Amaryllis Minton’s parents got divorced when she is five years old, cutting her family in two. Her father gets custody of her ten year old brother, Peter, while the former Mrs. Minton is in charge of Amaryllis.
Mrs. Minton soon goes off to Europe to have a good time, leaving her daughter with the unloving servants. Amaryllis, after careful consideration, decides to run off in search of love.
She finds a beautiful garden where she meets John Guido, a lonely teenage boy whom she promises to marry when she grows up. Unfortunately, her father finds Amaryllis and takes her away against her own wishes. But Amaryllis promises to come back to John Guido.
I was disappointed with The Magic Garden by Gene Stratton-Porter. The book began well … but it ended on a somewhat sad note. What I wanted to happen did not happen!
I won’t give out any spoilers but, though the writing was excellent from the usual amazing description of all Porter’s works to the realistic characters and splendid plot, it didn’t turn out as I wanted it to. I was unsatisfied with the ending!
My favorite thing about The Magic Garden …
Amaryllis was the most adorable little five year old girl I’ve ever heard tale of! 🙂 Also, it was a nice, short read. I finished it in two days.
My least favorite thing about The Magic Garden …
As I said, a very unsatisfying ending.
Rating:
I give The Magic Garden 3/5 stars.
How can you find out more about Gene Stratton Porter?
Gene Stratton Porter wrote twelve novels in total plus many books on natural history. Here’s a link to Gene Stratton Porter’s Amazon Page.
~Kellyn Roth
p.s. I know! I’ve been posting lots of book reviews about books by Gene Stratton-Porter. Let’s just say I’m having a Gene Stratton-Porter reading spree. 🙂 -K.R.
5 Responses
That is a great summary! I don’t like books with unsatisfying endings either but I guess some writers just don’t get that!
Would you mind if I do book reviews on my blog as well? If not I wont. I just don’t want to steal your idea, without your permision. 😀
Of course I don’t know mind! It’s not my idea, really; lots of people do book reviews on blogs; some people even have whole blogs dedicated to reviewing books! 🙂 Have fun!
I really like the book. I remember as a child after reading it for the first time, I thought it would be so much fun to scate across the room on a bar of soap. Yes there were sad things in the book, but I felt Porter captured the time period, a childs feeling and reactions. I have 2 or three of the first additions. My mother named me for Amaryllis in the book. (Everyone remembers who you are, for few girls have the name). I love all of Porters books.
Well, it’s a matter of opinion, I suppose. I do think Amaryllis was a great five-year-old, and Porter portrayed her beautifully. Amaryllis is a beautiful name … so unique and lovely! 🙂
Porter is my favorite author, and I love most of her books; this one just didn’t appeal to me. I believe I found the ending to be sad and unsatisfactory, though it’s been a while since I read it. 🙂