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This is MJ, I'm an author, I'm an artist, I'm an analyzer.

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Find all my work at MJMunoz.com.

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Prepare yourself for some off the cuff book talk as I tackle another middle grade book

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chapter by chapter.

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The Secret Garden Chapter 2 was interesting, very interesting, very compelling.

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One little complaint I have about it is that I didn't notice, now I'm listening to it

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at like 1.5 speed, so I didn't notice the break from chapter 2 into chapter 3.

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And I'm not sure why, I mean I'm sure it's because I'm listening to it, not because I'm

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not reading it with my eyes, so I would obviously notice a chapter break, or you know, chapter

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3, I would notice that.

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But it blended in perhaps a little too much, perhaps a little too well, I don't really

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know, it could very well be the speed at which I was listening to it, so that's a little

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bit of an issue.

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Chapter 2 was 16 minutes long, chapter 1 was like 8 or 9 minutes long, I think chapter

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3 is similar, it's closer to 8 to 10, did I say inches long?

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I meant minutes long, of course, you knew that already because you're smarter than me.

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Anyway, so that complaint aside, that it was a little runny together, and there's a lack

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of distinctness there is really my issue, is that I do think it stood on its own, it

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built on what would happen last, we got to see Mary Lennox in two situations, one where

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she's in this home of this family being taken care of, and two where she's being transported

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to her uncle's home, which I don't remember the name of, it's a huge estate on a moor

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for some reason, on the edge of a moor, it's a 100 room house, which is insane, but I mean

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they had those at the time, and I mean they still have them now, but they were a little

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bit more prevalent, a little more, let's say used at that time than they are at this time.

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So anyway, that was interesting to hear about, and she learns about her uncle a little bit,

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and what's really interesting is she's staying with this couple who has, I think five kids

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who are all around the same age, so you know, back to back births I guess, and one of them

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is an old Notha boy, his dialogue did sound a little fishy because we don't know how old

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he is, is he seven, is he eight, is he ten, is he twelve, I don't know, but they could

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have a 12, 11, 10, 9, 8 year old, and if she's only six, or perhaps she's seven by this time,

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that would all work out that they would all be around the same age, I don't know, maybe,

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but the way he spoke was a little bit too clear, a little bit too eloquent without knowing

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his age, and assuming that he's supposed to be around her age, because she still feels

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pretty young, so that's a second complaint, but still, what he told her about, and what

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he did was he actually teased her, because she doesn't know anything like girls usually

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do, is that she didn't know that she was moving to the house of her uncle, what the state

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was called, what his name is, which, I can't remember what it is at the moment, but it's

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kind of an interesting name, it's like, I don't know, it's like, it's almost a little

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bit too much of a name, I think, is the issue, but whatever, that's fine.

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It's interesting because it sets her expectations, and then it's paid off while she's riding

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on the train, and this did confuse me a little bit, too.

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The lady who she's riding with, I'm assuming, or my understanding, is that she's the mother

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of this know-it-all boy and these other children that Mary didn't like, and who gave Mary the

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nickname, the epithet, whatever, of Mary Mary Quite Contrary, because she always would say

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no to things, and was very disagreeable, because that's what she learned.

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That's what she was shown, that's what she was taught, to go ahead and be disagreeable

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all the time, and to not compromise, not give into others.

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Anyway, so it sounds to me like this lady is in the service of the Lord, or the man,

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the uncle, who, it's kind of bugged me that I don't remember his name right now.

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Anyway, it's kind of a great name, though.

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Anyway, so it sounds like she's in his employ, and that's why she's traveling with Mary back

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to the home, but I also thought she was staying with a clergyman, so I think it's just the

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one family.

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I think it must be an Episcopalian, or an Anglican, or something, priest with a wife

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and children, and his wife is a maid, or a governess, or some sort of staff member at

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the uncle's house.

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In transition, for her to move from India to his place, he stayed with her for a while,

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while they were getting stuff ready, or whatever is what it sounds like.

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Anyway, she takes a train ride with Mary, unless, so I'm hoping that there wasn't a

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handoff to a second lady, and then she took the train ride with her.

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I think it's the same lady throughout.

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Anyway, so she takes this train ride with Mary to the uncle's house, and she basically

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gets an exposition dump, but it doesn't feel like an exposition dump, and it's interesting,

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and it's kind of compelling, and we get to see her character textured.

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The lady ends up having a little tiff with her, and she says that she's like a little

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old lady, and she's apathetic, and she's like, well, why don't you care about these things?

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And Mary, in spite of herself, or whatever, refuses to engage, and refuses to ask questions,

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because she doesn't want to seem like she's interested in stuff.

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So anyway, it's kind of delightful.

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The bickering, and the fighting, and the conflict created by Mary's pigheadedness is interesting,

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and I'm enjoying what it's doing in the story, and enjoying how it's creating conflict with

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her and other characters, and it's all being done in a very interesting way.

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And she's still a little punk.

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She's a little kid, so you can forgive her a little bit for that.

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Also, she's a character, so it's understandable.

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But yeah, she's a little bit of a punk, and again, the book knows that.

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It's on purpose.

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The author knows that.

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The characters know it, and they don't like her because she's unlikable, and that's what

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I like.

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That's what I like.

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But I am interested in being so much in Mary's head, even though this is third person limited,

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which is the preferred and the correct way to write things.

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Thank you very much, people who like to write in first person.

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But anyway, it's the correct way to write things because it can be so interesting.

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It gives you the scope where you can be with anybody in the world for your story, but when

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you're with your main character, you're allowed to get insights with them by joining them

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in their thoughts, and we get to hear some of Mary's thinking and how she's assessing

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the situation.

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And she goes from feeling bad for her uncle, who's a hunchback and had a beautiful wife

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who died, to disliking him after she hears that she's going to be restricted and not

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allowed to just have her way entirely because she's this tyrant still.

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And it's interesting because you get to see her flip flop, and then you get to see that,

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okay, this is going to set up tension and conflict for her and him later on in the book.

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But still, there's a little chance that there's going to be some sort of redemption, and there's

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that chance for there to be sympathy from him or from her to him, which could help to

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grow her as a character.

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And we'll just have to see how that turns out in the next chapter, what happens in the

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next chapter.

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So I'm done with this for now.

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Let me know what you thought of the book, what you thought of chapter two of the secret

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garden.

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And yeah, until next time.

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I hope you enjoyed that.

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Please remember to like, share, subscribe.

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I invite you to comment, ask questions and share your thoughts with me.

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It's always more fun when you're part of the conversation.

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Until next time, keep reading, be well and do good things.

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Visit MJMunoz.com for more of my work and help me build up the fortress fiction.