Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Mon Oct 07 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Thorny secrets haunt a country house-a girl in an attic, a lost key, and an overgrown garden locked behind a hidden gate.After the unexpected deaths of her parents, 15-year-old Mary Craven is uprooted from Toronto to live at her estranged uncle's manor on Ontario's Georgian Bay. Far from the city and surrounded by unfamiliar people, Mary tries to guard her insecurities. But her uncle's young housekeeper, the charming and confident Flora, sees the loneliness behind Mary's infamous temper. Drawn in by a yearning for family and captivated by stories about Flora's free-spirited younger sister, Mary begins to explore and ask questions that lead her to mysteries surrounding her absent uncle's estate: the presence of Olive, her chronically ill cousin who's confined to her bed in the attic, and a locked garden whose gate can only be opened with a missing key. A fast friendship blooms between Mary and Olive, but when Rebecca, Olive's domineering stepmother, returns, Mary risks exile to boarding school unless she abides by Rebecca's rules. Writing in the third-person omniscient primarily from Mary's perspective, Dimaline reimagines The Secret Garden in Métis territory. Mary, Rebecca, and Uncle Craven are white; most other characters, including Olive, are Métis. Racism, colonization, and a love of nature are central themes gracefully woven into the story. An aching and emotionally immersive queer romance, unhampered by homophobia, unfolds through lush imagery blended with poignant and elegant prose.A rich and verdant revival of a classic. (Historical fiction. 13-18)

ALA Booklist (Mon Oct 07 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

In this queer YA remix of The Secret Garden art of Macmillan's Remixed Classics series ry Lennox is a disagreeable, spoiled, but deeply lonely 15-year-old girl. When her parents are unexpectedly killed, she is sent to live at her absent uncle Craven's house. Mary's new home is in the wilderness, the servants are like family, and most of them are Indigenous l of which is foreign to Mary, who has grown up in the city. However, Mary soon befriends the family's Métis servant Flora, develops romantic feelings for Flora's sister Sophie, and discovers the presence of a thrilling secret in the house. But just as Mary's life is looking brighter, her stepmother, Rebecca, returns and puts everything at risk. Despite the main character's age, the book feels more middle grade than YA, and the conflict at the end is wrapped up a tad too quickly. On the other hand, it's refreshing to see an initially unsympathetic teen girl as a main character in a YA book. Readers who have and haven't read the source material are likely to enjoy this novel.

Kirkus Reviews (Mon Oct 07 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Thorny secrets haunt a country house-a girl in an attic, a lost key, and an overgrown garden locked behind a hidden gate.After the unexpected deaths of her parents, 15-year-old Mary Craven is uprooted from Toronto to live at her estranged uncle's manor on Ontario's Georgian Bay. Far from the city and surrounded by unfamiliar people, Mary tries to guard her insecurities. But her uncle's young housekeeper, the charming and confident Flora, sees the loneliness behind Mary's infamous temper. Drawn in by a yearning for family and captivated by stories about Flora's free-spirited younger sister, Mary begins to explore and ask questions that lead her to mysteries surrounding her absent uncle's estate: the presence of Olive, her chronically ill cousin who's confined to her bed in the attic, and a locked garden whose gate can only be opened with a missing key. A fast friendship blooms between Mary and Olive, but when Rebecca, Olive's domineering stepmother, returns, Mary risks exile to boarding school unless she abides by Rebecca's rules. Writing in the third-person omniscient primarily from Mary's perspective, Dimaline reimagines The Secret Garden in Métis territory. Mary, Rebecca, and Uncle Craven are white; most other characters, including Olive, are Métis. Racism, colonization, and a love of nature are central themes gracefully woven into the story. An aching and emotionally immersive queer romance, unhampered by homophobia, unfolds through lush imagery blended with poignant and elegant prose.A rich and verdant revival of a classic. (Historical fiction. 13-18)