Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Secret Garden

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

197 reviews

nila's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

There parts of the story that focuses on the Garden and Dickon, I though were really sweet and great. But the first third is just full of so much racism, both in amount and degree, that I considered dnf'ing

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priscilla's review against another edition

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hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A classic kids' story with a clear lesson. Parts of the story definitely didn't age well, but beyond that, it has definite charm, and this edition with all the art and interactive elements in it made it all the more fun. I also like how this book is basically all about manifestation.

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viccro's review against another edition

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4.0

I want to give it full points, but there's so much racism

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stavoosh's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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delaylag's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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bubblyfemme's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was such a lovely little book! I had to read it for a uni class but I never felt forced to read. This book has actually helped me with a reading slump I’ve been desperate to get out of.

The writing has aged so well and is so whimsical that it is impossible to not get lost in it.

However There are of course some problematic things within the story that reflect the time period, especially to do with race. So keep that in mind if it upsets you.

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bringmybooks's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

If I've said it once, I've said it a million times (&if I've never said it before, I'll say it now): listening to audiobooks of classic children's literature is SUCH a good way to revisit these stories as adults!

✨ 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 ✨ B̷O̷R̷R̷O̷W̷ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷

[First things first - this book was written in 1910 and there are some parts of it that really did not age well (specifically around the language used to describe both India and Indian people). It's not throughout the entire book, more so in the beginning as Mary Lennox is learning not to parrot insensitive & incorrect information that she's been told, but it's still not great.]

I know that I have read The Secret Garden as a kid, but I also know that it's been at least 25 years since then and it was WILD how much I had forgotten about so much of this book. I think the 90s adaptation did a really good job keeping the spirit of the story and characters (other than Ms. Medlock, who is way more severe in the adaptation). There was a lot more character arc and growth in the book, and more exploration of other characters aside from Mary & Colin, which I really appreciated.

This was one of the last Audible credits I used before switching to libro.fm, and the narrator [Carrie Hope Fletcher] did an AMAZING job with the story! I can't speak to any other audio narrators, but if you use Audible this was well worth the credit 🥰 Overall this was one I was glad I got a chance to go back and revisit!

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autisaur's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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mazzie's review against another edition

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I understand that the story takes place in a time of colonization and that in 1911 many of these views were held for the white audience intended; however, the constant degradation of the South Asian community, especially in a book for children, is extremely tough to be constantly reading. As a person of color, no classic is worth subjecting yourself to ridiculous, persistent hate.

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questingnotcoasting's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I found across this audiobook on Borrowbox and saw it was narrated by Indira Varma. I'd just finished Lords And Ladies which is also read by her and I thought she was so good I decided to listen to this as well. Her accents here were also brilliant and really brought the characters to life. I definitely read this book as a child but my memories of the story might have come mostly from the film because I didn't remember a lot of the details in this. It's still a nice story but it's very much of its time and it was impossible to ignore the way it handles class, disability and race, which did take away some of the charm.

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