While it stayed true to the story, it is heavily pared down and does not have nearly the detail of the original and therefore (in my opinion) loses much of its charm, sense of mystery, and the character development of all the main players. However, I will say that the illustrations were lovely and I enjoyed the nice garden vignettes. But I do hope that any child who picks up this graphic novel has the wherewithal to then pick up the original for they are surely in for a treat!

This was a wonderful graphic novel adaptation of the classic story. The artwork was absolutely beautiful. The style was fitting, the palette used was perfect for the story, and I love how many illustrations went onto the next page.

This was such a cute retelling! Retelling a classic through a graphic novel brings a lovely modern twist to the story. The Secret Garden in particular works incredibly well as a graphic novel. The biggest thing that stood out to me were the illustrations. All of the illustrations were absolutely gorgeous and enthralling. The colour palette used for the illustrations gave it more of a classical or almost gothic feel which I quite enjoyed, like a reminder that even though it's a retelling it's still a classic story.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book.

I absolutely loved this book! It was a super sweet read!
Here's why you need to read it too!

🌺A graphic novel interpreted from the much-loved children's classic!
🌻The illustration is simply superb!
🌼It was a wonderful way to refresh my memories of this story!
🌷Wonderful morals provided via the characters' arcs!
🌱The themes of friendship, love (romantic, platonic, and familial), were done really well!
🌸It was an overall very refreshing read because of the aspect of nature that was brought in!
🌹Since it was also a graphic novel, it was quite short.

🌲🌿🌴🌳🍂🍁🍃
And since it was all about a secret garden, here's a beautiful garden for you all!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this!
I adore the art style of this graphic novel.
Although I haven't read the original Secret Garden, I'm aware of the problematic aspects - or rather, the unlikeable characters of it, but this retelling painted a much kinder version.
I was blown away by the illustration and the colors.
It was very easy to read, and I prefer graphic novels that are less wordy, so this was very easy to breeze through.

I was so lucky to get this book as an ARC copy from NetGalley and the publishers - thank you!


The novel is, of course, shortened down. It doesn't have as many details (or text) as the original, obviously.
Frankly, it wasn't really detailed enough for me. I love details in books, and I look back on the movie with so much nostalgia that I just miss a lot of things from it.
I have mixed feelings about the art. The style is not really my type.
But it wasn't bad at all and actually managed to give a bit of the magic I remember from the movie.
I feel like the style is a bit too children/cartoon-ish, which makes me think it is a perfect book for younger children who haven't yet reached the reading level of the original.
It also would make a wonderful learning-to-read book but doesn't really work as well for an adult audience - especially someone with very high nostalgia expectations like myself.
In the end, though, I did enjoy reading it. It was fun to make it back to the garden - even in an abridged version.

*thank you to Netgalley, Andrews McMeel Publishing and Mariah Marsden for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*


3.5 stars.

As you may know, I absolutely adore The Secret Garden and have many versions of the story, so to see it as a Graphic Novel to add to my collection, of course I was going to grab it if I could.

While I tried to keep in mind that I had to keep my high love for this at bay and base my thoughts from a non bias place, I did find it tricky. But I still stand by my thoughts on this. 3.5 stars from me means that it is slightly better than 'Good/I enjoyed it.'

From the beginning it felt too choppy. I feel that it needed more of the storyline added into make more sense of what was happening. But further into the book, I got into the flow of it and it seems that the main points and a few bonus ones, did find their way into the pages.

It did end up making me feel the magic of the story which I wasn't sure it was going to, so I was pleased by this.

The illustrations I warmed up to and I'll admit, I wasn't a fan right away but enjoyed them by the end.

As this is targeted probably at a Middle Grade level, or as a first introduction to the classic story, it's quite good for that. It gives you the basic storyline and a feel for why all of us out there, love this story so much.

The added touch at the end of the book, where there is information on the original author, was really welcomed. I would like to buy an actual copy of this and would recommend it to all.

This lovely graphic novel adaptation does a good job of making this classic novel more accessible to young readers of the next generation. I really appreciated the history and vocabulary explanations listed at the end of the graphic novel, but my only problem is with the content that was removed from the graphic novel. While it was in the historical acknowledgements, I think showing even a brief visual of how Mary was served by her ayah in India would have been a powerful conversation starter for young readers. This would even just give the whole shoe thing at the beginning of the story a little more context. Mary and Colin's nastiness was also lighter than I remember the original novel being, making this version light and breezy.

A beloved classic with a new twist! I love graphic novels! I don’t know why I shied away from them for so long. To me, they are like comic books on steroids. And the illustrations are simply beautiful! A whole book with so much beautiful artistry on every page. It’s a little like being a kid again for me, if I’m being honest!

Hanna Luechtefeld has done an outstanding job of bringing the story to life through pictures. Each page was worthy of taking extra minutes to study the details of the artwork!

Mariah Marsden did a wonderful job of adapting the story to a graphic novel platform. Easy to understand and enjoyable for all ages.

If you haven’t given graphic novels a try, this is the perfect one to begin with!

Thank you to #AndrewsMcMeelyPublishing and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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.

Do you ever get that feeling when you see that a beloved story is being adapted, and you worry it isn’t going to do it justice? Well the @andrewsmcmeel graphic novel adaptation of The Secret Garden is absolute perfection, so no worries here! Next to the 90’s movie adaptation with Maggie Smith as Medlock, this adaptation knocked it out of the park. I just reread the original classic this year too, so I am well versed on all of the details.

.

This graphic novel has beautiful, whimsical, and detailed illustrations that draw you in. There is enough actual text to convey the original storyline without it being loaded down with text, and to be approachable for even the most reluctant readers.

.

If you love this classic as much as I do, then you need to check this one out when it come out next month! It is an absolutely beautiful adaptation that will leave you as happy and enamored as the original.

.

Thank you to @andrewsmcmeel and @netgalley for the gifted review copy.

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.

This is more 4.5 stars than 4.

I really loved it!!

I actually haven't read the original book for this, but this graphic novel has made me want to try it! I've heard a lot about it though, and the end notes said that it's pretty popular though I heard about it the first time a couple of months back.

The illustrations were just amazing, and even though they seem pretty simple (the expressions are conveyed through simple lines and dots), they could convey pretty complex emotions. Which is what I like in a graphic novel, really, simplicity can do so much!

The characters were perhaps not the favourite part of this book for me, that certainly goes to the illustrations....I found the MC and her cousin, Mary and Colin to be pretty spoilt and rude characters, but then I think that's present in the original as well? I don't know, but I can't really pass judgement on this having not read the original. I loved Dickon and the maid, Martha, though.

The plot isn't really anything much, though I've seen other reviews say that it's better in the original, so, again, I'll have to read to find out. And the book is mostly illustrations with fewer dialogues than I'd expected, but then again, it's a children's book.

The decision to remove Mary's family's servants which were Indian seems pretty controversial, but I think it was okay? This is a children's book, and I really think heavier topics such as slavery are better explored if done properly in detail, which is not exactly very feasible to do in a short graphic novel, much less in something that is meant for pretty young audiences. The author's note mentioned that they were only mentioned in passing in the original book, which would have meant that if that kind of thing was included in this, it would have seemed as if having slaves who were POC was normalised, which is not the kind of idea you want kids to get.

I would recommend letting children read this, and read the author's note as well, and then leaving it up to the parents to really get into why it was excluded.

On the whole, an amazing, light, and sweet read, though vague in some places. I'd recommend it to children just starting with reading books, around 7-10 years of age.

(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.