A SECRET PRINCESS

A SECRET PRINCESS by Margaret Stohl and Melissa De La Cruz

Lauren's Literary Life - a review by my daughter, Lauren

A Secret Princess is the combination of three books, The Secret Garden, A Little Princess, and Little Lord Fauntleroy. The book tells the story of three friends: Mary Lennox, Sara Crewe, and Cedric Errol. The three meet at the Select Seminary for Young Ladies and Gentlemen, after they are sent there by their families for various reasons. Sara is a target of Headmistress Minchin’s cruelty, and Mary, who has a quick tongue and an imagination that often comes up with mischievous ideas, quickly wins Sara’s friendship as she stands up to the headmistress. Cedric struggles with a leg condition, but the girls befriend him and are determined to take him along on their adventures. When tragedy strikes and fortunes are lost, the teens decide to run away together rather than face servitude to the headmistress and the threat of being sent to relatives in America. The three soon discover that running away is not a grand fairy tale as they face encounters with the police, workhouses, and the feeling of going hungry. However, one of the teenagers has a secret past that leads them to a mansion and a life full of riches – but the mansion holds mysteries of its own, including a secret garden that is waiting to be discovered.

LAUREN’S OPINION:

A couple years ago I read Jo and Laurie, Margaret Stohl and Melissa De La Cruz’s first book, and absolutely loved their rewritten version of the story of The Little Women. So when I saw The Secret Princess at the book store, I was excited to buy it and read it. However, if you don’t mind me using a baseball analogy, Jo and Laurie hit it out of the park, but The Secret Princess was a strike. I think the authors tried to combine too much into one book. It was anticlimactic, and I found myself confused as many things were not explained or wrapped up in the end of the book. I was very disappointed with the ending. My thought is if you want to meet Mary Lennox, Sara Crewe, and Cedric Errol, go buy the original books. They tell the story much better.

HEADS UP:

There are two things to be aware of in this book.

First: There are a couple uses of d*** throughout the book.

Second: There is magic in the book. Mary is visited by a Genie who tells her what her future will hold if she is brave and runs for her destiny. The secret garden is a magical place that grows all sorts of plants and is warm and sunny even when it is cold and rainy around it. In the garden there is also a well in which Mary sees the ghosts of the people she’s lost. It is said that the garden is haunted by the dead lady of the mansion, and the fog in the garden shows Mary the story of what happened there. The magic is not explained in detail.