Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book in return for an honest review.

I never read the original book but I absolutely adored the film that had Maggie Smith in it so while I read this, I could hear the actors voices throughout the comic. While the art style was a little simple, I liked it! I definitely got a magical vibe to it while I read and I enjoyed it- I wish I had this when I was younger.

Rating: 3.5⭐
Would I Read It Again? Yes
Would I Recommend it? Yes

I really liked this book. The art was adorable and the reading experience in general was just very nostalgic and heartwarming. I think it's a great book for people of all ages and it's also a very quick read.

The Secret Garden is a well-known children’s classic. The story of a young orphan, a mansion on the moors, a crippled young boy and others is a hopeful one. The novel has been presented in different formats including a recent movie with Colin Firth, a cookbook and this graphic novel version.

All of the elements of The Secret Garden are here. The illustrations are evocative and true to the story. The dialogue covers the plot well. All in all, this title is a welcome addition to the classic version of the story. I recommend it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.
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This graphic novel is amazing, it will warm your heart if you need to take time away from the reality of nowadays and transition to a very beautiful place and story.

The colours change with how the characters feel. The graphics in the novel are beautiful to look at. The story is very good, it keeps you wanting to know what happens next...

The way it tells the story through the moods in scenes but also in colours is something one can feel through it. The way our main protagonist grows as a character will warm your heart. The way the people around her affect her but also she affects them in her way without changing her personality as a whole is excellent.

There are so many things one can see if they keep their eyes and heart open for change.

If you're thinking whether you'd read this book or not, I'll say just go read it; you will feel very good from inside out I promise. 😃

For me, in this bizarre time, I felt happy after reading this book; it made my heart full with its story, not just my eyes.

Really loved this graphic novel! It's a short, light read and the art was stunning! It brought back fond memories of reading The Secret Garden when I was younger. This would be a perfect first introduction to the book for not as advanced readers. Again Lovely illustration style and lovely retelling. Highly recommend.

Being alive is the Magic!
I LOVED this graphic novel adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s beloved tale. The illustration is cute and the artstyle is have classical vibes.

The story is also very beautiful and heartwarming. I can feel the magic in secret garden, It gave me a nice feeling while reading the story of Marty, Dickon, and Colin enjoying their time in their secret garden. Very lovely! ❤️

3/5

I have never read the original, so I can't speak on how this graphic adaption compares to it. What I can say is that it was absolutely adorable. The Illustrations were amazing and just pretty, there's really no other word to describe it. I do think that the problems were solved a little bit too easily, but for younger kids or actually anyone who's just looking for a quick story it is perfect.

The Secret Garden was one of my favourite classic books when growing up. I often pulled off the special edition my aunt owned to read through when I visited, and eventually got my own copy too. I find it’s one of the easier classics to read as it’s quite small so I’m happy it’s been adapted into a graphic novel as it allows children of all ages to enjoy it.

First thing to note about the graphic novel is that it has the perfect gloomy artwork and introduction to Misselthwaite Manor. The artwork gets brighter and brighter as the book goes on and Mary makes friends.

I personally didn’t enjoy the artstyle as a whole, but I loved that it encompassed multiple types of frames, often with imagery crossing multiple panels to show off importance. The art style was also consistent no matter what the subject was and the characters were well drawn to be distinct. The artstyle also allowed for expressive faces easily, which covered a wide range of emotions in this story.

The story is fast paced, and much faster than the original tale. It covers a lot of the main story but with this form it does lose some nuance and context as we don’t know what the character is thinking most of the time. I would describe it as similar to the children’s versions of Shakespeare, it gets the main story points but has lost a lot of the artwork in the writing itself.

Another thing that I think we can’t really ignore when talking about The Secret Garden is that it relies a lot on themes of racism and colonialism as a backdrop to Mary’s character and upbringing. This has been left out of the graphic novel completely and on purpose by the author. I both understand it would be more complicated to cover in this medium and also I feel like ignoring the history is a mistake.

But overall I found The Secret Garden: A Graphic Novel to be a lovely little read for a rainy Sunday afternoon.

This was a beautiful and gorgeous re-telling. The illustrations were wonderful, and my 9 year. old daughter breezed right through it. I loved that the illustrator kept to the classic tale, while still introducing bits like Dickon and Martha's mother. This version did not dwell too much on the tragic deaths Mary's parents or Colin's mother, but still managed to convey the children's loneliness.

It is a perfect introduction to the classic, and the illustrations remind me of Madleine. I cannot wait to purchase the hardcover to keep as a part of our home library.

ARC given for honest review --The Secret Garden by Mariah Marsden, Hanna Luechtefeld. #TheSecretGarden #NetGalley

This is a lovely graphic novel version of the classic children's novel. A great way to bring a classic back to life and make it more interesting to the younger crowd.

I loved the overall color scheme of the book--lots of muted pastels, soft and watercolor feeling.

The story was paced well and had enough of the original for the story to come across more or less the same. Appreciated Mariah Marsden deciding to skip over the colonizing portion of the book as it tried to put the British in a better light than they should have been.

Def would recommend.

This is a graphic novelization of the book The Secret Garden. I have read the original book, and felt this version with its beautiful but simplistic illustrations, conveyed much of the story. Mary is a spoiled orphaned and is sent back to England to live with an uncle. She discovers a secret garden and a sickly spoiled cousin name Colin. Together with Dickon, the brother of a housemaid, they play and recover the garden. A lot of details are missing so this will never substitute for reading the original novel. It is unclear why Colin is sick or the theme of magic in the garden. I see this book as a way to introduce children to classical books. It would be a good addition to the shelves of my elementary school library. I appreciate the authors explanation at the end explaining her changes and that she includes a glossary. Thank you NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for a temporary ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This was the perfect little book to get me into the magical spring mood ✿

It had been ages since I last read the original version of this story and somehow had forgotten all about how amazing it was! With this graphic novelization, the story is “updated” with a more politically sensitive approach -which I both appreciated and admired how it was handled- while also being a lot more simple. There are also some facts about the story and the author in the end, along with a nice little glossary, which were both informative and adorable on par with the story.

The illustrations deserve a round of applause just by itself because they are gorgeous! I admit I have a soft spot for more “circular” and “soft” types of illustrations with a limited colour palette so this was like a dream. I especially loved the frowning faces of Mary throughout the beginning :D

A great read for anyone who is looking for that warm and fuzzy feeling of magic and hope *:･ﾟ✧

I really loved this graphic novel adaptation! The art was so beautiful and each page really made me fall back in love with this childhood favorite of mine!

For lovers of classic re-imaginations or those trying to get young readers into classics, this interpretation of The Secret Garden is a great fit. The color palette and illustration style efficiently portrays the whimsical tones of the original novel in the graphic novel format. The pacing felt a little quick, but besides that I cannot stress how much I enjoyed the artistic vision of this version! The flow of the panels was beautiful and easy to follow. I can definitely see myself recommending this version to parents who are looking to get their young reader into more classic literature and to help them bridge that gap.

The Secret Garden in graphic novel form?! Yes please! I loved how this stayed true to the original story. The artwork & colors were also stunning.

It was very short and sweet, and at times seemed a little choppy. Nonetheless, it brought back so much nostalgia!

I received a free copy from Netgalley for an honest review.

I loved this story when I was a child a d being able to read this comic with my daughter was special.
I loved the illustration, so beautiful. And my daughter loved how it was easy to read. O also loved how it stuck to the actually story and nothing extra was added.

I definitely buying her a copy of this graphic novel when it’s in stores

(More review to come later).
What a charming graphic novel adaption of the beloved story. I loved the beautiful tones of the illustrations. I was captivated.
For you Secret Garden lovers, you’ll notice elements of the original story are not in the comic and other sections are rearranged from the original order. If you’re a purist, you may find this comic a let down, however if you go in with an open mind, you may find it enjoyable.
But those who have read her adaption of Anne of Green Gabled graphic novel won’t be surprised with the Feng shui, as she has done this with her previous graphic novel.


Thank you NetGalley! This made my day and I enjoyed it so much and have every intention to show this to my daughters(after we read the novel first).

I reviewed a copy made available by the publisher via Netgalley - Thank you very much for that!

The book starts directly with Mary's trip to England, with which the makers of the graphic novel omit the racist beginning around the setting in colonial India - there is even a statement about it in the graphic novel, which is exemplary but also the least publishers could do.

I find the illustrations a little bleak as far as the colors are dull, overall the depiction of the humans in it are not really my taste either since they look more comic-ish, but the illustrations of the secret garden are incredibly beautiful and would really bring the story more into life with stronger and more vibrant colors.


The graphic novel is very child-friendly both in terms of text and illustrations, there is not too much complicated dialogue and children would be able to follow this story well.

It‘s a 3/5 stars for me

Mariah Marsden, previously adapted Anne of Green Gables, so I was excited to be given a chance to read the graphic novel adaptation of The Secret Garden!

While the Secret Garden doesn't hold quite the same place in my heart. It's a story I know well from my childhood.
I always felt it was dark and quite melancholy, with small sparks of happiness, lightheartedness, and overall light shining down on characters growing into themselves, instead of the roles they've felt assigned.
It's wonderful to see the character growth and lessons translated well in this adaptation.

Plus, you know nature was the real star of this show and did they shine! Especially through the soft artwork that literally sparkled at times.

Easy read for a single sitting, just under 200 pages. Felt myself wanting more.

** Thank you so much to Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley, providing a copy in exchange for an honest review. **

This was a wonderful rendition of one of my favourite classics. The artwork fit perfectly with the tone of the book, adding something beautiful to this, at times, dark novel. I found this pacing somewhat rushed at points, and think this graphic novel could have been a lot longer with more character details included. Overall, this was a beautiful novel with exquisite artwork that was extremely complimentary to an absolute classic!