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The graphics are usually what draw you in and keep you interested in a graphic novel. These illustrations were a little too plain for me. I usually love reading back through a graphic novel and seeing the details I missed the first time. It did progress from muted grays and browns in the beginning, as expected, towards more colorful illustrations at the end but not enough to make me what to read through it again.

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I loved Mariah Marsden's graphic novel adaptation of <i>Anne of Green Gables</i>. However, I found <i>The Secret Garden</i> less satisfying. If I hadn't already known the plot, I would have been confused about many details - why was Mary sent to Misselthwaite Manor? What's wrong with Colin? I also felt like the personalities of some of the characters like Archibald Craven, Ben, and Dickon didn't come to life. Still, I do think this will introduce a favorite classic to some new readers. Hopefully it will encourage them to read the original.

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this graphic novel adaptation took the best parts of frances hodgson burnett's secret garden and brought them to colourful life, much like mary, colin and dickon with the garden.

it portrays a strong sense of the interconnectedness between life, nature, and relationships with beautiful and expressive art. the flow between the illustrations and words completely immersed me in the magic of the story, even in its segmented format.

i’m happy the racist, colonial themes were left out and appreciated the detailed explanations and definitions in the back. it was executed flawlessly for its intentions, in my opinion. i can’t wait to introduce this version to my young daughters before they read the classic and watch the movie.

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First of all, thank Netgalley for providing me with this graphic novel. Having said this, I make it clear that my review will be completely honest.
The graphic novel is the novelized version of the book of the same name The Secret Garden, a book that although I have not read (but I have) I already knew the story, since when I was a child I used to see the animated series that existed and the movie. It was a story that I loved and I liked to see the evolution of the characters, in this novel it shows us the story of Mary, who recently lost her parents and now has to live with her uncle, here she discovers that she has a living cousin locked in his room since he is sick and will die young so the servants of the house consent to everything, turning him into a spoiled child. We will also meet Dickon, the brother of one of the house maids, who will show him the beauty of the outside world. By accident Mary discovers a secret garden that belonged to her uncle's wife, but when she dies it is closed, and for fear that they will not let them go to this place anymore they decide to keep it a secret, here they can be free, and we can see how characters evolve, learn to be better people and influence adults.
A beautiful story, obviously the story is summarized here, but it does not take away the beauty, the drawing is simple but it gives it a special touch, it is according to the story.
for me it deserves a 4 out of 5 stars since the adaptation could have been a little longer.

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Such a fun and heartwarming read. I loved the simple elements of childhood imagination, the reality of earth magic. The illustrations were beautiful and captivating, the expressions of the children very fun to watch and discover.
The only concern I have is the fast pace that sometimes made it hard for me to trully experince the magic and the contagious happiness of the children.

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I think I just love the original too much. The illustrations are beautiful, and the core of the novel are there. My favorite line is even there (Might I have a bit of earth?. But it feels like so much is left out. New generations will love this. It's such a perfectly condensed version of an enduring classic. I was able to read an advanced copy thanks to NetGalley

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Perfect if you would like a quick recap of the book this graphic novel is based on, you get the feel of the story with excellent illustrations and only a few words.

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The Secret Garden by Mariah Marsden and illustrated by Hanna Luechtefeld was such a fun read! It brought me back to a very cozy time during childhood where you enjoy the outdoors and find yourself in nature while enjoying spring. The illustrations were stunning and were able to make me feel as if I were in the book with the main character and traveling with her. This was a nice update to the original The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. This book can be enjoyable for many age groups and can be a great read for the Spring time!

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When I was in middle school I read the novel The Secret Garden and I really liked the story, I found it whimsical and interesting (for a 10 year old), it was able to capture my attention. So having the experience of rereading the same story but in a graphic novel format was great. I liked the art style, and if I was a kid experiencing the story for the first time I would definetely prefer this format than the traditional novel.

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4.25/5 :)

I read the original secret garden when I was little but don’t remember much, and never had much interest to re-read it again. But this graphic novel adaption caught my eye with this stunning cover so I just had to check it out. It definitely did not disappoint :)

The art style and colors are beautiful and to my liking. The colors are pretty and pleasant to look at. And I loved how it changed as the story progressed and the mood changed. I loved seeing the details in Mary’s facial expressions and how much she and her entire vibe changed at the end compared to the beginning.

Although I thought things were resolved a little too fast, it’s the perfect graphic novel length for a relaxing comfort read and for a younger audience. I love how they included a glossary at the end, i thought that was really thoughtful and would be really helpful especially to young readers.


If you don’t want to or have already read The Secret Garden, then this is the perfect read for you. I might even read it now that I’ve read this graphic novel version :)

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This was absolutely perfect. The illustrations were beautiful and adorable, and the story reflected perfectly the original source material. It’s a wonderful little graphic novel based on a classic. There is also a lot of interesting info about the author I didn’t know about in the back of the book, as well as some history on British colonialism in India which would be great to educate children on. Highly, highly recommend.

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This was my first time ever reading The Secret Garden and I’m so happy I started with this graphic novel adaptation! The artwork was beautiful! The illustrators did such a great job creating artwork for these scenes from the original story! They even were able to create pictures that were okay being left without dialogue! I would love to see the colors and the artwork once it’s published into a paperback!

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I love the art style of this graphic novel. The fact that it's a children's classic made it more interesting because I tend to get intimidated with classic books. It was astonishing and a very cute adaptation. I think children would enjoy how adventurous and awe-inspiring it was.
I was having a rather bad day and this book really cheered me up. It was a very comforting read. I am excited for more adaptations by these artists. I would recommend it.

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The cover of this book is what really grabbed me at first, i've never read the original classic, but i'm a huge fan of retellings and graphic adaptions, so I couldn't say no to this. In terms of the plot, i'd compare it to an abridged adaption of the original book, perfect for introducing new/younger readers to the story before they tackle the full thing. While I found some parts vague (and the author's notes at the end show some of this was for good reason), what I really enjoyed was the focus on the characters and their feelings and relationships.

The illustrations are lovely, with vibrant colors, fantastic depictions of the flora and fauna of the garden and surrounding moors, and simple character designs that leave room for their expressions and personalities to shine.

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Thank you to Netgalley for this advanced readers copy.

I have never actually read "The Secret Garden" Novel, so it was really interesting to read this graphic novel adaptation.

I really liked the style of drawing, the simplistic linework felt very child-like, which added to the child-like whimsy of the story. I feel like there was enough of the original source material that I didn't lose the plot along the way. The changes that were made feel like an update to what I know about the original. it feels modern and more current even though it has the same victorian English setting. This is definitely a great book to help new readers jump into classic children's literature.

I especially loved the note in the back of the book explaining what was updated or omitted due to issues of racism. I think it was important that they acknowledged that the source material has those elements, but it doesn't need to continue into the text.

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This was such a joyous and wonderful read, I loved it!

The art style is so charming and delightful, I really need to check out more works by this illustrator.

The graphic novel wasn't as detailed as a book but it was pretty decent.

I would recommend it to younger children, they would certainly enjoy the story and maybe gain an interest in reading a book someday.

All in all, a lovely graphic novel.

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Lovely graphic novel version of The Secret Garden. The illustrations are gorgeous and completely embody the spirit of the book. I did a read aloud with my five-year-old daughter (she's seen the movie from the 90's) and she adored it. She pored over the full-page illustrations and looked forward to bedtime when we were reading it. A must-by for libraries and children's bookstores.

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So pretty and so sweet! A really quick read for all ages. I haven't read the original The Secret Garden so I can't compare the two (I do intend to read the novel eventually) but I really enjoyed slowly flipping through this graphic novel. The art is simple and cute and I'd love to have this in my collection just so I could flip though it again and again.

Review copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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I’m really digging all the new graphic novel adaptations that have been coming out. Embarrassed to say I’ve never read the original Secret Garden Novel, but was blown away with this adaptation!

The story revolves around a young girl whose been orphaned, so she clearly has some emotional trauma. She’s sent to live with a distant uncle who lives on a Moor. It’s during her stay there that she opens up and truly begins to be herself again, and so does everyone else around her.

Before her arrival tragedy had struck the manor, resulting in the “Secret Garden” being locked away for years. She of course with a little magic uncovers the garden and brings color both figuratively and literally back into everyone’s world.

This was a breathtaking story, I couldn’t put it down. I recommend it for all ages, it teaches us to value what we have and to be kind, also that sometimes people just need a little love and kindness.

I know that some people had trouble with the art style, to each their own. I personally found it to be perfect for this story, it wasn’t over the top but just the right amount of simplicity. Truly breathtaking.


Thank you to NetGalley and the amazing publishers/authors for giving me a chance to read & review such a wonderful story.

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The Secret Garden is one of my favourite classics, so of course I jumped at the chance to read this graphic novel adaptation of the story. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations, it doesn't do the original story justice, and it's liable to annoy people who are tired of whitewashed history.

The main problem I see here is that, if you don't know the original story, you're going to be confused because the format leads to a glossing-over of many plot points and the character development is weak (and inconsistent with the original). For some reason, the decision was made to remove any mentions of India from the story (purportedly because "they don't do justice to the history of British oppression in colonial India"), rendering Mary an inexplicable orphan with no backstory and no reason for her appalling behaviour toward those she feels are beneath her. The British were in India and they acted like racist jerks; can we please not try to "fix" the problem by ignoring it?

In the original story, Mary is a lot more sour. Here, we see a badly developed child character going through the motions of the story. Even the artwork doesn't really convey the emotions of this hurt little girl very well, as the drawings make everyone look much the same. Colin is probably the best developed out of all of them, but only because he's such an over-the-top character to begin with.

I can't put my finger on the intended audience here, either. There's not a ton of text (there are many panels with no text at all), so it might be okay for younger readers. However, like I mentioned earlier, those who are unfamiliar with the original story are liable to be confused and/or underwhelmed by the rather thin plot as it's presented here. There is some historical information at the back, along with a strange glossary that defines many words that are only used in the author's note. While the factual information about Frances Hodgson Burnett, India, and the English countryside is nice, I don't really know why we needed a glossary. (And I don't know why India was too taboo a topic to include in the graphic novel itself, when it was okay to put in the notes at the end.)

Perhaps fans of the novel who want to read every adaptation will get more out of this than I did. I love the original story... but this graphic novel definitely did not measure up.

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