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Into the Bright Open
In the Remixed Classics series, authors from marginalized backgrounds reinterpret classic works through their own cultural lens to subvert the overwhelming cishet, white, and male canon. This queer YA reimagining of The Secret Garden subverts the cishet and white status quo of the original in a tale of family secrets wonderful and horrifying.
Mary Lennox didn’t think about death until the day it knocked politely on her bedroom door and invited itself in. When a terrible accident leaves her orphaned at fifteen, she is sent to the wilderness of the Georgian Bay to live with an uncle she's never met.
At first the impassive, calculating girl believes this new manor will be just like the one she left in Toronto: cold, isolating, and anything but cheerful, where staff is treated as staff and never like family. But as she slowly allows her heart to open like the first blooms of spring, Mary comes to find that this strange place and its strange people—most of whom are Indigenous—may be what she can finally call home.
Then one night Mary discovers Olive, her cousin who has been hidden away in an attic room for years due to a "nervous condition." The girls become fast friends, and Mary wonders why this big-hearted girl is being kept out of sight and fed medicine that only makes her feel sicker. When Olive's domineering stepmother returns to the manor, it soon becomes clear that something sinister is going on.
With the help of a charming, intoxicatingly vivacious Metis girl named Sophie, Mary begins digging further into family secrets both wonderful and horrifying to figure out how to free Olive. And some of the answers may lie within the walls of a hidden, overgrown and long-forgotten garden the girls stumble upon while wandering the wilds...
Mary Lennox didn’t think about death until the day it knocked politely on her bedroom door and invited itself in. When a terrible accident leaves her orphaned at fifteen, she is sent to the wilderness of the Georgian Bay to live with an uncle she's never met.
At first the impassive, calculating girl believes this new manor will be just like the one she left in Toronto: cold, isolating, and anything but cheerful, where staff is treated as staff and never like family. But as she slowly allows her heart to open like the first blooms of spring, Mary comes to find that this strange place and its strange people—most of whom are Indigenous—may be what she can finally call home.
Then one night Mary discovers Olive, her cousin who has been hidden away in an attic room for years due to a "nervous condition." The girls become fast friends, and Mary wonders why this big-hearted girl is being kept out of sight and fed medicine that only makes her feel sicker. When Olive's domineering stepmother returns to the manor, it soon becomes clear that something sinister is going on.
With the help of a charming, intoxicatingly vivacious Metis girl named Sophie, Mary begins digging further into family secrets both wonderful and horrifying to figure out how to free Olive. And some of the answers may lie within the walls of a hidden, overgrown and long-forgotten garden the girls stumble upon while wandering the wilds...
288 pages, ebook
First published September 5, 2023
About the author
Cherie Dimaline
20 books1,728 followersCherie Dimaline wins her first Governor General's Literary Award in 2017 with The Marrow Thieves. She is an author and editor from the Georgian Bay Métis community whose award-winning fiction has been published and anthologized internationally. In 2014, she was named the Emerging Artist of the Year at the Ontario Premier's Award for Excellence in the Arts, and became the first Aboriginal Writer in Residence for the Toronto Public Library. Cherie Dimaline currently lives in Toronto where she coordinates the annual Indigenous Writers' Gathering.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 138 reviews
Want to read
September 6, 2023these people are like "gay Secret Garden," which is great and I am here for it, but I would still like to ask what gave them the impression The Secret Garden was straight
Shelved as 'dnf'
October 1, 2023DNF @50%
I don't think there's a problem with this as a remix, it's just that I should have realized the fact that I found the original text material boring might also extend to a different version of it. It took me forever to get halfway through and I'm just not super interested in the premise. I think the writing itself is pretty good and I like the idea of bringing indigenous and queer characters into the story, it's a case of it just not being for me. If you loved The Secret Garden you will probably get on better with this than I did. I received a copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
I don't think there's a problem with this as a remix, it's just that I should have realized the fact that I found the original text material boring might also extend to a different version of it. It took me forever to get halfway through and I'm just not super interested in the premise. I think the writing itself is pretty good and I like the idea of bringing indigenous and queer characters into the story, it's a case of it just not being for me. If you loved The Secret Garden you will probably get on better with this than I did. I received a copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
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July 11, 2023DNF @ 15%. An interesting concept but… YA written as though teens need the material dumbed down, especially ironic here since it’s adapted from a literal children’s book.
Mary Craven’s most fun characteristic is her bad attitude! So why here is she just… shy? Every time this Mary says something rude or offensive, Dimaline gives her an instant out - rude to a servant? She’s just trying to imitate what her dead mother would do! Describe someone as “civilized”? The word choice comes out of nowhere and she instantly realizes she messed up. Asks the servant to help her get dressed to go outside? Mary might have stomped her foot and said “Argh!” but it’s only after the formerly welcoming servant gets a temporary personality transplant and mocks Mary’s lack of coat knowledge in front of an audience. (Don’t worry, a few pages later the servant’s back to brushing Mary’s hair for her and helping her when she cries.)
It’s like the author knew once Mary had been aged up to 15 for the obligatory YA romance plotline, tantrums wouldn’t have the same look… but she was afraid to make Mary really unlikable so she just hedged every single one of her characterization bets.
And where is the tone? Where is the atmosphere? Admittedly my knowledge of The Secret Garden comes exclusively from the 1993 movie so I was mostly hoping for some really lush beautiful interesting settings. So far, Mary’s parents’ home in Toronto and her uncle’s home are identical(ly under-described), and the first memorable reference to nature includes descriptions like the ground being “carpeted” with flowers. The flowers were like… a carpet? The indoor kind? I mean, that’s it?
Idk, barring any twists about parentage I haven’t gotten to yet, it turns out swapping Mary Craven’s travel direction (Toronto to the “wild” Georgian Bay rather than India to England) means that this looks like it’s going to be a book about a spoiled rich white girl learning to be a better person through proximity to Indians (badum ching) and the natural world… I really don’t understand why Dimaline wrote it this way. Am I missing something? Does Mary stop being the heroine at some point? And please tell me what role “half-breed” servant Flora is supposed to play in the narrative - because so far she’s a prop for Mary to react to, not an actual character. Basically the “remixed” concept frankly reads like it was pitched and then never actually thought through. Are all of these “remixed classics” like this? In other words, are they edited at all?
Mary Craven’s most fun characteristic is her bad attitude! So why here is she just… shy? Every time this Mary says something rude or offensive, Dimaline gives her an instant out - rude to a servant? She’s just trying to imitate what her dead mother would do! Describe someone as “civilized”? The word choice comes out of nowhere and she instantly realizes she messed up. Asks the servant to help her get dressed to go outside? Mary might have stomped her foot and said “Argh!” but it’s only after the formerly welcoming servant gets a temporary personality transplant and mocks Mary’s lack of coat knowledge in front of an audience. (Don’t worry, a few pages later the servant’s back to brushing Mary’s hair for her and helping her when she cries.)
It’s like the author knew once Mary had been aged up to 15 for the obligatory YA romance plotline, tantrums wouldn’t have the same look… but she was afraid to make Mary really unlikable so she just hedged every single one of her characterization bets.
And where is the tone? Where is the atmosphere? Admittedly my knowledge of The Secret Garden comes exclusively from the 1993 movie so I was mostly hoping for some really lush beautiful interesting settings. So far, Mary’s parents’ home in Toronto and her uncle’s home are identical(ly under-described), and the first memorable reference to nature includes descriptions like the ground being “carpeted” with flowers. The flowers were like… a carpet? The indoor kind? I mean, that’s it?
Idk, barring any twists about parentage I haven’t gotten to yet, it turns out swapping Mary Craven’s travel direction (Toronto to the “wild” Georgian Bay rather than India to England) means that this looks like it’s going to be a book about a spoiled rich white girl learning to be a better person through proximity to Indians (badum ching) and the natural world… I really don’t understand why Dimaline wrote it this way. Am I missing something? Does Mary stop being the heroine at some point? And please tell me what role “half-breed” servant Flora is supposed to play in the narrative - because so far she’s a prop for Mary to react to, not an actual character. Basically the “remixed” concept frankly reads like it was pitched and then never actually thought through. Are all of these “remixed classics” like this? In other words, are they edited at all?
Want to read
February 4, 2023will die for sapphic secret garden
Want to read
September 3, 2023yes i did grow up on kate maberly movies
January 15, 2024
3.25 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ Cute but underwhelming.
I really love these Remixed Classics! “Self-Made Boys” is the only Gatsby version I’ll entertain on my shelf now, F. Scott Fitzgerald can ch0ke.
As for “Into the Bright Open,” I think I’ll just let it be as it is. I love “The Secret Garden” and it’s already a novel that has a very sapphic energy. Bright Open was explicitly sapphic and I love that, but the execution of the story and characters just didn’t pay off.
I think Cherie Dimaline just isn’t for me. She writes beautifully, but the novels of hers that I’ve read so far drag on more than they should and always fall flat within the last 70 pages or so.
I could get into the racism and yt savior-complex of it all, but it’s nothing that hasn’t been said and done before, so I’m not going to rehash it for this one.
Long story short, I enjoyed the read, but I was ultimately disappointed with it by the time I finished.
I really love these Remixed Classics! “Self-Made Boys” is the only Gatsby version I’ll entertain on my shelf now, F. Scott Fitzgerald can ch0ke.
As for “Into the Bright Open,” I think I’ll just let it be as it is. I love “The Secret Garden” and it’s already a novel that has a very sapphic energy. Bright Open was explicitly sapphic and I love that, but the execution of the story and characters just didn’t pay off.
I think Cherie Dimaline just isn’t for me. She writes beautifully, but the novels of hers that I’ve read so far drag on more than they should and always fall flat within the last 70 pages or so.
I could get into the racism and yt savior-complex of it all, but it’s nothing that hasn’t been said and done before, so I’m not going to rehash it for this one.
Long story short, I enjoyed the read, but I was ultimately disappointed with it by the time I finished.
August 15, 2023
I really liked a lot of the plot dressing here--the Canadian Metis community, the --but aging Mary up into a teenager really...doesn't hit the same. And there was just like.........way less time spent in the Secret Garden and more time in the woods. IDK I love the Remixed Classics series but most of them have been more about aging characters down from adult into teen and I think trying to YA-ify a children's book...well at least in this instance I didn't love it as much as I wanted to.
August 27, 2023
I have to admit I've never actually read The Secret Garden, so I can't judge this as a reimagining, but I can't imagine it topping this book. I read this in one sitting and I felt so immersed in the setting of this story. It's a very atmospheric, well-written story, with a main character who starts out unlikeable but who you also sympathize with. It's on the younger side of YA, which was really nice to see for a change, and I think this would be great to read in schools! This was my first time reading from this author, but it certainly won't be my last!
September 2, 2023
3.5 rounded up.
I enjoyed this creative, queer remix of The secret garden that's set in Georgian Bay, Canada and sees an orphaned Mary trying to help her mistreated cousin and falling in love with a local Metis girl. Feminist with great Indigenous characters, this coming of age romance was a great addition to the Remixed classics series and good on audio narrated by Brefny Caribou. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!
I enjoyed this creative, queer remix of The secret garden that's set in Georgian Bay, Canada and sees an orphaned Mary trying to help her mistreated cousin and falling in love with a local Metis girl. Feminist with great Indigenous characters, this coming of age romance was a great addition to the Remixed classics series and good on audio narrated by Brefny Caribou. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!
February 2, 2024
Fairly simple and obvious where it was heading (given that it’s a remix of The Secret Garden), but enjoyable. I really like the concept of classic stories being redone by authors from marginalized backgrounds to offer a new perspective on an old story. Will likely check out some other Remixed Classics when I need a palate cleanser.
March 25, 2024
This was a sweet, Sapphic retelling of The Secret Garden with indigenous rep. It was written for a YA audience that's younger than I usually read, but I loved all the changes.
September 15, 2023
The Secret Garden was one of my favorite books when I was a child. I had a somewhat fancy copy of it, complete with illustrations on shiny card stock, and while I was a child of the 1980s, I was captivated by the idea of a lonely little girl whom no one really likes finding a magical secret garden and beginning to blossom herself. I’d already read Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix, which is part of this series and a remix of The Great Gatsby, so I was excited to delve into a remix of a book I was quite familiar with.
I really enjoyed this book. It’s definitely not perfect; aging Mary Lennox (in this book Mary Craven, as her father and her uncle were brothers, whereas in the original Mary’s mother and her uncle were siblings) up to 15 years wasn’t necessary at all. I didn’t feel like the arranged courtship between Mary and Thomas March made any kind of sense. While the young folk in the community (aka, the Métis) married very young, Mary’s aunt was a white Canadian and therefore wouldn’t expect a 15-year-old to be thinking of marriage. I suppose it’s more to make the romance plot line a little more realistic.
In the original, Mary is a rather unlikeable girl, having been simultaneously ignored by her parents and spoiled by her ayah, so when she arrives in England after her parents’ death, she is demanding and prone to tantrums. Dimaline holds true to this portrayal of Mary, though her Mary becomes aware that she isn’t the center of the universe a little more quickly. I enjoyed the gender bending of the character of Dickon, who is Sophie in this novel. I just wish Sophie had a little more of Dickon’s magic with animals.
I did appreciate Dimaline’s choice to create a wife for Uncle Craven as a way to explain why Olive (Colin in the original) remained so ill, though reading about it made me so angry as to how someone could do that to a child. I would have preferred more about the secret garden as the story developed, considering that is the central setting to the original book.
I’m so glad these books exist. It’s important to have more diverse voices in literature, and I’m quite enjoying how these authors are telling these classics using their own voices.
I really enjoyed this book. It’s definitely not perfect; aging Mary Lennox (in this book Mary Craven, as her father and her uncle were brothers, whereas in the original Mary’s mother and her uncle were siblings) up to 15 years wasn’t necessary at all. I didn’t feel like the arranged courtship between Mary and Thomas March made any kind of sense. While the young folk in the community (aka, the Métis) married very young, Mary’s aunt was a white Canadian and therefore wouldn’t expect a 15-year-old to be thinking of marriage. I suppose it’s more to make the romance plot line a little more realistic.
In the original, Mary is a rather unlikeable girl, having been simultaneously ignored by her parents and spoiled by her ayah, so when she arrives in England after her parents’ death, she is demanding and prone to tantrums. Dimaline holds true to this portrayal of Mary, though her Mary becomes aware that she isn’t the center of the universe a little more quickly. I enjoyed the gender bending of the character of Dickon, who is Sophie in this novel. I just wish Sophie had a little more of Dickon’s magic with animals.
I did appreciate Dimaline’s choice to create a wife for Uncle Craven as a way to explain why Olive (Colin in the original) remained so ill, though reading about it made me so angry as to how someone could do that to a child. I would have preferred more about the secret garden as the story developed, considering that is the central setting to the original book.
I’m so glad these books exist. It’s important to have more diverse voices in literature, and I’m quite enjoying how these authors are telling these classics using their own voices.
September 11, 2023
Reading a fresh take on a classic always feels like a bit of a gamble to me. This is especially true of books I read as a child, like THE SECRET GARDEN. I read THE MARROW THIEVES by Cherie Dimaline, though. I loved the writing and the way the author puts characters on her pages. I’ve been following the series of remixed classics a little bit (So far, I’ve only read MY DEAR HENRY, but I loved that one, too.), but when I saw that it was Cherie Dimaline who was retelling THE SECRET GARDEN, I could not wait to check it out.
Just like MY DEAR HENRY, the tone and style of the writing made this book feel like a classic. It’s been a while since I read THE SECRET GARDEN, but especially the scenes in which Mary is outside, working in the garden, felt like a perfect homage to the original story. Those scenes were some of my favorites.
Though the original story is set in England, this one is set in Canada, and that worked perfectly. Instead of Martha and Dickon, we have Flora and Sophie, biracial (Indigenous and white) young women who challenge Mary’s snobberies and help her see her world and her new home in a new way.
I loved the way this story centered so much on the relationships between the female characters. Flora and Sophie are mentors and friends. Mary and her cousin Olive form a strong bond as well. There’s also Aunt Rebecca, Mary’s step-aunt, who runs the household with an iron fist. She is also, perhaps, a representation of who Mary could have become if she’d never embraced changes or personal growth.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.
Just like MY DEAR HENRY, the tone and style of the writing made this book feel like a classic. It’s been a while since I read THE SECRET GARDEN, but especially the scenes in which Mary is outside, working in the garden, felt like a perfect homage to the original story. Those scenes were some of my favorites.
Though the original story is set in England, this one is set in Canada, and that worked perfectly. Instead of Martha and Dickon, we have Flora and Sophie, biracial (Indigenous and white) young women who challenge Mary’s snobberies and help her see her world and her new home in a new way.
I loved the way this story centered so much on the relationships between the female characters. Flora and Sophie are mentors and friends. Mary and her cousin Olive form a strong bond as well. There’s also Aunt Rebecca, Mary’s step-aunt, who runs the household with an iron fist. She is also, perhaps, a representation of who Mary could have become if she’d never embraced changes or personal growth.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.
February 9, 2024
Dear review readers Anna and Joella,
tbh idk why i even started this book- i didn’t like the secret garden as a kid, i’m sick of ya, and the concept didn’t even sound good. but i’m so bored so i listened to the whole seven hours unfortunately.
first off, why was mary 15? she reads like a 10 year old. oh it’s bc of the ya romance to “remake” it gay. not everything queer has to just include girls kissing. queerness is so much more and i don’t think the author understood that.
mary also reads this immature and annoying the whole time. it’s one thing for her to grow out of it, but when she’s just as stupid and whiny and bad at communication at the end too, what even is the point? and these traits of hers almost ruin the plot except for the fact that the uncle returns and automatically believes her, which we don’t even see- it’s just one second he comes home, next second the stepmom is being sent away. what???
and going back to the “love” story, sure yes mary has a crush on sophie, because she’s written like any other boringly gay girl character: wEaRs pAnTs oOoO, knows the woods, blah blah blah, but why would sophie have a crush on her? she’s so boring.
and finally, don’t even get me started on the race stuff and “half breed” thing which started, i assumed, in like quotation marks or something, but by the end was still just going on like that even when everything was supposed to be fine and dandy. whole book reads like an annoying white girl turned kind and wonderful by being around POC. ugh.
tbh idk why i even started this book- i didn’t like the secret garden as a kid, i’m sick of ya, and the concept didn’t even sound good. but i’m so bored so i listened to the whole seven hours unfortunately.
first off, why was mary 15? she reads like a 10 year old. oh it’s bc of the ya romance to “remake” it gay. not everything queer has to just include girls kissing. queerness is so much more and i don’t think the author understood that.
mary also reads this immature and annoying the whole time. it’s one thing for her to grow out of it, but when she’s just as stupid and whiny and bad at communication at the end too, what even is the point? and these traits of hers almost ruin the plot except for the fact that the uncle returns and automatically believes her, which we don’t even see- it’s just one second he comes home, next second the stepmom is being sent away. what???
and going back to the “love” story, sure yes mary has a crush on sophie, because she’s written like any other boringly gay girl character: wEaRs pAnTs oOoO, knows the woods, blah blah blah, but why would sophie have a crush on her? she’s so boring.
and finally, don’t even get me started on the race stuff and “half breed” thing which started, i assumed, in like quotation marks or something, but by the end was still just going on like that even when everything was supposed to be fine and dandy. whole book reads like an annoying white girl turned kind and wonderful by being around POC. ugh.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 4, 2024
I'm not a particularly big fan of the Secret Garden, but I remembered liking it fine as a child, so I thought I'd try this reimagining of it. I'm glad I did! I really enjoyed the seamless way new elements were incorporated into the classic novel and I loved the characters and the new plot twists that kept it interesting and engaging.
September 12, 2023
The story is very similar to what I remember of the original, but I like the relocation to Canada with the mostly indigenous cast. And the burgeoning sapphic relationship.
I am really enjoying Mary's transformation and blossoming and the easy flow of the story, as well as how it hits all the nostalgia points from my childhood love of the original. It is written on the younger side of YA, almost middle-grade, which I actually like, since it was originally a children’s book. Even though Mary is aged-up, it’s done in a subtle way that doesn’t impact the story too much, besides making room for the gentle love story.
I love Flora, she's such a sweet and cheerful soul, and she guides Mary to a much happier place.
There is perhaps less time spent in the actual secret garden, and I think that could have been expanded, but in a way time with Sophie comes to stand in for time in the garden.
The entire story feels a bit rushed and I would have liked Cherie Dimaline to slow down and really take her time bringing us into Mary's world. Her transformation would feel more believable if it had been drawn out more as well. As it is, it's rushed so much that nothing really has much impact. Even Rebecca's treachery at the end is quickly resolved by Mary's Uncle Crane returning and setting things right in a few sentences.
The audiobook is well done and the narrator does a great job giving voice to the characters. I love Flora's cheerfulness and the way Mary's spoiled petulance gives way to thoughtfulness. It really shows in her voice.
I have loved every entry in the remixed classics series thus far, and I hope they continue it for a good long time because revisiting childhood favorites that are updated to include more diversity is one of my new favorite things and I am so glad that these timeless stories are being rediscovered by a new generation this way. This one fits nicely in with the others.
*Thanks to NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends for providing an early copy for review.
I am really enjoying Mary's transformation and blossoming and the easy flow of the story, as well as how it hits all the nostalgia points from my childhood love of the original. It is written on the younger side of YA, almost middle-grade, which I actually like, since it was originally a children’s book. Even though Mary is aged-up, it’s done in a subtle way that doesn’t impact the story too much, besides making room for the gentle love story.
I love Flora, she's such a sweet and cheerful soul, and she guides Mary to a much happier place.
There is perhaps less time spent in the actual secret garden, and I think that could have been expanded, but in a way time with Sophie comes to stand in for time in the garden.
The entire story feels a bit rushed and I would have liked Cherie Dimaline to slow down and really take her time bringing us into Mary's world. Her transformation would feel more believable if it had been drawn out more as well. As it is, it's rushed so much that nothing really has much impact. Even Rebecca's treachery at the end is quickly resolved by Mary's Uncle Crane returning and setting things right in a few sentences.
The audiobook is well done and the narrator does a great job giving voice to the characters. I love Flora's cheerfulness and the way Mary's spoiled petulance gives way to thoughtfulness. It really shows in her voice.
I have loved every entry in the remixed classics series thus far, and I hope they continue it for a good long time because revisiting childhood favorites that are updated to include more diversity is one of my new favorite things and I am so glad that these timeless stories are being rediscovered by a new generation this way. This one fits nicely in with the others.
*Thanks to NetGalley and Feiwel & Friends for providing an early copy for review.
August 25, 2023
Mary is a very selfish but lonely little girl so when her parents death and she is being sent to live with her uncle George she is taken aback upon her arrival at how familiar the servant flora is, but she also kind of likes it. Flora even invites 15-year-old Mary to meet her sister Sophie who is around the same age. For the most part however little Mary is alone at night and when she hears noises instead of being frightened she decides to go and check them out this is how she find out about her cousin in the attic. (Instead of Colin the cousin is a girl) she is sick and cannot leave the attic but Mary is just happy to have a friend her cousin will not be her only friend because eventually she does meet Sophie Sophie will be the one who makes a profound difference in Little Mary’s life for the most part this book is only similar to the secret garden but still I found it to be a great book they don’t spend lots of time in the seventh and secret garden in be worn does also child abused in this version as well I have yet to find a remix that is identical to the original only having Those from minority groups as characters are either way I really did thoroughly enjoyed this book. I thought the author did a great job because even if I didn’t know it was a remix I would’ve definitely seen the similarities Nexus Romeo and Juliet but I’m sure not in that order lol! A definite five story. I want to thank McMillan children’s publishing group Ann that galley for my free Ark copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review
February 3, 2024
I was very excited about this book. This is a reimagining of The Secret Garden by wonderful Indigenous writer Cherie Dimaline. I love her work and in speaking with her at an Ottawa writer’s event she told me she had wanted to write it to ‘rescue’ this classic story. The original book is very racist, as were the times it was written in. I cringe when I hear my Indian students tell me they are reading it, given the terrible attitudes and language used to describe the Indian servants in the book. I loved the idea of Dimaline reimagining it through an Indigenous lens.
I had trouble getting into the book as I kept comparing it to the original. Once I was able to abandon my expectations, I was able to enjoy it more. The setting on Georgian Bay was lovely and the characters were interesting. The book held true to many of the themes of the original while adding some personality of its own. I found Dimaline drew the Mary and maid characters well but the Dicken and Colin characters (in this case Sophie and Olive) pale in comparison to the originals. The garden itself didn’t fully come alive either.
On its own the book merits four stars, if you are comparing it to the original, it is more like three. I think If I hadn’t reread the original in preparation for reading this, I might have enjoyed it more. I also really disliked the cover and think it will not make my students want to pick up this book… which is a shame.
I had trouble getting into the book as I kept comparing it to the original. Once I was able to abandon my expectations, I was able to enjoy it more. The setting on Georgian Bay was lovely and the characters were interesting. The book held true to many of the themes of the original while adding some personality of its own. I found Dimaline drew the Mary and maid characters well but the Dicken and Colin characters (in this case Sophie and Olive) pale in comparison to the originals. The garden itself didn’t fully come alive either.
On its own the book merits four stars, if you are comparing it to the original, it is more like three. I think If I hadn’t reread the original in preparation for reading this, I might have enjoyed it more. I also really disliked the cover and think it will not make my students want to pick up this book… which is a shame.
November 28, 2023
I think the fact that I haven't read the original Secret Garden book is probably a detriment to this book - I can't tell which parts of this I found boring or long-winded because it was homage to the original book, or because that was the writer's decision. I found the first 40% of this book pretty boring - Mary only finds the secret garden, and the love interest is only introduced, 40% into the book. And the garden wasn't actually a big part of the plot at all.
I also think Mary being 15 just does not work. The other books in this remix series (the Great Gatsby one, and the Jekyll and Hyde one) I've complained should have been about people in their early 20s instead of late teens, but this book I have the opposite problem with. Mary should have been 10-12 years old. Her character reads like a younger character, and I kept having to remind myself she was 15.
That all said, I did like the audiobook narrator, and the Canadian setting - I don't think I've ever read a queer historical story set in Canada. I also liked Flora a lot, she was probably my favourite character and the highlight of the book.
I also think Mary being 15 just does not work. The other books in this remix series (the Great Gatsby one, and the Jekyll and Hyde one) I've complained should have been about people in their early 20s instead of late teens, but this book I have the opposite problem with. Mary should have been 10-12 years old. Her character reads like a younger character, and I kept having to remind myself she was 15.
That all said, I did like the audiobook narrator, and the Canadian setting - I don't think I've ever read a queer historical story set in Canada. I also liked Flora a lot, she was probably my favourite character and the highlight of the book.
September 29, 2023
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars.
When I heard about a sapphic Secret Garden retelling by an indigenous author, I was SO excited. I have read from Cherie Dimaline before and enjoyed it, so I am happy to have enjoyed this book, too. I loved the characters, but there could have been more development from the side characters. Mary, the main character, got a lot of good development, but Olive, Flora, and Sophie seemed one-dimensional in comparison. The "evil step-aunt" Rebecca was also pretty one-dimensional. The book was short and advertised for a YA audience, but it read almost middle grade. It was definitely for the younger end of the YA audience. Mary was about 15 but read as a 12 year old. Despite this, the story was enjoyable and cute.
3.5 stars.
When I heard about a sapphic Secret Garden retelling by an indigenous author, I was SO excited. I have read from Cherie Dimaline before and enjoyed it, so I am happy to have enjoyed this book, too. I loved the characters, but there could have been more development from the side characters. Mary, the main character, got a lot of good development, but Olive, Flora, and Sophie seemed one-dimensional in comparison. The "evil step-aunt" Rebecca was also pretty one-dimensional. The book was short and advertised for a YA audience, but it read almost middle grade. It was definitely for the younger end of the YA audience. Mary was about 15 but read as a 12 year old. Despite this, the story was enjoyable and cute.
April 12, 2023
I received an advance copy from the publisher and Netgalley.
The Secret Garden was one of my favorite books as a child, but I haven't read it in at least 25 years. Cherie Dimaline's take on it was a breath of fresh air, while staying true to the story. Mary Craven's parents are power players in Toronto politics, but when they're lost at sea, she's sent to her uncle's house near Georgian Bay, to the north. When she arrives, her uncle is gone, and Mary's only companions are the house servants, including the forthright Metis girl Flora. When Mary tentatively pitches a fit, Flora lets her do it until she burns herself out, and through patience, boundaries, and good humor, Mary comes out of her shell and begins a friendship with Flora, as well as Flora's intriguing sister, Sophie. As in the original book, there is a sick child, but this time, Olive is held in the attic, dosed by her stepmother with "medicine" that seems to help more than it hurts. While the stepmother/aunt gets her justice in the end, the last few pages of this book wrapped up awfully quickly, to the point it felt rushed. That being said, it was still a deeply enjoyable read (finished it within 24 hours), and now I'd like to read other books in the remixed classics collection.
The Secret Garden was one of my favorite books as a child, but I haven't read it in at least 25 years. Cherie Dimaline's take on it was a breath of fresh air, while staying true to the story. Mary Craven's parents are power players in Toronto politics, but when they're lost at sea, she's sent to her uncle's house near Georgian Bay, to the north. When she arrives, her uncle is gone, and Mary's only companions are the house servants, including the forthright Metis girl Flora. When Mary tentatively pitches a fit, Flora lets her do it until she burns herself out, and through patience, boundaries, and good humor, Mary comes out of her shell and begins a friendship with Flora, as well as Flora's intriguing sister, Sophie. As in the original book, there is a sick child, but this time, Olive is held in the attic, dosed by her stepmother with "medicine" that seems to help more than it hurts. While the stepmother/aunt gets her justice in the end, the last few pages of this book wrapped up awfully quickly, to the point it felt rushed. That being said, it was still a deeply enjoyable read (finished it within 24 hours), and now I'd like to read other books in the remixed classics collection.
September 4, 2023
Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Children’s for the ARC of this sapphic Secret Garden retelling!
I’ll admit I’ve never read the original - I really tend to like retellings but not classics. This was exciting and well paced, and I liked the romance a lot!
I’ll admit I’ve never read the original - I really tend to like retellings but not classics. This was exciting and well paced, and I liked the romance a lot!
January 31, 2024
I thought this book was well written and could really change your point of view on the world. At first, like most books, I was a little bored but it came through in the end l. This is about more than just friendship, it’s about love.
February 21, 2024
3.5 stars rounded up.
The Secret Garden is one of my childhood favourites, so I was excited to read this remixed version. Overall, I really enjoyed it, but the ending felt a little rush and there wasn't the same garden magic that made the original special.
The Secret Garden is one of my childhood favourites, so I was excited to read this remixed version. Overall, I really enjoyed it, but the ending felt a little rush and there wasn't the same garden magic that made the original special.
March 26, 2024
So I actually really liked this. I liked the secret garden in the first place as well.
Sophie and Mary were adorable and I really enjoyed the little bits of Métis culture that were mixed in.
All in all, a really good book. Rebecca can get fucked though
Sophie and Mary were adorable and I really enjoyed the little bits of Métis culture that were mixed in.
All in all, a really good book. Rebecca can get fucked though
January 31, 2024
This story felt cozy from top to bottom. Very much a comfort read.
March 18, 2024
I read the original Secret Garden a fair few times as a kid, and I was OBSESSED with the 90's movie adaptation.
LET ME SHOUT THIS... INTO THE BRIGHT OPEN IS THE ONLY VERSION I NEED FROM NOW ON.
LET ME SHOUT THIS... INTO THE BRIGHT OPEN IS THE ONLY VERSION I NEED FROM NOW ON.
April 25, 2024
4.5 loved it!!
September 11, 2023
This remix is shorter than the other ones I have read. I liked that it's set in Canada and has thoughtful discussions about culture, class and many other things.
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