THE SECRET GARDEN

Now you could ask me why I would give a children's book a read? Why would I bother picking it up? The single most and important reason is that children's books reinstate and re-cement the fundamental concepts in our lives. You see, we can't explain the intricate workings of the world to children without a complex, thirty-minute monologue. Children's books do that in a much simpler way.

A review of THE SECRET GARDEN by every_thing_bookish.

After the mysterious death of her parents, Mary is taken to her distant relative uncle's house to live. What follows for her is strict rules, bad food, no servants to clean and dress her up, and fits of anger of a ten-year-old because she's not used to living this kind of life.

One day, while playing outside in the moor, she finds a big wall. Now, general curiosity states that one has got to find out what's on the other side. So she does. What she finds, is what the book is all about.

THE GOOD THINGS

The writing is flawless, smooth, and flows beautifully. I did not find myself stopping and questioning why a certain event happened the way it did. Every character is beautifully designed and developed to mark a beautiful ending to a wonderful story. Not that the story is all smooth for the characters. They overcome several challenges and threats much more difficult than the challenges they'd face given their age.

The garden is described so beautifully, it might make you buy at least one plant by the end of the book. The story is woven to please you as you read on. At no point did I feel myself threatened by the challenges. I knew they'd overcome it together. This is the good thing as well as the bad thing about the book. It tells you that you're stronger together, but since it's a child fiction, you're rather left thinking whether there is a challenge that questions your abilities as well.

“Is the spring coming?" he said. "What is it like?"...

"It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine...”

Taking nothing away from the book, The Secret Garden is definitely a worthy read. It talks about magic, and in a way that's quite similar to the seven books that I'm going to review. Make your awesome guesses.