yang mencintai alam dan dicintai alam. Yang memberikan pandangan-pandangan lain terhadap Mary & Collin.

Musim semi, musim yang selalu di identikkan dengan kehidupan yang baru, awal mula suatu k More...

209 comments like (4 people liked it)

Nov 20, 2008

Jacquelyn rated it:

Genre: Historical fiction Reading level: Ages 9-12
Want to know the Secret? This book was written almost a century before Byrne and Oprah shared their version. The garden is only the beginning of the story of a brat, orphaned in India, who moves to huge lonely house in Yorkshire, England. It isn’t only the wind that haunts the moors, but the wails of her tyrant cousin. With the help of a local family, the two children learn to heal their bodies and minds with fresh air, exercise, and a More...

1 comment like (10 people liked it)

Feb 12, 2012

rinabeana rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Dec 19, 2010

Harun Harahap rated it:

”Buang jauh-jauh pikiran buruk!”

Kalimat di atas sering kita dengar dan baca, khususnya di buku-buku pengembangan diri. Buku ini yang memuat kisah sederhana tentang persahabatan anak-anak pun menawarkan pesan yang sama. Tapi kisah indah ini lebih mudah untuk diresapi bahkan dinikmati.

Jika pikiran kita selalu disesaki segala hal yang buruk dan negatif, maka awan yang berarak indah di langit pun dilihat sebagai kumpulan awal yang membosankan. Sebaliknya, jika kita terus berp More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jan 14, 2012

Simon rated it:

****SPOILERS****

OK, I must have read and loved this book 40 or so years ago. (Yikes!) I liked it a lot this time round, but it was troubling to me in several ways. It starts off as the story of Mary, a girl suffering from epic neglect. (Her entire household in Colonial India, parents, servants, everyone, die from cholera or flee the house with no-one bothering to think about her, leaving her alone, not knowing what's happening, if anyone is there, scavenging for food from unfinished More...

8 comments like (4 people liked it)

Oct 13, 2011

Jason rated it:

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0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 08, 2011

Kelly rated it:

Mistress Mary, your looks are quite contrary....

There is very little that I recall of this novel, as it has been years since I have last laid fingers on this popular tale. But what I do remember of it...

Mary is a bratty, sour-spirited child who is shipped back to England when her ever-delinquent parents die in cruel India. There she is kept under the wing of a likewise inconsiderate uncle, in his gothic castle, wherein she grows deathly bored inside, and he More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Oct 09, 2011

Kaion rated it:

Rereading childhood favorites, you always run the risk corrupting that memory with adult judgment- but it's usually worth that risk for the flip-side... I hadn't read The Secret Garden in years, and it still simply doesn't disappoint.

On this rereading, I was really struck by the fact that it functions well as a wonderfully inverted subversive Sleeping Beauty* tale. The prince is a sickly-looking, cross girl who well earns her 'Mistress Mary Quite Contrary' . And the princess is a tan More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Aug 16, 2008

Michele rated it:

When my youngest daughter saw me reading this, she scoffed, "You haven't read that? I've read it AND seen the movie!" Guess I'm falling behind! When I first considered reading this (on the syllabus of a course I'm auditing) I seriously considered just not reading it and skipping the class when it would be discussed (ah! the beauties of auditing!). But I'm glad I didn't.

There's a lot of stuff going on in this text that I ended up finding fascinating. For one thing, it led me t More...

1 comment like (5 people liked it)

May 12, 2008

Amy rated it:

I guess I didn't miss much by not reading this book as a child. I don't really understand why it became a classic. It starts out interestingly enough with a very gothic setting. A little British girl named Mary survives a cholera epidemic in India and is sent to Yorkshire to live with her distant relatives. The author gives a vivid description of the beauty of the moors and the mysterious mansion that the girl goes to live in. The only other interesting part is really when Mary discovers the boy More...

1 comment like (8 people liked it)

Apr 23, 2008

Cati rated it:

English 425 Submitter’s name _Cati Howard
Book Bank Book Bank subject: _my favorite book___

Reference information:
Title The Secret Garden
Author Frances Hodgson Burnett
Publisher J.B. Linppincott Company Year 1911
# of pages 256 Genre drama
Reading level 4.5 Interest level 9-12 years old
Potential hot lava:
None to speak of except that there are references to death throughout the story. Children who have issues dealing with morta More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Mar 04, 2008

Rebecca rated it:

This is my favorite book, ever! My Mom made me read it as a kid, and I really didn't want to. I put it off and put it off, and finally decided to just suck it up and read it. I think it took 10 pages for me to get completely hooked.

I think I loved the book so much because it was all about bringing about life and growth through love. All the main characters are sort of "forgotten" in some way or another, and they go on this adventure when Mary finds a key to a secret, wa More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Apr 24, 2008

Yulia rated it:

Silly me, I looked through all the editions to find the one I grew up with, but had no luck. But this is what I wrote about it a few months ago:

In the third grade, I would have been hopelessly overwhelmed by my reading assignments had my father not offered to help by reading aloud every other chapter to me and having me read him the rest. We did this in the bedroom, as my mother openly complained how he made a travesty of the English language, with his Russian accent and his puttin More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Nov 08, 2009

May rated it:

My second classic (if I remember correctly, my first was "The Odyssey," but sadly, I can't remember the ISBN of THE book 'coz I read it when I was in Grade 3 - or was it 4? Too bad, though, 'coz I really would want to have a copy of that particular book and go through it again *sighs*). Anyway, back to the Secret Garden, I'll tell you a little "secret": I was REALLY digging for Dickon and Mary. Dickon is more sensible than Colin. More fun, too. I mean, he can tame animals, ri More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Sep 14, 2007

Briynne rated it:

I was looking through Sarah Gransee's books and happened across this one. I loved this book as a child! It was one of the books I had from my mother's childhood collection, including others like The Little Princess, Alice in Wonderland, and the tales of Arabian Nights. I have such fond memories of this book, and remember very distinctly wishing for my own hidden garden. I love books like this, where I hardly remember the plot, but I remember the feel of reading the book like it was last mont More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Jan 15, 2009

Jeanne rated it:

I read this book about every five years or so. For me it captures the sense of secrecey that hides much more than a garden...the inner workings of a child's mind, that adults have no clue about! I am also reminded that the same is true for many adults, myself included. After reading this book, I always feel a renewed sense of commitment to getting to know poeple beyond the public surface and letting more people see the real me.

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Dec 12, 2007

Gabrielle added it

I love this book. This is probably the first time I realized that I could go away, find a place to hide in, and make my own. I guess this is how I found my passion.

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jun 28, 2011

Sherri rated it:

Mary Lennox appeared in my life some time in elementary school, my most memorable encounter with a main character who wasn't the usual sweet, nice, pretty girl spreading sunshine and rainbows where ever she went. I liked her right off. Her search for acceptance and family resonated with me.

Of course, as the novel progresses, Mary begins her transformation into that sweet, nice girl who can be loved by others and she fades into the background as Colin takes center stage. That littl More...

7 comments like (5 people liked it)

Apr 11, 2011

Mai rated it:

I've had this book on my bookshelf for months. I don't know why I got the urge to read The Secret Garden. Perhaps it was the row of badly written paranormal books I've been trying to read lately, or the approach of summer. Either way, I'm glad I did.

I can remember trying to read this book years ago, after finishing Burnett's A Little Princess (which I loved), and having a hard time getting through it. Now that I'm older, and have spent some time gardening, the message and appeal of More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 05, 2007

Josephine rated it:

This was one of my favorite books as a child, and I still love it. I love that Mary & Colin blossom as the garden blossoms, and that when they focus their energies on helping something else to grow, they begin to grow too. It's really a beautiful story.

Reading it again as an adult, it was a little hard to get past some of the eurocentric notions (the pure, healthy English air essentially "cures" Mary of her Indian-ness) and there's a bit of law-of-attraction rhetoric ala " More...

6 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 15, 2008

Anneke rated it:

My favorite children's book... Probably... I have many favorites, loved for many different reasons.

This was one of the first books I can remember my mother reading to me and I have read it many, many times since. I'm not sure if my love of gardens and gardening comes from the book or my love of the former ensures the appeal of the latter.

The idea of a place lost and unkempt being found, kept all to one's self, explored and nurtured until it is beautiful again has such res More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Ngoc rated it:

Secret Garden is one of my absolute favorite books ever. I don't even know how to describe my love of this book. Maybe because I am a bit contrary (Mary, Mary, quite contrary).

I love imaginating all of the scenes in the story: the vast moors, the lonely house, the lifeless gardens. I don't think I could relate to Mary because I didn't have a lonely childhood: I had friends and sisters and a loving family, but I did very much identify with her. Maybe I loved imagining being in that b More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Jan 05, 2012

Alan rated it:

This book was there for me during a time in my life that was less than satisfactory. Therefore, I am endebted to it, and feel that a rating of anything less than a five would be ungrateful. Read it if you want to feel a little joy in the darkness, the faerie whisper that everything is going to be alright. Only a fool follows fairies whole-heatedly, though, so be on the lookout that while you're being drawn into the spell woven through Burnett's language it is your sorrow, and not your soul that More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 23, 2009

Denisat. is currently reading it

that if you try maybe hard or look harder youll find something interesting. mary a main character find a boy in a room locked up and hes sick but his dad wont come and see him but now he wants mary to come n see him its a interesting book if u love classics or sort of mysteries u should read it and find out more....

NOW Mary and her friends made the secret garden alive again. MARY made colin get out in the freash air and now he can see alot of things he used to be in his room f More...

5 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 23, 2008

Kristen rated it:

I can't remember how many times I've read this book. I've loved it for years. Book, movie, musical - all of 'em. Although, if I remember correctly, I saw the musical first.

Like most books that you read multiple times, I always notice something different or new in each reading. In this one, it was the sense of joy that I had when Colin first discovered Spring. And how he spoke of the Magic that pushes seeds up through the dirt, I felt that elation and understanding, and I'm not sure I More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jul 05, 2011

Amelia, the pragmatic idealist rated it:

This is one of my favorite childhood books ever!!! When I was little, we lived in this area of Fort Worth where our backyards opened up to this park, and it wasn't really a garden but I always thought of myself as Mary Lennox walking around (haha I definitely had her attitude!). Not only is this one of the most wonderful childrens books ever, it's a truly timeless classic: the best stories are the ones that are applicable to every generation.
The story is also the basis for one of the grea More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

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