I will start by saying that I have never read the Secret Garden. I have never really been interested in reading about it but this graphic novel makes me want to pick it up. The story was sweet and the artwork was beautiful. It really made me want to go find my own secret garden somewhere. I really enjoyed this cute little story,
Also thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an E-ARC.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
TW: Grief

This was good, the art was nice and it would've come across beautifully for a young child to read as it is a children's classic in a graphic novel format. I found it just long enough to convey the desired emotions and atmosphere you get from the classic (which I read so long ago as a child that I can barely remember). I found this beautifully made and while not my personal favorite, I can see 10 years old's reading this multiple times and enjoying it a lot.

4/5 stars
Bookarina.

The Secret Garden: A Graphic Novel by Mariah Marsden, Hanna Luechtefeld
Publication Date: June 15, 2021
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Description from NetGalley…
Ten-year-old Mary Lennox arrives at a secluded estate on the Yorkshire moors with a scowl and a chip on her shoulder. First, there’s Martha Sowerby: the too-cheery maid with bothersome questions who seems out of place in the dreary manor. Then there’s the elusive Uncle Craven, Mary’s only remaining family—whom she’s not permitted to see. And finally, there are the mysteries that seem to haunt the run-down place: rumors of a lost garden with a tragic past, and a midnight wail that echoes across the moors at night. 
 
As Mary begins to explore this new world alongside her ragtag companions—a cocky robin redbreast, a sour-faced gardener, and a boy who can talk to animals—she learns that even the loneliest of hearts can grow roots in rocky soil.
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Thank you to @netgalley @andrewsmcmeel for the digital ARC in return for my honest review.
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My thoughts…
Pretty illustrations. The Secret Garden is one of my favourite books of all time. So, any edition I find, I try to read. This abridged, illustrated edition was lovely. It’s a great way to introduce young readers to this book and to great classics. I really like the colour palettes of this graphic novel. And a great bonus at the back of the book was information about the life of Frances Hodgson Burnett and the “Places and Spaces in The Secret Garden.”

This is a very simple version of the Secret Garden. Now I haven't read the Secret Garden in 30 years so it was a nice reminder. I still enjoyed the story, I appreciated the notes at the end of the book about how they changed the story and why and the research about the author. I can see this being a big hit with my younger students. I will be buy it for my library! While the lack of information takes a little from the book it is still really good and a heartwarming book.

The Secret Garden is a graphic novel adaptation of the original turn-of-the-century classic book by the same name. I liked the art and the overall concept, but ultimately felt like the adaptation didn't bring anything new to the table in the scope of the book. The original book has a magical-like quality to it in the build up to the garden, and I think that gets a little lost in the condensed version here. However, this adaptation could be helpful for young readers or someone who wants to ease themselves into classics, and isn't completely devoid of merit. The illustrations themselves are nice!

I did appreciate the author's note at the end where they explained about France Burnett's life and how and why the Secret Garden was originally inspired. I also appreciate that they mention the colonization of India in its context to the original book.

Thank you to netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

The was a cute version of the original rendition. It is such a sweet story that takes you into a magical world. Great for a middle grade read.

I loved The Secret Garden when I was growing up. I know I read it several times. I felt like I was there in that huge mansion, lonely and sad, looking for some kind of happiness. While the illustrations were truly magical and beautiful, j felt the story part of this graphic novel was missing something. Maybe I’m unjustly comparing my love of the original work I had at the age of 10 with the dulled vision and imagination of a 40 year old but something was missing for me overall.

If you’ve never read The Secret Garden before I think you’d love this version more then someone like me who’s read and loved the original book version.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC I received.

A graphic novel adaptation of the classic story of Mary, an orphan girl who is sent to live with her uncle, and finds her bitterness and sadness turned into hope and kindness by her interactions with a housemaid, the housemaid’s brother, a locked garden, and a relative she isn’t supposed to know exists. All are changed for the better by their time together in the garden.

Having loved what Marsden did with her Anne of Green Gables graphic novel adaptation, I had high hopes for this. And they proved warranted. I really liked this a whole lot better than the original as it makes some of the melodrama more succinct, and still conveys the full power of the message of the story. The art style really fits, and many will appreciate that Marsden and others involved in the creation of this graphic novel chose to cut out the India aspect of the original and some racist sentiments (Marsden talks about this in the back of this book). There’s also a brief bio of Frances Hodges Burnett’s life in the back of the book that was interesting to read. It helps enlighten readers about some of the inspiration for the original author and her most famous stories. Highly recommended to graphic novel fans, and those who want to read the classics but may not have the high reading level or patience for the full novel.

Notes on content: No language issues or sexual content. The deaths of Mary’s parents and aunt in the past are mentioned, but not shown. No violence.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received a pre-published version of this book from NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to provide a sincere and honest review.

This is a wonderful rendition of Frances Hodgson Burnett's book. Marsden and Luechtefeld have created a version of the classic story that is so beautiful, and so easy to understand, that even young readers will want to read this book. Although this is an old story, the illustrations allow the reader to assume that this is a modern tale. Adult readers interested in modern retellings of classic literature will also find this book a necessary collector's item.

This was so lovely. The Secret Garden is one of my favourite books of all time, and this is such a beautiful adaptation. The artwork is ethereal and gorgeous, and has a beautiful way of eliciting the emotions that the characters feel, especially Mary. While it would also serve as a great introduction to Burnett's story, I think those who would most get joy out of reading this are those who are already in love with the story. It's familiar and comforting, but also is a fresh new way to experience the book we love with our whole hearts. I also especially loved the changes the author chose to make to the story, in particular the elimination of Mary's time in British India. It doesn't change the heart of the story at all, and they provide a thorough explanation (in a way that children may understand) why it is not crucial to Mary's story and why it was removed due to the harmful aspects of India's colonisation. Well done.

Thank you for the publisher and for NetGalley for the free ebook!
This was a cute, short graphic novel of The Secret Garden. I actually wanted to read the real story long time ago, and this book helped me to understand what its about and I liked it. So I think soon I will pick it up. The illustrations are nice, if you like more child-like drawings this is for you. I am more like a comic book type of illustration fan, but I think its perfect for middle graders.

A wonderful adaptation of the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The art enhances the classic story of spoiled,. mean, terrible, neglected rich girl Mary Lennox and her snotty, sickly cousin and the healing power of going outside in the garden, playing in the dirt, being nature. If you enjoyed the original book or the 1992 film you will not be disappointed in the graphic novel. Great for kids and adults.

Mary Lennox is not an easy-going child. She has high expectations of the adults around her even though she has just been taken in by her uncle following the death of her parents. The giant estate is mysterious and the servants friendly. There is an odd wailing at night that she is warned to stay away from, but she is determined to find the source, much like she is determined to find her way into the locked garden on the estate.

The Secret Garden, the 1987 Hallmark movie, was one of my favorite movies to watch over and over again as a child. The mystery, the beautiful countryside, the grouchy girl who grows pleasant, and the ailing boy who just needed someone to love him were the perfect combination for my imagination. I did read the book at some point, but the movie is what truly captured my heart. This graphic novel captured it again. The illustrations are gorgeous and the story holds the same intrigue for me. I can see, however, that for readers new to the story, there may be too many gaps they can't fill in on their own the way I can.

I recommend this book for graphic novel lovers and fans of The Secret Garden!

This is a lovely comic adaptation of The Secret Garden. I especially appreciated the "movement" from panel to panel, giving a sense of restfulness and space to the outdoors in the story. The illustrations were beautiful and evocative of the English countryside in a way that pulls the reader in. I also loved that the creators included notes on why they made certain editing choices in this adaptation along with more information about colonization. I would be most likely to recommend this to 1st-7th graders, depending on their individual reading and interest levels.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a graphic novel version of this story. Here are my pros and cons for The Secret Garden:

Pros
1. This is a great introduction to The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The graphic novel format may appeal to children who aren’t interested in reading novels yet.
2. The story is heavy on illustrations and light on words, which may be attractive to reluctant readers (see Con 3).
3. There is a glossary at the end of the book!!

Cons
1. The imagery is nice and appropriate for a graphic novel. However, I wish the faces had been illustrated more realistically. Single lines and dots were used to depict facial features and expressions and it made the characters feel cartoonish. I understand this is a graphic novel, but the rest of the imagery is so nice that the simplistic humans felt a bit distracting to me. Note, however, that the targeted age group probably won’t mind or even notice this.
2. Since I have read the original novel, I feel like this graphic novel format loses a lot of the depth and detail of the original story. However, the general story is still there, and it is clear what is happening on a basic level.
3. There were surprisingly few words in this graphic novel, so occasionally the reader must pay attention to the illustrations to make interpretations about what is going on. This isn’t a bad thing in and of itself, but young readers may miss some detail if they aren’t paying attention.

Summary
While I think this graphic novel version is missing the depth and detail you get from the original story, I do believe it is a good introduction of this classic to children, particularly reluctant readers. Hopefully it inspires them to read the full story, too.

I also think this would be a nice gift book for fans of the original story or for those who enjoy collecting multiple editions of favorite books.

Thank you NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for a free eARC of this book, which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

This is a charming retelling of the classic story, reworked into a graphic novel for the younger reader. As the Secret Garden was a favourite of mine when I was little, I was eager to see the new format.

The bare bones of the story remain intact: Mary, a spoiled child is sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with an distant, widower uncle after the death of her parents. In her loneliness, she befriends the servants and explores the grounds, discovering both a secret garden and her hitherto unknown, hypochondriac cousin, Colin. The children's tending of the garden heals their own emotional wounds, and that of Colin's father (Mary's uncle).

It is a charming story, with a depth to it I never noticed previously. Younger readers will benefit from this introduction into the classic. The illustrations were sweet and whimsical, with excellent use of colour to enhance the mood of the scenes

For myself, though, I found the graphic novel format lacking some of the magic that one would otherwise find when losing oneself in a regular novel.

**Many thanks to Netgalley and
Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**

Such a cute rendition of a classic, with beautiful illustrations all throughout the book. Thanks again to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for feedback.

If you’ve read the classic story, you’ll enjoy reading this graphic novel version that follows Mary all the way to Misselthwaite Manor, where you’ll meet some new friends and a secret just outside the manor! The adapter of this book is also the same person that adapted the “Anne of Green Gables” graphic novel, and Mariah Marsden does a fantastic job (again)! I just recently read the original story earlier this year, so seeing this copy on NetGalley made me excited for there to be a graphic novel version, so you bet I’ll be adding this one to my forever collection (and it releases on June 15th) 😊

An updated graphic novel version of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic novel. When I saw this on NetGalley, I couldn’t say no, as I loved this book when I was younger. This version stays true to the original story, for the most part, but I felt that lacked something. The magic maybe? The found the illustrations to be average at best, and, although, I read through it quickly, I was disappointed. Young readers may enjoy it.

The Secret Garden was one of my favourite classics when I was child. I enjoyed the book and movie growing up, and so I was very happy to read the graphic novel adaptation by Mariah Marsden and Hannah Luechtefeld. Thank you Andrew McMeels Publishing for the e-galley via NetGalley.

The graphic novel follows the original class as it was though with some storytelling changes that the author explains in the author’s note at the end. Mary Lennox’s upbringing in India with her colonialist parents are not explicitly discussed or delved into. Instead, the graphic novel focuses on the magic of the garden and the power of nature to change things for the better. For an adaptation of the original classic, I think that this was the right decision as there are definitely racist elements of the classic novel that would need to be re-evaluated by today’s readers. This graphic novel was an enjoyable and nostalgic return to a childhood classic and I think will connect with young readers today.

This was such a sweet adaptation of the original. I appreciated the author's note on why she left out certain aspects of the original book and loved the glossary in the back as well. I love the story of The Secret Garden and felt the illustrations did an amazing job of capturing the essence of the story.