Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The illustrations in this book are lovely and I think they will shine even more in print.

I never read the original novel and I feel I might have liked this book better if I had some of that nostalgia attached to it. I'm personally not a fan of text being spelled wrong in order to portray accents and I found that a bit distracting. I think this is a book made for people who already love this story especially since it ends midway through the original story.

Mary lives in India with her parents. When they both die of Cholera, she moves to England with her uncle Mr. Craven, in an old house with many gardens. Now, Mary has a place to stay, but her uncle doesn’t want to see her. With no one to watch over her, she explores her uncle’s vast property outside. Until she finds a secret garden.

The Secret Garden is an adaptation of a classic novel with the same title. I didn’t read the original, but I knew the story. Color illustrations are maybe not so classical, but they are lovely all the same. This graphic novel is part 1, the first half of the story. I think children and adults who already like or would like to read Secret Garden will enjoy this graphic novel.

Content warnings: death of a parent mentioned

Thanks to Europe Comics for the ARC and the opportunity to read this! All opinions are my own.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a sweet adaptation of the first part of The Secret Garden. I loved the illustration style in this book. The illustrator did an excellent job capturing the personalities of all of the characters and their facial expressions were all so on point. The drawings of flowers were beautiful and I can't wait to see the garden in full bloom in the second book!

This graphic novel tells the first half of the classic The Secret Garden through beautiful artwork. As I do not know the original (yet) I cannot say how close this adaption sticks to the storyline. It was fairly easy to follow along, however.

The drawing style is amazing, and I adored how especially the facial expressions and the colours of the pictures managed to portray the mood of the respective situations and characters. Although this isn’t aimed at my age group at all and I thus wasn’t as gripped by the plot as children surely would be, I appreciated this element a lot.

There was a lot of character development for Mary as she made new friends - albeit Colin being more of a reluctant acquaintance so far, it seems. But can I just say how beautifully his room was drawn!

For exactly that reason, I was so excited to see the secret garden in spring because I think the flowers and roses would look gorgeous, but I guess I will have to wait for the second part in that case.

4/5 stars.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Secret Garden, Part 1 by Maud Begon is an adorable children's graphic novel that adapts the first half of the classic novel. The story revolves around bouncy and stubborn Mary, who moves to England after her parents die of cholera. She moves to her uncle's mysterious Gothic mansion. According to the description, "it is here that she discovers the comfort of friendship… and a wonderful secret that she soon shares with her new companions: a garden forgotten by everyone, whose key, as if by magic, also opens the doors to broken hearts."

Overall, The Secret Garden, Part 1 is a slice of Victorian children's literature that will appeal to readers of all ages. One highlight of this book is the art. The mansion and the titular garden are drawn beautifully. The artist also strikes a nice balance between artwork that will appeal to children and artwork that will appeal to adults. Even though I am much older than the book's target audience, I still enjoyed reading it. I can't wait for Part 2 to be released! If you're intrigued by the description, or if you're a fan of Victorian children's literature, I highly recommend checking out this book, which is available now!

I always think that it is wonderful to read the original editions of classics. Still, I can see that both new readers and those familiar with The Secret Garden will enjoy this graphic novel. The illustrations are very evocative, especially those showing the facial expressions of characters. The comic adheres pretty closely to the story line. Give this one a look if you enjoy graphic novels.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.