The Secret Garden is a joyful and passionate tale of childhood reliance, relationships, and healing. I felt consistently through the book as if Burnett related to the children he wrote about and due to this, he manages to carry an air of mystery and childish glee throughout the story without making the characters feel particularly 'young'. Their intelligence and personalities felt authentic. 
The ending was surprisingly abrupt which I found disappointing in comparison with the vast descriptiveness and detailed telling of the rest of the book, but there was something rather playful about it, which made it feel like a purposeful choice. 
There are moments of racism in the writing - mostly concentrated at the beginning of the book - which take you jarringly out of the story. I found the casual presence of such passages uncomfortable to read and acutely poignant against the setting of a warm children's story. 

It's a classic for a reason! This book was an utter delight to read. I felt that the author got the level of tension just right - you never thought the protagonist might fail but the tension arose from the progression of her character and the way that others changed around her. It was hopeful and a joy to the end, although the events of the first few chapters before Mary comes to the manor in England are quite full on - this is a kid who has experienced some serious trauma! You also get the impression that she's younger than she is and it isn't until maybe two thirds of the way through the book that you discover she's ten. I'm so glad to have read this book and the 2011 edition I read is a truly beautiful paperback from the 'Penguin Threads' series, featuring exquisite textured cover artwork by Jillian Tamaki.