A Bit of Earth

January 30, 2023
A foreboding feeling permeates this mystery-driven novel, a The Secret Garden retelling from Riazi (The Gauntlet). Having grown up staying with relations in Bangladesh and Pakistan, young Maria Latif, though often considered “unpleasant,” has experience abiding without her immediate family. But she’s thrust into another new situation after her parents die while traveling, and their alumni friends in New York City seek to provide her with opportunities. When the distant cousin with whom she’s supposed to stay is unexpectedly called away, she’s forced to head to the “cold, unhappy” Long Island estate of the Claybornes, who read as white. There, she’s hosted by “the second Mrs. Clayborne” as well as Mr. Clayborne’s mother, who forbids Maria from visiting parts of the home, including the yard. Flouting the rules while navigating the residence’s tense atmosphere, Maria feels happier upon finding an unlocked, unloved garden to tend—and inside it a beautifully embroidered sari. The outdoors has always been Maria’s favorite place, and working in the secret garden feels just right to her. When he’s sent home from boarding school for misbehavior, she also befriends young Colin Clayborne, the biracial-cued son of the late first Mrs. Clayborne, Saira. Chapters alternate experiential free-verse poetry with a third-person narrative as Maria excavates the garden’s past and her own isolation in this thoughtful, emotionally honest take on the source material. Ages 8–12. Agent: Thao Le, Sandra Dijkstra Agency.

February 1, 2023
Roots, both tangible and intangible, come together in this coming-of-age story. Maria Latif is used to being defined by others as unpleasant, ungrateful, and ill-mannered, but it's a veneer to protect herself. Grappling with the grief of being orphaned, she is now being shunted from relatives in Pakistan to live with her late parents' friends in the U.S. All she has left is a pocketful of words that take the shape of verses interspersed between the prose, giving glimpses into her feelings and thoughts. Maria finds herself in Long Island with Mr. and Mrs. Clayborne, a strange couple cued as White. They live in an even stranger house with secrets and taboos. There's also Mr. Clayborne's biracial son, taciturn Colin Clayborne, whose mother, Saira, passed away. But then a bright green gecko leads Maria to a secret garden--and the possibility of friends. Despite knowing it's off limits, Maria begins to revitalize this mysterious garden, turning the soil, finding new life, and discovering possibilities. This retelling of The Secret Garden offers an interesting twist on the classic's colonial, racist tone. It opens with promise as the evocative text highlights Maria's grief, isolation, and resignation at being cast adrift. Each character has their own story arc that is explored even as Maria finds ways of becoming her own person. While the book sags toward the middle, it explores themes of home, belonging, identity, and humans' intrinsic connection to nature. This book tackling hefty themes will grow on readers. (Fiction. 9-13)

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February 1, 2023
Grades 4-6 A Bit of Earth is a contemporary, multicultural rendition of Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic novel, The Secret Garden. It takes place in Long Island, New York, and features a cranky Maria Latif, newly exiled from Pakistan and Bangladesh, as the protagonist. Like Mary Lennox, Maria is grappling with the twin traumas of being orphaned and displaced and finds respite in a garden and an unexpected connection with a peer. Riazi flavors her rendition with heavy doses of cultural references, nostalgic trappings of the people and practices that Maria left behind and then learns anew in the Bangladeshi diaspora on Long Island. Despite some narrative gaps and incongruities, A Bit of Earth sustains credibility in plot and character. A nice difference from The Secret Garden is the presence of a larger sense of community and adults who are held accountable for their actions. Mary had Colin and Ben (and the robin), but Maria gains quite a gaggle of friends and family.

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Starred review from March 1, 2023

Gr 4-8-This contemporary reenvisioning of The Secret Garden features Maria Latif, a Pakistani-Bangladeshi Muslim girl. Orphaned after her parents' accident, Maria has been labeled difficult and is bounced from house to house. She is dispatched to stay with a friend of her father's on Long Island, but arrives to find he is away on business and she is in the care of his second wife Lyndsay, his judgmental mother, and indifferent son, Colin. Exploring the grounds to escape the tense household, Maria discovers a locked gate and an old unkempt garden. With the help of new friends Mimi and Rick, Colin, and resources from Lyndsay, they collaborate to resurrect the garden that was originally cultivated by Colin's deceased mother, Saira. Found family is a central theme as Maria struggles to find a place she can truly call home. The undertones of colonialism in the original version are changed appropriately. Maria's character evolves, gently showing readers the coping skills she has developed to deal what she has been through, and how she is making new connections. Her Desi identity is represented authentically via foods, scents, clothing/dupatta, prayers, and mehndi, and the bit of earth she tends to brings up with memories of her parents. All of this provides comfort and familiarity. The hybrid prose/verse format provides a narrative that feels genuine, raw, and allows readers into the minds of the characters. A content warning is advised regarding the death of parents, racism, and colorism. VERDICT Destined to be a new classic, this refreshing of the canon is long overdue.-Lisa Krok

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