It isn't easy to compare something written in 1911 with current trends. In the earlier version, Mary was a young girl of about ten years old. In this version, she's a little older, around fifteen. So, I had to remind myself several times that Mary was, by today's standards, a snarky teen rather than a grieving child. The good part, I suppose, is that I watched her grow in this version. She learned to care, and I was touched by the way she learned of her own desires. I liked where she was headed.

Then, the opportunity for a relationship took center stage, sort of. Being the eternal optimist, I wanted Mary to grow and to express. I'm not sure I felt like this was the happily ever after it could have been, but expectations are different now than they were way back when, and maybe we don't believe in the relevance of a forever love story as much as we may have years ago.

While I wouldn't say this was my favorite read to date, I think it gave credence to the idea of blooming where you're planted and making the best of all things from a more contemporary point of view. We are, after all, a different society, and social expectations have vastly changed. If you can read this for the story it is, you may like it. If you're expecting it to be The Secret Garden, you're in for a surprise.

Read For:
Retellings
Hurt/Comfort
Historical Fiction
Angst with a Happy Ending
The Secret Garden but Make it Sapphic

Normally, I’m not a big classic reader and only a handful I’ve managed to like but this was such a lovely rewrite of the classic: The Secret Garden with a queer theme woven into it.

"But there was one person who could speak up, that would make them listen, and it was her." (Page 157, Chapter 18)

There was an overall magical vibe to the settings in general and while there are some depressing and darker moments in this book it really had such a nice charm to it. The writing style was really nice to read, the characters (other than a few) were all quite lovely, and the ending was really satisfying to read.

(Third Person POV)
Spice: None

Rep: Lesbian MC, BIPOC LI/SCs

⚠️ Content Warnings:
Moderate: Death, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Sexism, Racism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Medical content, Classism, Emotional abuse, and Grief

DNF @ 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 really thought through. Are all of these “remixed classics” like this? In other words, are they edited at all?

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Feiwel & Friends, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book as an arc!

The Classics Remixed have been a joy of mine to read. Some of the originals I've read, the others I knew as we've know them: The Classics™ of English class, where they were unfortunately necessary to read, and unless you've got an English teacher who's passionate and critical of them themself, it's often not a great time. The Secret Garden, I think I'd read by accident, confusing it with my more preferred "Mandy" by Julie Andrews. Or maybe it was when I'd liked reading "A Little Princess", I can't recall which. Either way, I remember feeling as if it didn't. . . snag my attention.

Into the Bright Open certainly snagged it more, in both acknowledging and facing the realities of the time: most notably with racism, as well as the misogyny. Both are shown in text, particularly with the usage of "half-breed" throughout, difficulties faced by Métis characters, and I did feel as it wrapped up a bit too neatly (the stepmother/evil aunt so easily disposed of Once the Uncle Comes Home), but I did very much appreciate the presence of white women in racism, particularly as that's often ignored by white feminists today. The stepmother/aunt has no redeeming qualities and it's genuinely satisfying to see her stumble about, or be forced to leave. While I also felt like Mary's character development was . . seemingly done within a few pages as soon as she's told "No", and she flattens out from sulky to someone far more open-minded, it was still an easy enough read.

I absolutely think this will be enjoyed by people who want a better Classics, or who like historical fiction. Particularly by students!

I have never read A Secret Gard ( I know, sue me ), but reading this remix in it's beautifully queer form has mad me glad I didn't; in a good way. Because this is my first experience with an unfamiliar classic, I was able to head dive in with a new pair of glasses. I was moved by the riveting prose and the story-telling, it felt nuanced and modern, but still had a classic feel to it. The characters told the story without it feeling word-for-word off the original, and everything about it sparked joy in me. I am absolutely winded by the way this novel made me feel, and I want so many people to read this.

I loved The Secreg Garden growing up. And I think like many of the books in this collection this one absolutely does it justice. Even the style of writing captures the same feeling the original did. I love the sapphic nature of this one. The added mystery was fun and this handled so much so well.

Unfortunately this one didn't work very well for me. I wanted to love this as I am a huge fan of A Secret Garden, and maybe that was part of why I struggled with it. I really enjoyed the twist on the setting and the gender-swapping of characters. The setting was intriguing and beautifully rendered. I enjoyed quite a few of the changes. The relationship between Mary and Olive was tender and sweet, almost to a fault. Part of the fun of Mary and Colin's relationship was the spikiness and how they learned to grow together as they acted upon one another. And really I felt that Mary in this book was too agreeable, changed too quickly, and her growth didn't feel natural. I think that this book didn't make the characters as complex as they are in the original. I did enjoy the change in setting and political world, and obviously I don't miss the glaring racism of the original. All in all it was a bit of a miss for me, but I enjoyed seeing A Secret Garden get the retelling treatment.

This book went by fast and was a great read. The characters were all very interesting. I enjoyed Olive and Mary’s relationship but I wish there was more relationship building with Sophie and Mary. The only thing that I will say that is kinda bad is that the ending felt rushed slightly but otherwise it was an excellent read.

A sapphic retelling of the Secret Garden taking place in Toronto and the Georgian Bay. The story follows Mary Cravens, the daughter of two influential people who held roles in Toronto's political scene but disappeared at sea, leaving Mary to move in with her Uncle in his residence near the Georgian Bay. In her uncle's home, she meets a variety of new people and begins to change from a sullen and spoiled girl to someone who is more kind hearted and focused on understanding and evaluating her own prejudices. I wasn't that familiar with the original story and didn't really find myself all that invested in this story unfortunately. I really wanted to like it but found myself getting bored. I do appreciate a sapphic retelling of a classic, however this one just didn't hit the mark for me. I would definitely recommend this for fans of the original who want a new take!

*Thanks Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Feiwel & Friends for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

What I always enjoy about rewritten versions of classic books is what they decide to highlight. In this case, the story was taken out of England and the English moors, and moved to Toronto and the Georgian Bay, which, after Toronto, was out in about as much of the wild as the moors were in the original. And the local people here were Metis, the mix of European (mostly French) and Indigenous people. And this allows us to see how they are treated by the English speaking white Candians.

Perhaps I was blind to the classism in the original book. I know that sometimes classics are like that, but this book brought it full front, and in your face, so that you had to realize that Mary was unaware of them in Toronto, but that she was unaware of many things there.

This is not only a change of scene, but also a change of who the main characters are as well. There is even an evil step mother thrown in for good measure.

I liked how this book made me think about assumptions I made with the other book, and I enjoyed seeing where this new version would take me, with its queer theme running in there as well. Colin, her cousin, is now Olive, her female cousin. And Sophia is the one who has a pet crow, and tends the garden with her, instead of Dicken.

One can read this without ever having read the original Burnett version of the Secret Garden, but I think it would be better to have had the background so that you can see what has changed, and why.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book is being published the 5th of Sept. 2023.

A sapphic version is all a girl could want; however, Into the Bright Open was a struggle to get through. The original version of the secret garden follows Mary Lenox at around age ten which largely explains her childish behavior and sour attitude toward others. This does not carry to the character of Mary Lenox in Into the Bright Open as this Mary Lenox is older and because she carries the same personality as the original 1911 version. I would have loved for this Mary to be bitter at her situation because her life of independence has been ripped away from her rather than her staying the same child that she was in the original. The romance was watery at best, boring in that it made me wish that it was removed or given more of a focus. Into the Bright, Open was a novel I hoped to love but in the end wasn't for me.

This has been a weak year for the Remixed Classics in my opinion. Into the Bright Open wasn't bad by any means, but it did feel quite rushed, particularly at the end. I found the ending to be very unsatisfying because the showdown with her stepmother resolved so quickly and easily, and it didn't feel realistic at all. I also really liked the characters, but felt they and their relationships could have been much better developed.

3.5/5 stars

I haven't read the original The Secret Garden yet, despite my copy staring holes into the back of my head, so I didn't really have anything to compare the retelling to. But I'm glad to say this was pretty good.

Mary's character growth was very satisfying. Her initial sullen and withdrawn personality gradually blooming into joy and freedom whenever she goes out into the wild of the Georgian Bay was done very well. I also really liked her relationships with the side characters, but particularly Olive and Sophie because they were really cute.

The writing really reminisces of older books but in a good way, where you can still understand and get properly swept up in the pretty descriptions and metaphors.

Even though I enjoyed the book, I didn't connect to it that much. Additionally, the ending came very quick after the climax. Immediately after uncle ex-machina burst through the door the literal last minute to find out Rebecca's the big bad, it skips to a year later to show everyone's as happy as can be right before it ends. It felt very unceremonious and left me feeling unimpressed.

But, overall, this was still a good read. I feel as though people who adore the original book would appreciate this one more than me.

I love The Secret Garden, so I was really excited to give this book a try. One thing I really appreciated was the way Mary's character changed throughout the book, going from a girl who was spoiled and sullen to one who was kind and able to evaluate her prejudices. I thought Mary's character arc was very similar to the original Mary's character arc. I also really liked Olive! However, I did think this book was a little too short. I liked the introduction of the evil stepmother Rebecca, which added another layer to the story, but it was a very short book.

I love a good sapphic remix of books that shaped my childhood, especially when it comes with a side of "a life of love and possibilities has always existed, squashed by colonialism, but still there if you open your eyes and mind". The Secret Garden was always about forging connections and opening your heart to those around you, and Dimaline has done a wonderful job transplanting it to the Georgian Bay and an older cast, with all the joy and growth of recognizing the beauty of who and what is around you instead of trying to force changes upon them.

Some bits of it feel a little forced - the inclusion of an evil stepmother and her conclusion gives an odd tension to parts and makes the ending feel rushed with all that has to be wrapped up - but there's still just a feeling of freedom and wonder and love in the setting and the characters that you can't help but enjoy every page.

In this version, Mary Craven's parents hold influential positions in Toronto's political scene, but after their disappearance at sea, she is sent to her uncle's residence near Georgian Bay, further north. Upon arrival, she discovers her uncle's absence, and her sole companions become the household staff, including the forthright Metis girl, Flora. When Mary initially throws tantrums, Flora allows her to vent until she exhausts herself. Through patience, setting boundaries, and good-naturedness, Mary gradually opens up and develops a friendship with Flora, as well as Flora's intriguing sister, Sophie. Similarly to the original tale, a sick child is present, but this time, Olive is confined to the attic, receiving doses of "medicine" from her stepmother that seem to provide relief alongside harm. While the stepmother/aunt eventually faces her comeuppance, the final pages of the book conclude rather hastily, leaving a rushed feeling.

I really do love all of the remixes, they allow kids to reimagine the world of 'classic' literature and to see themselves in it. This one felt a little shorter than the others, but I loved the take anyway.

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.