The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Tasha Tudor Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $11.54 You Save: $5.41 (32%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $3.46 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of The Secret Garden
Book Review: Thoughts are "as good for one as sunlight is, or as bad for one as poison."
Summary: 3 Stars
A spoiled girl living in India and raised by servants because her mother (Chapter 1) "cared only to go to parties and amuse herself with gay people" and her father "had always been busy and ill himself" was, by six years of age "as tyrannical and selfish a little pig ever lived" and at nine years old, the only remaining of her family, her parents having died during a cholera outbreak. "Self-absorbed" as she was, "she did not miss her [mother] at all" and, after a brief stay at poor English clergyman's house, during which she is dubbed "Mistress Mary Quite Contrary" by his children, is sent to her mother's recluse widower brother at Misselthwaite Manor in England. Cared for, again, by servants in the 600-year-old house situated at the edge of a moor, Mary is allowed to wander and explore from dawn to dusk. And doesn't meet her new guardian, Mr. Wes Craven, for an entire month. Listening to Martha, the housemaid, as she shares stories of her poor but happy life with her loving mother and many siblings, Mary is especially intrigued by anecdotes involving her brother, Dicken, who is said to have a way with wild creatures. Through luck and the help of a seemingly magical bird, friend of a gruff, stoic, tactless gardener (the very gardener who cared for Mrs. Craven's garden), Mary finds the overgrown, abandoned (for ten years) forbidden garden. She learns some secrets about the house and its inhabitants and befriends a sad, sickly boy who believes he will die and so spends all his time indoors terrorizing the servants with his demands. The two form a strong bond and, together with Dicken, share many adventures together in the secret garden. But although the story's message is overwhelmingly positive, there are some negatives, especially the racist views of Mary. In India, she treats the native servants badly. She (Chapter 2) "always slapped her Ayah in the face when she was angry." And is so outraged that Martha expected her to be "black," calls her "daughter of a pig." During the same conversation, she tells Martha that "They [natives] are not people - they're servants who must salaam to you." Racism (and the annoying Yorkshire speech) aside, the children's transformation from spoiled to spirited and the perfectly sappy ending make this an excellent story about the power of positive thinking, friendship and love. Better: Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery.Book Review: Secret No More
Summary: 4 Stars
In the story, The Secret Garden, the main character is a ten year old girl named Mary Lennox. She is a selfish, sour little girl who gets everything she wants. When her parents die, she gets sent off in a train, from India, to her uncle's house, Misselthwaite Manor, in Yorkshire, England.
At the house she expects to get everything she wants, but doesn't. There is nothing to do so she goes outside. Usually she would have sat inside all day in India and have people wait on her, but nothing is the same in England.
Outside, is a vast open land called the moor. There is not much on it except for shrubs and grass. It is fall, so the whole land is gray and empty. Then one evening Mary hears about a secret garden that has been locked up for ten years. Apparently her uncle's wife had died in the garden. So Mary tries to find it.
After awhile she makes friends with a robin who shows her where the garden is. It is surrounded by walls and inside everything is dead. Dry, gray vines hang over the walls, while dead flowers and plants lay aimlessly on the ground.
Everyday Mary tends to the garden with her friend Dickon, an animal charmer, who she met.
He helps Mary make the garden come alive.
Then one night she heard strange crying noises in the house. She went to investigate and found out that it was a boy named Colin who actually turned out to be her cousin. Colin was a spoiled and sickly child, just like Mary used to be, and had tantrums nearly every night. Everyone was ordered to do whatever he wanted. It was also expected that he would die soon, being unable to walk and so sick all the time.
The two children enjoyed each other. Together, they would laugh and play. Soon enough Mary told Colin about the garden and he decided to go see it in his wheel chair.
After he had seen the garden, it was decided that it would be kept a secret and that they would go and play there without anyone ever knowing. Everyday, all three children went outside in secrecy and tended to it, in hope it would come alive. Colin then began walking and soon running.
Finally the garden came alive and it looked just like and better than the children had imagined it. Then one afternoon, Colin's father came home. He saw that Colin was healthy and excepted him. They had become a family once again.
I thought this book was very touching and sweet. It is not the type of book that is full of action, but the plot is simply and has a good message. The way the plot shows changes in the characters makes them come alive more and seem like real people.
Even though the story was good, I thought it was a little slow. The conflicts were not very straight forward and it was a little bit too predictable. For example, Colin cannot walk. He the goes outside, which he would never do. It is very clear that he is going to get stronger and walk.
The slow paste is good for less advanced readers but is nice if you would like to read a less exciting book. So I would recommend the book for relaxed reading.
Book Review: No grownups allowed!
Summary: 5 Stars
I loved TSG as a girl. I'm surprised that young reviewers of today -- even the ones that liked the book -- don't cite the factors that made it my childhood favorite.
1) Unhappy sallow girl sneaks off and transforms herself into glowing swan, while weak boy sneaks off and transforms himself into heroic athlete. (Isn't this every ugly duckling's fantasy?)
2)Children escape into a kids-only world where no grownups rule over them.
3)Children discover a magical wilderness where they can do what they want.
4)Children forge a deep friendship and share a beautiful, mysterious secret which they carefully guard from the eyes of prying adults.
I'm surprised to hear of sixth graders reading this book in class. I'm guessing today's sixth-graders are too sophisticated to appreciate the allure of a secret world. I would recommend the book to children the age of Mary and Colin: nine or ten years old. I think they'll be hooked and will love it forever, like so many others have since its publication.
Book Review: Mary Mary Quite Contrary......
Summary: 5 Stars
So this is where the nursery rhyme came from! Thus starts this well known and beloved tale as young Mary Lennox, raised in India by indifferent parents, is a most spoiled and disagreeable child. After she is orphaned she is sent to live with her recluse uncle Archibald Craven in a large mysterious mansion set amidst the dark moors of England. This story is too well known and beloved by all to rehash the plot all over again. Suffice it to say that this was a lovely tale of two bitter and unhappy young children who were able to find the "secret gardens" within themselves and used that magic to heal their tortured souls, and become healthy, happy children.
I very much enjoyed the author's characterizations of the children, along with the glorious descriptions of the gardens and the animals. All in all a lovely tale, both for the very young and the still young at heart. Five stars.
Book Review: A classic for girls
Summary: 3 Stars
The Secret Garden is a book about a spoiled girl who uncovers the mysteries of the house around her which include, but are not limited too, what is behind the wall, and why is it kept secret. It is a good classic, but girls will enjoy it much more than boys do.