A story about a secret garden which will be great to read to kids before bed time.

Loved the amazing graphics and it’s a story that gives hope and determination
Sadly it was too childish for me but I would give it a 3 ⭐️ And recommend it to kids all over the world.

This is a lovely format to present this classic story. This rendering does not provide us with much of Mary’s backstory, which I think leaves the tale a bit hollow. Although it deviates slightly from the original story, it maintains sufficient ties that it does make for a great graphic novel. The illustrations are lovely and add an additional incentive to enjoy this rendering of the story.

A tale retold with lovely pictures and with minimal words to make it easy enough for young readers and still accurate and interesting for big kids. I fell in love with The Secret Garden when I was young and I was hoping to find a book about it to share with my own children at an even younger age to get them interested in nature. I will certainly be purchasing a copy for my collection. Beautiful and magical!

What an absolutely beautiful adaptation of this classic children's story. I really loved the illustrations and the story felt complete in this format in a way that was very cleverly done. Charming and magical.

(netgalley arc)

I have not read the novel before, therefore I went into this without any prior knowledge or expectations.

If you are looking for a soothing, adorable read, this graphic novel is certainly a very good choice. The dialogues and character interactions warmed my heart.

The art is beautiful, especially when it comes to the flowers and animals...the secret garden felt truly magical, the artist did a great job bringing it to life.

I truly appreciate the last part of the novel as it elaborates on the historical and social context of the author and book. Especially today, problematic issues have to be thematized and discussed openly which this book does.

I previously loved Marsden’s adaptation of “Anne of Green Gables” and it was lovely revisiting her art.

This graphic novel adaptation of The Secret Garden was absolutely charming. The illustrations, the colors, the growing life and friendship between the characters, loved it!

This was a very sweet story about family, making friends and healing. I never read the original book so I cannot say how faithful the adaptation is, but I felt that it captured the heart of the story well. The graphic novel is clearly done by people who know how to capture moments moods well and it was a very smooth read. Recommended to anyone who is looking for an uplifting, light read.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

The Secret garden: A graphic novel is a sweet book about a little orphan girl who is sent from the city to live with her uncle. Her uncle is away al ot and upon his return visits he is very depressed due to him losing his wife to a tragic accident leading to him locking up the forbidden garden that she discovers. After finding the key hidden in the garden and unlocking the secret hidden door, a kind of natural magic is released and it captivates her and her little group of friends she makes upon discovering it including her cousin who is locked away in a room on his own. He is told he is sick and that he is going to die, but upon going into his mother's garden he becomes happier, freer and rejuvenated.
This version, visually, is great but I found the text a little below what I hoped - I just felt there was something missing. Overall I enjoyed this book but it isn't one I would highly recommend.

this was adorable! the art was really pretty and the story is so sweet. i'll admit i haven't read the original, but i did watch the movie and thought it was pretty good, so this wasn't my first experience with the secret garden.

i wish that there'd been more detail but then it would have been longer and i guess since it's a kid's book, it really shouldn't be that long. although, since it's basically all pictures, you could get away with it so actually! more details please!

overall, i'd recommend this, it was rather cute and anything that helps me say i'm well-read is a good book in my opinion.

This secret garden is a lovely illustrated book for children. The story is an old one published in 1911. It is a creative book that really pulls the imagination of children and puts them in a different light.
I do have to wonder if ignoring the racism and oppression of Indians in the original book was the right thing to do?

I liked the story, but I think that the colours were quite muted and sometimes I couldn't read the text.
I also think that the illustrations could be a bit better.
Overall it is not one of my favorites

Thanks Netgallery for giving me a copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review.
I love reading graphic novels, they are very good, entertaining and leave beautiful messages, this was no exception.
I didn't know what to expect since I wanted to read it because of how beautiful the cover is and I ended up surprised.
I was expecting something childish but it wasn't, although the protagonists are very young, it deepened into various delicate topics from a positive point of view, which I liked a lot.
It entertained me, it was a quick and easy read. The end was precious.
So if you like graphic novels and you're looking for something quick and entertaining to read, you're in the right place.

Thank you NETGALLEY

This is the way I’ll be reading this book or introducing it to my child. This gave me the movie vibes and completely skips over the colonialism ((the author has a note on that that I appreciated because it’s very simple for children readers to understand and be able to start a conversation with our kids))

The Secret Garden was one of my favorite books as a child, although as an adult I now recognize the racist aspects of it. After reading that the graphic novel removed the parts of the story that take place in India, I was curious to see how it would compare to the original.

The art style of this book is fairly simple. It was easy to see the way Mary changed over the course of the book just by looking at her expressions. Even from the beginning, her face completely changed when she was curious about something, showing that she will be able to change from being grumpy all the time. Her “angry/grumpy” face was almost extreme to the point of comical, but I understand the intention to make her expressions very different depending on how she was feeling. I do wish that a book about gardens, spring, colors, flowers, etc had had more vibrant and colorful artwork, at least in the secret garden itself.

I try to think of adaptions from two points of view - how does it compare to the original and how does it hold up on its own, regardless of the original? When considering the first question, this does feel like a simplified version of the story. Some aspects were left out with no explanation, such as Mr. Craven having a hunched back; due to this, the idea of Colin possibly having a hunched back was never brought up, either. “Magic,” as far as I can remember, was pretty explicitly tied to Christianity/God in the original book; in this, it’s more of a general spirituality and more related to the “magic” of the environment and things growing. Personally, I like the change, but it’s worth noting.

Held apart from the original, I did enjoy this book. There were a couple parts that couple potentially be confusing to readers who don’t know the source material - as far as I could tell, there’s no real reason given why everyone thinks Colin is sick and going to die. Also, because so much of Mary's backstory was removed, we never understand why she's so ill-tempered - there's no information about how spoiled she was, how her parents ignored her, etc. I also didn’t think the book was as moving as the original, but that might just be because I’m not the target age for it anymore!

The real question, though, is is this really a book that needed an adaption? The book acknowledges that the original didn’t “do justice to the history of British oppression in India” and that they changed the story to account for this. I realize this is a classic that many people read in childhood and still love, but… why not choose a book that didn’t need these changes? Why continue to promote an author who held racist beliefs and choosing source material that makes these beliefs clear? I love that books are being adapted into graphic novels and that kids who may otherwise have never heard these stories will get to enjoy them in a medium they may be more drawn to. But there are so many stories out there that don’t promote colonialism, racism, etc that would make excellent graphic novels. That being said, I think the author absolutely made the right choice to remove these aspects from the adaption, although, as I mentioned, it created some confusion in the plot of the book.

This was a charm adaptation of the original story. It intentionally leaves out the British occupation of India (explained in the well thought of author's note) while keeping the heart of the story true. You cheer for Mary as she grows her garden and becomes a better person for it. There is not enough character development, but there. is just enough to get the gist of the characters and might invite interest in the original text. There's also a glossary of words that I'm sure younger readers will find useful)

Full disclosure, I do not like the "original" The Secret Garden. I read it for the first time earlier this year and thus have no fond childhood memories attached to it, and I know I'm in the minority there, but I guess it puts things into perspective when I say I quite enjoyed this.

First off, the things I don't like from the actual book, the racism, colonialism, Mary and Colin being utterly absurdly awful, you know, the works, are addressed at the end of this one, as well as the reasons as to why they chose to remove those things from this adaptation. I really liked that, because it's not actually a different story, but with the original fresh in mind it was almost jarring to read the same story and it was so different, but in a good way?

Anyway, it really is just what it says on the tin: a graphic novel adaptation of The Secret Garden. At times more art than words (and what art, the illustrations are super soft and gentle and the colours are just.. yes) it's a great supplement to the original and I could imagine it would be great in a classroom for kids of all ages.

Secret Garden is a treasured story from my childhood. This graphic novel edition of the story will make a lovely addition to any fan of Frances Hodgson Burnett.

(I will update the review closer to publication date).

I'd like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley!

I loved this so much. The author’s note was wonderful and addressed some of the problematic elements of the original novel and gave backstory on the author, Frances Hodgson Burnett.

The color palette of Hanna Luechtfeld’s artwork is soft and springy, and compliments the atmosphere of the novel and the storytelling of the graphic novel. I love the way Mariah Marsden decided to retell this novel and amplify the nature and magic and love in it. I think this is a great way to revisit this classic but also a wonderful way to share the story with younger readers as well!

I received an eARC copy from Andrews McMeel Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

For the first time ever reading The Secret Garden, I am so happy that I stumbled upon this delightful graphic adaptation; I have thoroughly enjoyed this lovely read, and I've felt loved while reading it.

The Secret Garden is a story of a young orphan, Mary, who was sent out to live with her uncle in a mansion on the dreary moors. She seems immediately drawn to them and ready to explore her surroundings, seeing the moors being somewhat off-limits to her and her movement around the property. In the beginning, Mary seems very cheeky, perhaps even rude at times, but things take a better turn when she meets her new unique friends. There is a robin, a pretty little bird that brings Mary joy when chirping. She meets a young boy with a mobility impairment, Mary's cousin Colin, who finds pleasure, warmth, and love when Mary visits him for a talk. Not to forget Dickon, a boy that understands the language of animals and plants, and helps Mary learn about the secret garden, how to care about the flowers, animals, and how to melt her uncle's heart.

Mary, as the main protagonist, grew with each sentence, panel, situation, and page. I loved how her directness found its way into people's hearts. Her words and actions moved others to change themselves for the better; her uncle and Colin became welcoming and appreciative of Mary's efforts while at the same time absorbing the new surroundings with their hearts and eyes open for new experiences.

While reading about the original novel, the synopsis and the reviews, I realised that some elements from the original story were omitted in this graphic adaptation. However, I think this took away nothing from the story presented here to us, the readers, as we focus on Mary and her experiences with new friends and a new secret place nobody had the right to enjoy for such a long time. Skipping the part that "doesn't do justice to the history of British oppression in colonial India" mentioned in the writer's note at the end of the book was a great and creative move; highly appreciated by me.

The art style looks so endearing and somewhat nostalgic. I wished to be a child again so that I could, perhaps, enjoy this graphic translation of one of the classic works of literature more. I loved the colourful settings and the intricate detailing of each panel, bringing spirits of secrets and magic, family closeness, and healing into the story.

The new and fresh perspective this nostalgic, whimsical, emotional graphic novel brings will be pure joy for all lovers of the original The Secret Garden.

Loved this story as a child and it was so fun to walk down memory lane with this graphic novel. I appreciated how true to the original story this was and the illustrations were beautifully done! Definitely recommend this one for other graphic novel lovers who enjoy a good classic read too!