"The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett

I actually rather like The Secret Garden.

That may seem a tad weird coming from me, because I don't usually like slice-of-life or slice-of-life-adjacent things. However, most of the reason for my dislike of such things comes from the fact that I don't often care about the lives of the random people they revolve around. And I actually do care about Mary Lennox; she's a character I like to read about. The same goes for Dickon. I care less about Colin and his dad, but even without them it's still two characters who do interest me from the start, which is two more than most slice-of-life or slice-of-life-adjacent books can boast.

Having said that, I will now also say that I think the first half-ish of the book is better. The second half is where the kids (mostly Colin, but the other two as well) decide that Magic is a thing that exists (and must be capitalized). I entirely forgot about that, probably because I like the first half better.

To be entirely honest, I don't have much else to say. (Although I realize, writing this, that the previous two paragraphs were written under the assumption that you already know what happens in the book. If not, I'll take a stab at clearing it up a bit for you: Mary Lennox is the protagonist. Colin, Dickon, and Colin's dad are not the protagonist.)

Colin's dad is named Archibald. I know his last name is actually Craven, but my brain insists it is in fact Asparagus.

My mom reviewed this. Also, this review is part of my first completed quest.

Were this a videogame, I'd rate it: E, probably.

4 stars.

(Endnote: This should not be confused with "The Secret Garden," by G. K. Chesterton, which I have also reviewed.)