This was my favorite book in the 4th grade. Still good, but -1 star for racist statements and preachy overtones. ( )

I loved this book. It brought me back to my childhood when I first saw the movie. I wanted to read the book back then but never actually did. Everyone loves the idea of a secret waiting to be uncovered and that is precisely what this book is about. Mary is a young girl who is orphaned and sent to live with her uncle in Yorkshire, England. There she discovers a key and eventually uses it to unlock a secret garden. She also discovers a young boy in the house who is her cousin. As she makes friends with a remarkable boy, her spoiled ways get reformed and she is able to exert a great deal of influence on her cousin who is very spoiled himself. He has something wrong with his spine but as the story progrsses and Mary shares her garden with him, he improves. It's a wonderful story abounding with mystery, growth, and how friendship and working on positive things (making the garden into the wonder it once was) leads to a great deal of personal growth,

I was identifying with this book while I read it, because I was feeling rather contrary myself, and it fit my mood and made me consider things from different perspectives. It was a good read, and one I'd recommend mostly because it's a good concept, but not one I especially got into. It was nice to watch the main characters, well, blossom, to use an apt metaphore, but I didn't identify with them a whole lot. I guess the concept of having a secret garden is cool, but it just wasn't what I would have done (well, I would have found my way in the garden, but I'd have done a lot more with the house, and I would have played in the garden rather than weeded). Anyway, good enough story, just not my thing. ( )