The Secret Garden on 81st Street by Ivy Weir and Amber Padilla

 

I've written on the blog before about my deep love for The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It's my favorite children's classic novel, and I've read it many times over the years. When I saw there was a middle grades graphic novel version of it, I picked it up right away. It's been sitting on my shelf for a few weeks now. I knew I would like it, so I was saving reading it for the right moment. However, my student with the graphic novel obsession has been bugging me for more books to read lately, so I figured I'd wait no longer and read this one next so I could pass it off to her. 

The plot of the novel closely follows the original story. It features a young girl named Mary Lennox. As the novel begins, she is being sent to live in New York with her uncle, Archie Craven, after her parents die in an accident. Mary's life before the accident was pretty isolated. Her parents were nearly always working at their high-tech jobs in Silicon Valley, so she was usually on her own in her family's smart home, attending online school and playing video games. That suited her just fine, so when she first arrives at her uncle's house, she has a tough time adjusting to all the people and his lack of technology. 

Her uncle is constantly traveling, still reeling from the death of his beloved husband a few years prior. He leaves her to the care of his assistant, Mrs. Medlock, and his housekeeper, Martha. They both encourage Mary to get out of the house and explore the city, which she does. She begins to fall in love with Central Park and all the museums she can visit. She is especially fascinated by all the green around her, even in the middle of the city. It's different to her experience of California, which was mostly palm trees. When a local plant shop owner mentions that Archie's husband used to tend to a rooftop garden on top of the Craven house, Mary's curiosity is piqued. She wants to explore it, but Archie has had it locked up tight even since his husband died. The memories are too painful for him. 

Undeterred, Mary snoops around until she finally finds the key and sneaks into the garden. At first, Mary believes it's completely dead, but once she enlists the help of Martha's little brother Dickon, she realizes that it's merely sleeping and can be woken up again with the proper care. They begin to work together to bring it back to life, a process that helps Mary come out of her shell more and become more friendly and active.

Alongside the garden, Mary makes another discovery in the Craven house. Following the sound of some mysterious noises at night, she stumbles across her cousin, Colin. He's been living in the house, completely isolated in his bedroom. He struggles with anxiety, panic attacks, and hypochondria. He's convinced that some kind of unexpected illness will kill him, much like the heart attack that took his father years ago. He is in therapy, but rarely leaves the house at all. He and Mary weren't told about each other out of a fear that Mary would upset Colin's already fragile mental health. Once they find each other, however, they become fast friends. Mary encourages Colin to come out of his room and help her and Dickon in the garden, which sets him on a path of healing. Over time, the three children create something beautiful that helps not only themselves, but everyone around them as well.

This modern retelling was pretty much perfect, and I loved it. I thought that the changes Weir and Padilla made to modernize the story made sense and created a wonderful atmosphere of inclusivity and diversity. Different cultural backgrounds and sexualities were included in a way that felt natural and realistic. It made the story more reflective of our modern world and accessible for today's young readers. The basic storyline remained the same, and as always, I loved seeing the growth and healing of the characters throughout the book. There were even a couple of parts that threatened to make me tear up with their sweetness. The illustrations were bright, colorful, and perfectly suited to the story. I will never not love this novel. This was a new, beautiful way to experience it.

So, as expected, The Secret Garden on 81st Street was amazing. I'm loving this trend of authors doing updated versions of children's classics, like Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy, which I read last month, and now this one. Anne of West Philly is coming out in just a few days, and I'm already excited for it. Anything that helps bring these great old stories to life again is a wonderful thing, and I'm glad to be able to share these new versions with my students.

Challenge Tally

Middle Grade Mission: 8/24

Total Books Read in 2022: 21