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crystalisreading's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Confinement, Racism, and Ableism
Moderate: Medical trauma, Medical content, Cursing, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Death of parent, Grief, Vomit, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Lesbophobia, Car accident, Genocide, and Forced institutionalization
Threats of being sent to Indian boarding schoolnimeneth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I also didn't love the characters. Mary was alright, and I liked Flora, but the rest of the characters just felt a little shallow? Not sad I read this overall but I think I set my expectations wrong.
Graphic: Racism and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death of parent and Confinement
rosemina2016's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse and Racism
brooketreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I did find the story predictable. As I said, I haven’t read The Secret Garden so I have no clue how closely it follows that. I found the pacing a little off - this may be just me. I’m not really a fan of historical fiction, so this may have been some of my issue.
Graphic: Confinement, Child abuse, Racism, and Racial slurs
Minor: Death of parent and Classism
spacerkip's review against another edition
2.5
Some of the reasons this didn't quite click are entirely personal - I found the third act conflict pretty triggering (child abuse involving isolation and subjecting someone to harmful medical treatments), so I skimmed through a lot of the last chapters. I also wish there was more time spent in the titular secret garden. I remember there being a lot of attention drawn to different plants and how to tend a garden in the original, and I would have enjoyed seeing this translated with Ontarian plants and wildlife.
All in all, an enjoyable read! Gonna keep going down the list of these remixes.
Moderate: Grief, Racism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Classism and Sexism
queersubtext's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Racism, Child abuse, and Gaslighting
tlaynejones's review
3.75
Graphic: Gaslighting, Abandonment, Death of parent, Confinement, Chronic illness, Classism, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Racism, and Grief
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Vomit
caidyn's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Racism, Medical content, Racial slurs, and Confinement
Moderate: Death of parent and Grief
citrus_seasalt's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
I did, however, really like the pacing of the queer romance. I was appropriately happy when Mary realized her feelings for Sophie, the two's dynamic was genuinely cute, and I liked that unlike a few YA novels, this wasn't a first love scenario. Mary's sapphic identity was revealed earlier on in the story, she originally spent the time thinking about a former crush-slash-almost-friend(which doesn't go anywhere, lol, it's just nice to see childhood crushes represented like that), but later on she develops an actual love for Sophie.
Easily, the Indigenous characters were the most fleshed-out besides Mary. (Which isn't surprising, considering the author.) Flora was a fun addition of much-needed snark when Rebecca was introduced.
Some of the story notes felt repetitive, though, like the titular "bright open" motif. I get that it was used only when needed, but my annoyance came from the tell-not-show writing. Some of the themes of community, loneliness, and different kinds of love could've been gathered from analysis and not spelling them out imo.
Works very well as a children's/middle-grade book, though, if you remove the occasional cursing.
Graphic: Chronic illness
Moderate: Racism, Child abuse, and Confinement
Minor: Grief, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia
kayceeisbookish's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Minor: Gaslighting, Grief, Racial slurs, Death of parent, Confinement, and Racism